Pseudoscience Term Paper Instructions & Resources

Notes on Web - Exercise Associated with Unit One Part 3
Instructions and Resources for Pseudoscience Term Paper

Bruce G. Stewart

IMPORTANT NOTE: Papers that do not closely follow ALL of the instructions below will not be graded and will be awarded an automatic grade of "F."

How to Start

Visit the following internet website: www.csicop.org. This internet address will take you the the homepage of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Become familiar with CSI’s website. Know the objectives of this society. Identify at least five pseudosciences mentioned in the site. Choose one of these pseudosciences to study in detail.

Due Date

For Internet General Biology students, the due date is posted in your course schedule. For all other students, the due date will be announced in your respective classes. All students will be asked to provide a typed draft literature cited list (in the format described later in this page) of your proposed sources approximately one month into the semester. This will allow me to help you confirm that you have chosen an appropriate topic and reliable sources.

Term Paper Sections and Length

Your term paper must be at least four typewritten pages (typically around 1000 words) that includes at a minimum the following:

Your Basic Information: name, date, and the specific title of your term paper
Introduction - an introductory paragraph (include, for example, the meaning and significance of pseudoscience, a brief description of CSI, the five examples you found, the one you choose to write about in depth, and why this is important to understand)
Body - a body (as many paragraphs and subheadings as you need) that thoroughly discusses your chosen pseudoscience
Conclusion - present a summary of the scientific conclusions concerning the scientific invalidity of the pseudoscience
Literature Cited - literature cited (in alphabetical order at the end of the last of the required pages)

Type of Writing - Science Synthesis Essay and Not an Opinion Paper

Your paper must be a synthesis of your sources; that is, you must integrate information from different sources in each paragraph rather than summarizing each source separately. While you are encouraged to include a few relevant quotes from your sources if they enrich the reader's understanding, no more than 15% of your text can be direct quotes from your sources. This includes your references.

This is a synthesis of science sources, not an "opinion" paper. The purpose here is not for you to share uninformed, unsubstantiated, unscientific, biased, personal beliefs! You must show that you understand and can related to your reader reasonable, logical, scientifically-substantiated positions on the topic based on credible sources. Opinion papers will be given an automatic grade of "F." Phrases like, "I believe" is an example of a statement that expresses an opinion. Likewise, do not present the opinions of others whether these opinions are published or not. The only exception for this is if you are describing the beliefs of "true believers" of the pseudoscience; however, you absolutely must make it clear in your writing that such beliefs are not science and have no relevance as scientific evidence on your topic.

If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.

Anatole France, Nobel Prize Winning Author

You will be presenting the scientific position, not the pseudoscientific assertions (though as mentioned before, you need to explain some of what the "true believers" claim as a part of their belief). One reason that this term paper is so instructive is that it is NOT about your opinion. We are so used to giving our opinion that we forget that our opinion may be, in fact, totally in conflict with the evidence! Nature does not give one whit about our opinion. Our opinion does not, and never will, change any natural pattern. Even if millions of people have the same opinion, that does not change nature to conform to our expectations! We revere democracy, but we cannot blindly follow the "vote" of the people and expect that nature will change because we want it to be so. All of this being said, it also should make it a bit easier on you as you write your paper in this respect: you don't need to present and defend your personal opinion on the topic. This will let you focus on the important issue of learning what the scientific reasoning is regarding the invalidity of pseudosciences.

You must objectively report the findings of your source papers, and you must cite at least three scientifically respectable sources at the end in a "Literature Cited."

Literature Sources

You will need to synthesize scientifically-based information from at least three scientifically-reliable sources that address your specific pseudoscientific topic. You may include additional general sources such as my own website and the general information on the home page of CSI; however, these will not count as your topic-specific sources. Individual papers from CSI that address your topic do count as separate scientifically-reliable sources.

Only scientifically respectable sources are allowed. This does not include personal web sites, most commercial web sites, or biased web sites of pseudoscience proponents! You may not cite Wikipedia or any other online or hard copy encyclopedia or dictionary. The Internet in general is a sea of poor-quality scientific information. Studies have shown that over 83% of Internet web sites are commercial, and this introduces serious conflict of interests issues. A study by John Hopkins Medical School and Ohio State University has shown that over 70% of all medical information posted on the web is unreliable! Safer sites include web sites of professional scientific societies, web sites of professional scientists associated with reputable institutions, some federal government institutional web sites (e.g. the National Institute of Health), and a variety of others (e.g. some non-profit educational sites). However, it is difficult for a "beginner" to decipher the reliable from the un-reliable. You will need help as you wander through the cyber-jungle of the WWW. Libraries often offer database search services such as EBSCO, and EBSCO, for example, has an option to search peer-reviewed literature only. HOWEVER, this does not mean that the literature is scientifically peer reviewed. Thus, the EBSCO peer-review option alone does not insure that you have valid scientific literature. Another search resource is Google Scholar. Search Google for key words Google Scholar to find this option. Again, not all resources from Google Scholar are necessarily valid science, but it reduces the "trash." Much of what you will find in a Google Scholar search will have only the abstract or first page of the article. If you start early, however, you can use interlibrary loan through MSC or the AHEC or your local public library to obtain access to these sources. On 16 August 2008, I searched for the key word "pseudoscience" and got 9,290 hits!

Most professional scientific and science education societies publish their peer-reviewed scientific studies in traditional hard-copy journals to which their members and libraries subscribe. However, more frequently, these journals are also published online but are available only to subscribers. However, some societies make some papers and/or abstracts available for free to the public for educational purposes. CSI does this. A safe location to pick some papers would be from The Skeptical Inquirer link in the CSI web site. Also, there are shorter notes called Skeptical Briefs that you could use to add depth to your paper (to supplement your three foundation sources). These are also accessable from the CSI web site. Remember that the three required sources must address your main topic. Papers that use pseudoscientific sources or other unreliable web sites except as noted earlier (to simply define the beliefs) will be given an automatic grade of "F." If you are uncertain about the reliability of a source, check with me well in advance of the due date for your paper.

The Murray State College Library has some reliable (and un-reliable!) sources of information on pseudosciences. Several years of past issues and the current issue of The Skeptical Inquirer are found there, and these hard copies have more articles than are made available on the society's web site. I highly recommend that you look through these journals. Also, there are a number of excellent books in the MSC Library that address the scientific perspective on a range of pseudoscientific claims. Some of these are listed at the end of these notes, or just Click Here. There are others not listed.

General Format and Citation Styles

General style and format.

Your pages should have 1-inch margins and text should be in a font no larger than 12 point in a simple easily read font. Lines must be double-spaced. Your name, the date, and the specific title of your term paper in the upper left corner of the first page. DO NOT call it by a general name like "biology paper" or "pseudoscience paper." Your title should reflect the actual content and purpose of your paper. Headings of each major section (e.g. Introduction) should be bold-faced, and your paper should appear well-organized. Literature citations should be presented in their own section called "Literature Cited" at the end of page four of your paper (not a separate page). Do not call it "bibiography."

Scientific journals use distinctive styles as do various other publication forms. In biology, the Council of Biological Editors publishes a book describing styles used by many scientific journals. You will not be required to learn this level of detailed style; however, you will follow a few basic style formats used by one scientific society in our region, The Southwestern Association of Naturalists. Each of you will have the opportunity to examine an issue of their journal, The Southwestern Naturalist. Note how it is formatted and prepare your paper following a similar format.

Citation Styles and Content

Citation styles and content are extremely important. A full citation in a literature cited section provides a way for the reader to locate and investigate sources used by the author. It is a part of the accountability of scientific writing that helps separate evidence-based statements from opinion. It also allows another researcher to go directly to the previously published research sources to see for themselves how the author interpreted earlier findings.

How do you indicate what information you obtained from what source? Here is the required method for integrating your citations in the text of your term paper as illustrated by a hypothetical example:

According to Jones (2003), students gain tremendous amounts of ability from writing term papers. Capperman and Jones (2000) did an educational research project that led them to the same conclusions. One study found that students who have been taught thorough writing exercises could analyze information better than those who have not (Smith, et al. 2003).

The full citations would then be presented in alphabetical order in your "Literature Cited" section at the end of your paper. The style of the full citation depends on the source of the citation. For example, if Jones (2003) was from a hardcopy journal, here would be the style:

Jones, C. E. 2003. An empirical assessment of writing and comprehension skills of students required to write term papers compared to students who are not. Journal of Cognitive Writing Skills 31(2):443-451.

This hypothetical example the author's name (note the order of names and initials), year of publication, title of the paper, name of the journal, volume of the journal (31), number of that volume (2), and page number (443-451). This is all the information necessary to locate this specific literature source.

Notice that Capperman and Jones (2000) had two authors. The authors names would be written in that citation as follows:

Capperman, B. A. and C. E. Jones. 2000. ... etc.

Notice that Smith, et al. (2003) has the abbreviation "et al." This means "and others" and is used when there are more than two authors of a paper. The "et al." is used in the text, however, the full citation in the literature cited must have all of the authors listed. For example, the citation would begin as follows in the literature cited:

Smith, W. A., G. B . Herron, and D. O. Reeves. 2003... etc.

Citation Styles Including Online Citation Styles - CBE (or CSE) Style Required.

Go to the following link of the Duke University Library system where you can find an excellent resource on all manner of standard citation styles the style required for this assignment:

Duke University Library Citation Styles

Once you are there, you can surf the web site for a wide range of information regarding methods of citing your sources both in the text of your term paper and in the literature cited (=works cited) section. The citation style you should use, however, is the one of the Council of Biological Editors (CBE) or that signified by "CSE." When given a choice within the CSE style, use the "Name, Year" method. Be sure to note that there are methods of both hard copy citations and online citations. Make sure you use the appropriate style for each of your sources. Note that online citations have two very important components not found in traditional literature citations. First, the complete Internet protocol is presented so the reader can paste the http address (for example) into a browser and go directly to that source on the WWW. Second, the date you access the source is presented. This is important because the WWW is a dynamic area and web sites are often revised, moved, or even completely eliminated over relatively short periods of time. Your reader needs to know when you accessed the source.

Submission of Term Paper - Turnitin.com and Academic Honesty

Your paper must be turned in directly to Turnitin.com where it will be analyzed for plagiarism and graded online with Grademark. You gain access to Turnitin.com through our Blackboard class site which you automatically joined when you enrolled in the class at Murray State College. Plagiarism will result in a serious impact on the grade with even minor amounts resulting in a grade of "F." You must visit the following link to be certain of what constitutes plagiarism: http://www.turnitin.com/research_site/e_home.html. The work must be your own. The academic honesty portion of your class contract applies here as in all areas of your work. If evidence of misconduct is discovered (whether or not by Turnitin.com), appropriate measures will be taken. Another excellent summary of academic citation ethics, plagiarism and the consequences of plagiarism at another university (Duke University) can be found here: Plagiarism: Its Nature and Consequences.

Essay evaluation criteria:

Evaluation Turned in Work on turnitin.com (possible 10 points)
Content (Accurate and Thorough?) & Conclusions (Logical & Supported? (up to 20-25 points)
Plagiarism, not just quotations (potential loss of all points even for a single uncited plagiarized sentence or phrase!)
Number, Use, & Proper Citation of Valid Scientific References (up to 15 points)
Use of Citations Solely to Describe Chosen Pseudoscience (if separate from other content) (0-5 points)
Ability to Tract Sources (up to 15 points, but citations that cannot be located will also be considered "no citation")
Proper Style with Paragraphs of Introduction, Body, and Conclusions (up to 10 points)

Total Points Earned out of 75 will be basis for overall score.

A Partial List of Books with Scientific Perspectives on Pseudosciences
Murray State College Library Collection.

The following is a partial list of some Murray State College Library resources. These are available on a first come, first serve basis under the procedures of the library. Remember that libraries share resources through interlibrary loans. If you are not able to travel to the Tishomingo campus of MSC, check with your local library about requesting these books through interlibrary loan. You can also obtain a wide range of other publications through this method from libraries around the State of Oklahoma!

Barrett, Stephen and William T. Jarvis. 1993. Health robbers: a close look at quakery in America. Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York. pp. 526. ISBN 0-87975-855-4.

Frazier, Kendrick. 1997. UFO Invasion: The Roswell Incident. Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York, 314. pp. ISBN 1-5739-213-19.

Gardner, Martin. 1989. Science: Good, Bad and Bogus. Prometheus Books, Buffalo, New York. pp. 412. ISBN 0-87975-573-3.

Keene, Lamar and Allen Spraggett, Ray Hyman, William V. Rauscher . 1976. The Psychic Mafia. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp.177. ISBN 1-57392-161-0.

Kusche, Larry. 1986. The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp. 302. ISBN 0-87975-971-2.

Patten, Bernard. 2004. Truth, Knowledge, or Just Plain Bull: How to Tell the Difference. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp. 363. ISBN 1-59102-246-0

Polidoro, Massimo. 2003. Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp. 301. ISBN 1-59102-086-7.

Randi, James. 1993. The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World’s Most Famous Seer. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp. 256. ISBN 0-87975-830-9.

Sampson, Wallace and Lewis Vaughn. 2000. Science Meets Alternative Medicine: What the Evidence Says about Unconventional Treatments. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp. 246. ISBN 1-57392-803-8.

Schnabel, Jim. 1993. Round in circles: Physicists, Poltergeist, Pranksters and the Secret History of the Cropwatchers. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp. 293. ISBN 1-59102-110-3.

Tiffin, Lee. 1994. Creationism’s Upside-Down Pyramid: How Science Refutes Fundamentalism. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York. pp. 229. ISBN 0-87975-898-8.

Other Resources

Again, as noted previously there are many good scientifically-reliable sources available in public and university/college libraries. However, there are countless un-reliable sources. You must be able to distinguish the reliable from unreliable sources. Be sure to check with me if you have a potential source about which you are uncertain.