TeXAS 2021-2022 TD#01

How and where do scientists write about their Science

1 Read the article « To Get to Cats, Common Parasite Hijacks Rats’ Arousal Circuitry »
published in the New York Times on the 17th of August 2011.

To what degree is the author, Wallace Ravven, implicated in the scientific research
described ?

Is the author describing a specific piece of scientific research ?

If so, how does Ravven describe the people that did this research ?

What inspired Wallace Ravven to write this article for the New York Times ?

Does this information help you to find the original research results ?

Where would you expect to find a written report of this research ?

2 Choose three « key words» from the article by Ravven.

Type each word individually in « Google ». How many results do you get for each term ?

What happens if you combine search words? (« Google » uses Boolean logic with the
operators : AND, OR and NOT : nb. It is not necessary to type AND; « Google » presumes
it is present if a space is left between the two words).

What happens if you use the three words together ?

Why is « Google » not the best idea to find what you are looking for ?

What is « Google »?

What resources does it exploit ?

What is so special about what you are looking for ?

What is « Google scholar » ?

How does it differ from « Google » ?

Does this difference help with your search ?

3 Suggest a way to refine your search

Type « INIST » in « Google »

 What is the INIST ? What is a data base (databank) ?

What does the term « portal » mean ? (e.g. BiblioVie)

Open the Portal BiblioVie.

Can you use this to help in your search ?

Type NCBI in « Google »

What is the NCBI ?

What are the “popular resources” on the left-hand side of the NCBI web page ?

Choose an appropriate resource

Use your three key words (individually and combined)

When was the article by Wallace Ravven published ?

Can this information help to refine your search ?

4 OK, you have found what you were looking for !

But, what exactly have you found ?

There are 2 icons in the top right hand corner : “PLoS” and “PubMed Central”.
What do these links correspond to ?

Clicking on either of these links will lead you to the “full-text” article that inspired
Wallace Ravven. You will also find this article, in a “.pdf” format in the “espace
pédagogique” for HAV533V (so you do not need to download it here). The access key is
“TeXAS”. This article will be used to study the structure and composition of written
research reports in the following TD sessions.

To what degree are the authors implicated in the scientific research described ?

Are they describing a specific research project ?