Lectures are to a broad overview of an area within freshwater ecology, while the Seminar presentations focus on examples of current studies of specific topics. For the term paper, I am asking you to read, evaluate, synthesize, and thoughtfully interpret a number of papers focused on a topic of your choosing in freshwater ecology. By incorporating material from a number of studies, you can expand beyond the necessary narrowness of individual studies, while focusing on a single topic will allow you to go into more depth than is possible in lecture. Like the seminars, you must start out with a recent (2009-2010) paper from the primary literature. Unlike the seminar presentations, however, the term paper will use a current paper simply as a "catalyst" with which to build a topic. Selecting this catalyst paper will also serve as a screening process on our part to a) ensure the topic is appropriate and timely, and b) limit overlap in topics among students.Refer to http://www.ttc-switch.com/zsgl/ 
講座是淡水生態(tài)之內(nèi)的區(qū)域進(jìn)行了全面概述，而研討會演講重點放在特定的主題目前研究的例子。對于學(xué)期dissertation，這里要求你閱讀，評價，綜合和若有所思解釋的一些dissertation集中在你所選擇的在淡水生態(tài)學(xué)的話題。通過大量的研究材料結(jié)合，就可以超越單個研究的必要狹窄擴(kuò)張，同時注重單個主題將讓你進(jìn)入更深度可能比在課堂上。

Keep in mind that a good term paper is not just a literature review that simply summarizes, one by one, the papers that you read. Of course, reviewing the published literature is an important component, and factual statements included to bolster your argument need to be backed up with appropriate documentation. Nevertheless, a good term paper goes beyond what is presented in the articles, i.e., it should be more than the sum of its factual parts. The best are, in one sense, original compositions that logically develop your view of the topic.
請記住，一個良好的學(xué)期dissertation不只是一個文獻(xiàn)綜述，簡單地概括，一個接一個，你看文件。當(dāng)然，回顧已發(fā)表的文獻(xiàn)是一個重要的組成部分，事實陳述包括，以加強你的論點需要被備份的相應(yīng)的文檔。然而，良好的學(xué)期dissertation超出了呈現(xiàn)在文章，也就是說，它應(yīng)該比它的實際部分的總和。最好的是，在某種意義上，原創(chuàng)作品在邏輯上衍生你的話題及看法。

Topic Criteria
1. it must be relevant to the course, i.e., it must have as its focus the ecology of freshwater organisms and/or ecosystems (remembering that ecology involves "the inter-relations between organisms and their environment"). This criterion should not be hard to meet. Begin with a topic that catches your attention and interest, e.g., from the course syllabus or an article from the list for the seminar presentations. Read the appropriate section(s) of Brönmark-Hansson and/or Giller-Malmqvist (& other limnology/ecology texts) to get an overview and perhaps some (older) references. Scan current issues of appropriate journals (see below) for recent articles or use key words with data bases such as the Web of Science. As you skim titles and abstracts, think about a topic that is broad enough to be the focus of your paper but not so general as to make your coverage superficial. Stay flexible; as you research the topic, broaden or narrow your focus, as appropriate. If you have questions regarding topics, then please see your instructor or T.A.#p#分頁標(biāo)題#e#

2. the topic should be of interest to you. You are much more likely to produce a successful paper on a topic that interests you than one that doesn't.

3. choose a topic you understand. This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you thoroughly comprehend the material and are not simply regurgitating (or worse, misinterpreting) what you read.

Below is a set of journals that regularly contain papers on freshwater ecology. The list ranges widely, including journals explicitly focused on aquatic systems or organisms, but also more general journals that include a mixture of freshwater & non-freshwater articles. Still, it is not anexhaustive list and one can occasionally find a good article in unexpected places. Likewise, this is only a list to guide your research.

Start thinking about a topic now. The course web site has a list of past term-paper topics that might give you ideas (but don't just copy one). Talk to your T.A. or instructor about ideas you may have.

ATTENTION!!!
You will be required to hand in your topic title for approval, along with the citation to the recent "catalyst" paper that inspired your choice of this topic. For 2% of your term mark, you are also required to submit at the same time:
(i) a brief (ca. 1-paragraph/ half-page) summary/outline of your proposed topic/paper, i.e., what question(s) will you be addressing in your paper? what issues need to be considered? Following this outline, list
(ii) 2 additional references that you have examined to date (provide their full citation).
This material is due Wednesday, November 3.
Your T.A. will examine what you have submitted, and approve it or offer suggestions for changes. Final approval of your topic is required; we will not accept a final paper that did not get the OK from your T.A.

Conducting the Research
Begin by reading the appropriate section(s) of Brönmark & Hansson and/or Giller & Malmqvist or other texts to get an overview and perhaps some (older) references. Scan current issues of appropriate journals or use the library's data bases (e.g., The Web of Science) for articles, using appropriate key words. If you've found a key older article (say, > 3 yrs), use The Web of Science to locate other, more recent, papers that have cited the older one. If you need assistance, don't be afraid to ask (in addition to T.A.s and instructor, librarians are very helpful). If you've found a good recent article, its Literature Cited section should start a "snowball effect".

Once you have an article, read the abstract, the paper's headings & sub-headings, study the figures & tables. Try to develop your own initial understanding of what the study is about, both specifically and more generally. Read the Introduction and concentrate on its "literature review", in which the authors are developing the general questions and objectives on which their study is focused. Is it really related to the topic of your paper? How? Only then go back and read the entire paper, slowly, carefully and critically. When you take notes, be sure to distinguish among methods/results, the author's interpretations and your own thoughts. Avoid taking notes in complete sentences (they will come to haunt you when it comes to writing the paper!); understand plagiarism, & then avoid it (see material on the Web-CT site), however, direct quotes should be used very sparingly in your paper. Always note the full reference while you're taking notes, rather then try & find an article again later when typing up your Literature Cited section.#p#分頁標(biāo)題#e#