PHYS 496: Senior Seminar

Note: Right click links on this page to open them in a new tab. 

Example of research questions: 

• How does the incorporation of quantum corrections modify the predictions of classical electrodynamics for the behavior of charged particles in strong electromagnetic fields?
• What is the impact of stellar feedback on the formation of planetary systems in young star-forming regions?
• How do gravitational wave observations inform our understanding of neutron star mergers and their role in heavy element synthesis?

Example search: ("gravitational waves" OR "gravitational wave detection") OR ("neutron star mergers" OR "binary neutron stars") OR ("heavy element synthesis" OR "r-process nucleosynthesis" OR "chemical element formation")

Directions: Take a few minutes to think about your own research question(s) and keywords. 

Can't find what you need in the library's search? Try one of these recommended databases!

In this actvitiy, we'll use 3 simple steps to citation tracking. 

Step 1: Spend 5 minutes looking for a relevant research article in Google Scholar, Web of Science, or ScienceDirect. Try to find a great article that's a few years old. 

Step 2: Look at the references in the article you found. Are any of them also relevant to your research? Search for the title of the article in the library's catalog to find the full text. 

Step 3: Search for the title of the first aricle you found in Google Scholar and click on the "Cited by" link. How many times has the article been cited? Are there any more relevant studies? 

Optional: Sign up for a free ResearchRabbit account. Add the three articles you've found and explore the similar and cited literature. 

Once you’ve found a relevant reference, use the lateral reading strategies to evaluate the credibility and impact of the source you’ve found using these three steps.

Step 1: Evaluate the Author. Look up the author in Google Scholar and/or Web of Science. Do they have a lot of publications? Are they on similar topics? How many times has their work been cited? Find their profile on their university’s website. Is there anything else you can learn about them?

Step 2: Evaluate the Journal. Read the journal’s about page and determine if they use the peer review process. What kind of articles are in their aim and scope? Do they publish articles in different formats such as reviews or columns? Does the journal have a journal impact factor in Journal Citation Reports? Where are they ranked in Google Scholar Metrics?

Step 3: Evaluate the Claims. Read the article’s methods, results, and discussion section. Look for any limitations the author(s) call out about their own work. Are their methods appropriate for answering their research questions? Are they interpreting their results logically? Is the information timely or could it be out of date? Look out for other issues with an article like a comment or retraction. 

Infographic made in Canva by Tessa Withorn.

Use these tools to help extract key points. This is not a substitute for doing the work, you'll still need to synthesize, analyze, and summarize in your own words. 

Image Credits: Icons were made by Vectors Market from www.flaticon.com and are licensed by CC 3.0 BY.

Icons were made by Vectors Market from www.flaticon.com and are licensed by CC 3.0 BY.