Microbe Mythbuster\u202ffrom\u202fMicrobiology: A Laboratory Experience\u202fby Holly Ahern\u202fis available under a\u202fCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International\u202flicense. \u00a9 2018, Holly Ahren. UMGC has modified this work and it is available under the original license.
Microbe Myth Buster Project
Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.
Thomas H. Huxley
What is Truth? Truth is a philosophical construct whose meaning has been debated since humans invented
language. That\u2019s not the focus of this endeavor.
This project is more about reason, also a philosophical construct. Reason provides a path for
pondering the truth. According to some, truth results when people apply reason appropriately
about an issue at hand. This is the goal of science.
Maybe you have recently heard a claim about a nutritional supplement or seen an advertisement
for a pharmaceutical drug touting amazing benefits if you take it and wondered if you should. Or
you thought about the health risks associated with getting a COVID-19 vaccine, or considered
taking a probiotic because your cousin\u2019s friend said you should? How can you know what would
be best for you?
There exists a vast body of scientific studies conducted on an infinite number of topics in science
and medicine that is published in scholarly journals and stored in searchable databases. By
conducting an organized review of the published research on the topic and applying \u201cappropriate
reason,\u201d you can decide for yourself what would be best for you, rather than relying on advice
from ads or people you may or may not know.
The conduct of scientific research is guided by practices collectively referred to as the scientific
method, in which experiments are designed to test a hypothesis. In a perfect world, experiments
are carefully designed to ensure that the data collected, and the results derived from them are
objective and without bias. If the results are significant, the science gets published in a peer-
reviewed journal as a way to communicate the findings to other interested people. Volumes of
journals have historically been stored in libraries, where articles contained therein could be read
and copied if relevant. It is no longer necessary to hunt through dusty \u201cstacks\u201d of print journals to<\/p>\n
find a scientific article, because a huge number are now \u201copen access\u201d or available electronically
through a library interface.
There are differences between articles published in scholarly journals and those in other types of
publications, and the major difference is peer-review. It\u2019s important to note that use of the term
\u201cpublication\u201d includes papers published in electronic form as well as in print.
You should view a short video available at Scholarly and Popular Sources, which explains how to
tell the difference between a source reference from a scholarly publication and one published in
the popular media.
For this project, you will select a microbiology-themed topic that you may have heard about before
starting the project. You will investigate your topic, and you will write a 2-3-page paper that
debunks the myth surrounding the topic.
Before doing any research, reflect on and then write down your first impressions and
personal views about the topic you\u2019ve been selected. If you are unfamiliar with the idea, or
even if you feel you understand it well, do a little background searching of the topic using popular
sources and search engines (such as Google and Wikipedia) to gather background information
before embarking on your scholarly search.
The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived, and dishonest,
but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.
John F. Kennedy
Debunk the Myths, Support the Truth
So much of what you hear on the evening news related to discovery in science and medicine
comes from research conducted at universities and medical colleges. The funding for this
research may come from government sources and is therefore paid for by the taxpaying public.
However, given the limited size of the pot, research is also conducted by private companies who
then profit from research that culminates in a profit-bearing product. When research leads to
publication in a \u201chighly ranked\u201d journal (ranked according to the journal\u2019s \u201cimpact factor,\u201d based<\/p>\n
on the number of times articles published in the journal are cited as a reference in other
publications), a brief description of the study and its outcome are released to the popular media
for reporting to the general public. Sometimes government policy is developed using published
studies as a foundation for legislation.
Scholarly and non-scholarly reporting of scientific discovery means that people today have the
unprecedented opportunity to make informed decisions about things that may affect their lives.
However, it also provides fertile ground for the dissemination of information designed to \u201cmarket\u201d
the idea to gain popular support. Once entrenched in the public conscience, misapplied \u201cfacts\u201d
may become \u201cmyths\u201d\u2014persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. How do you tell the difference?
For this project, you will investigate whether a common microbiology idea is scientifically
conceived and the degree to which it is \u201ctrue,\u201d by evaluating and reporting on research published
in scholarly journals. The components to be included in your report are specified below.
1. Review popular opinion and develop a thesis
Use the Microbe Myth Buster Topics list to select your myth buster subject. Once you
know your myth buster subject, look for background information and opinions among sources
that are not considered \u201cscholarly.\u201d This includes popular press sources such as
newspapers, magazines, internet sources, or even friends and family.
From your accumulated knowledge on the topic, develop a thesis on the topic, and assert
what you think about it in a thesis statement\u2014a one or two sentence prediction of what you
believe to be true. The thesis statement should be focused and specific enough to be
provable within the boundaries of your investigation.
As you search for the \u201creason\u201d to back up the \u201ctruth,\u201d you may find that your thesis can\u2019t be
supported by the available scientific evidence. However, you have to be flexible, objective,
and honest when you construct and conduct your search of the scientific literature and not
just look for ways to make your opinion seem true.<\/p>\n
2. Search the scholarly literature
Scientists who think their research is significant communicate the results through publication
in scientific journals. Most medical and scientific organizations publish journals related to a
professional field\u2014the American Society for Microbiology, for example, publishes several
journals such as Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Journal of Clinical
Microbiology, among others. Manuscripts submitted to scientific journals are sent to a panel
of other scientists, who review them for scientific legitimacy and integrity. This ensures that
the data and results are obtained from carefully designed, reproducible experiments, and the
conclusions are evidence-based. Once they are peer-reviewed and approved, they are
incorporated into a volume of the journal and published.
It is important to consider that in a perfect world, using science and the scientific method to
understand nature is a logical, objective, and totally unbiased process, that peer-reviewers
are always honest, and that peer-reviewed articles represent the \u201ctruth.\u201d As several recent
high-profile cases illustrate, in which published studies have been \u201cretracted\u201d due to fraud on
the part of the researchers and\/or their reviewers, the process isn\u2019t perfect. This is particularly
true when the financial or personal stakes are high.
Once you have developed your thesis statement, the next step is to look for published
research studies pertaining to your topic. You can refer to the UMGC Online Guide to Writing
and Research or to How to Find Scholarly Articles Online article for a concise overview of
how to construct and conduct a search for scholarly articles on a topic of interest.
For this project, you will find that the UMGC library is an excellent resource. Through the
library, you will have access to huge databases containing millions of scholarly articles.
Therefore, a good starting point would be to enlist the assistance of a UMGC librarian, who
can tell you what article databases are available and can help you construct your search.
Librarians are particularly helpful when it comes to deciding on the right words or phrases,
so that your search yields a manageable number of returns, not too few or too many.
Be objective when you decide on which articles to read further. Don\u2019t limit yourself to only
those that agree with your thesis 100%. Peruse the abstract, and if it sounds like the article
will be relevant to your idea, download the entire article (full text) and read the full content.<\/p>\n
3. Create an annotated bibliography of selected scholarly articles
At this point you have (hopefully) browsed through a large list of articles pertaining to your
subject. For those that you decided to read in greater depth, prepare a bibliography using
APA format (some of the databases you use will actually write the citation for you \u2013 the
librarian can help you locate and access the citation application if it exists for the database
you choose).
You should provide citations for all the articles you selected (you are required to use at least
5 scholarly articles for this project). Of those you include in the bibliography, select three of
the articles that you feel exemplify your idea, and write a brief annotation to accompany the
citation. \u201cAnnotated\u201d means that after the citation, write a brief one to two paragraph summary
of the objectives and outcomes of the research presented in the article. The final sentence
of the summary should discuss how the article relates to your thesis. An example of an
annotated reference is shown below (the citation format is APA).
Fava, F., Lovegrove, J. A., Gitau, R., Jackson, K. G., & Tuohy, K. M. (2006) The gut
microbiota and lipid metabolism: Implications for human health and coronary heart
disease. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 13, 3005-3021.
Summary: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of mortality in Western society,
affecting about one third of the population before their seventieth year. This article reviews the
modifiable risk factors associated with CHD and discusses the hypothesis that diets rich in
sources of dietary fiber and plant polyphenols promote better coronary health. Plant fibers are
metabolized by the gut microflora and are converted into biologically active compounds that are
complementary to human metabolism. Metabolism of plant fibers by the gut microflora may
prevent or otherwise beneficially impact impaired lipid metabolism and vascular dysfunction that
typifies CHD and type II diabetes. Overall, this article supports my thesis that the bacteria in the
human gut make positive contributions to a person\u2019s overall good health.
4. Write a summary and conclusion
Paper (2-3 pages): In a paragraph (or two), summarize the scope of the project, the idea
you are investigating, and restate your thesis. In two to four paragraphs, summarize the
research that you discovered in your search of the scholarly literature, being sure to include<\/p>\n
the appropriate citation for each reference. In a final paragraph (or two), compare and
contrast the non-scholarly information with what you learned from your search of the science,
and discuss whether the scientific evidence was in support of your thesis, or if the evidence
did not support your view. Consider whether you are sticking with your thesis or if you want
to change it, and what amendments might be appropriate based on the scientific evidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Microbe Mythbuster\u202ffrom\u202fMicrobiology: A Laboratory Experience\u202fby Holly Ahern\u202fis available under a\u202fCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International\u202flicense. \u00a9 2018, Holly Ahren. UMGC has modified this work and it is available under the original license. Microbe Myth Buster Project Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors. Thomas H. Huxley What is Truth? Truth is a philosophical … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essaywr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/academicwritersbay.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}