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2018-19 Honors Biology - Scholarly Journal Articles: Step Four: Methodology

Methods

Purpose

The methods section of a scholarly article generally outlines the experimental design, the materials, and the methods (procedures) of the experiment. In this station, you will divide into pairs, learn about the methods section, and share what you learn with your group. 

Need to open the article again? Click HERE. 

Identifying the Design Components

Pair #1: 

  1. Two people will identify the design components of the experiment. 
  2. As a pair, review the methods section of the article. 
  3. Complete the chart by identifying the Independent Variable (IV), Dependent Variable (DV), Experimental Group, Control Group (if present), and Controlled Variables/Constants from the experiment.

Identifying the Materials

Pair #2: 

  1. Two people will identify the materials of the experiment. 
  2. As a pair, review the methods section of the article. 
  3. Create a bulleted list with the materials (chemicals, subjects, apparatus, etc.) used to conduct the experiment. 

Identifying the Methods / Procedures

Pair #3: 

  1. Two people will identify the methods / procedures of the experiment. 
  2. As a pair, review the methods section of the article. 
  3. Write a description the process the scientists used to set up their experiment and collect data.

Share What You Learned

Group Discussion & Share

  1. Take turns sharing your findings with the group.
  2. You will not have time to write down each partnership's findings; instead, use the time to show the group where each partnership found their information in the article.