• Scientists Project Guide

Scientists Project Guide

What Does a Scientist Look Like?: Research the life of a Scientist - Upper I

Image of Bell Telephone Scientist
The Persuasive Influence of Chemistry – 1922 image of a Bell Telephone Company scientist

What Does a Scientist Look Like?: Research the life of a Scientist

Upper I  Students

Getting started

For your scientist project, you will be looking for some biographical information and preparing a one minute oral presentation. You will need to search for and read about your scientist in two sources. The first source you should use is Britannica School Middle. See if you can find your scientist in one of the other encyclopedias or one of the databases listed below as your second source. You will also have to cite your sources – indicating where you found the information. If the source includes a citation in the MLA format, you should export it or copy and paste it in a new document. You can also use Noodletools to create a citation. If you can’t find information on your scientist in the sources included in this guide, you can contact Mr. Smith or Ms. Kantor. Please do not use Google or a different internet search engine to find information on your scientist.

 

Use this rubric to help you prepare for your oral presentation.

      Phase 1: Research the following information about your scientist:

  1. What is their full name?
  2. What is their scientific field?
  3. Where were they born?
  4. When when were they born?
  5. When did they die?
  6. What was going on in the country when they were growing up? (religion, political structure)
  7. What was their family structure? (parents, siblings)
  8. What inspired them to become scientists?
  9. What is most fascinating about this person? An interesting story? A funky fact?
  10. What is their contribution to science? What did they discover or invent?
  11. How did their contribution change the world?
  12. How does their scientific discovery enhance your life today?
  13. Did they work with any other scientists?
  14. What challenges personal and professional did they face in their childhood and their professional career?  How did they overcome these challenges? Who helped them?
  15. What inspired them? Experiences/ people in the field/ failures?
  16. Why did they choose this focus?

    Your presentation must have:

  1. Detailed information about your scientist IN YOUR OWN WORDS!
  2. Images of your scientist.  (this will help you when you dress up!)
  3. Information from Britannica School Middle and one other encyclopedia or database article.
  4. One to two minute speech. DON’T PANIC, you’ll be great!

General Encyclopedias

To access these encyclopedias when you are not on campus, you will need to enter the school’s user id and password.  Click here for User ids and passwords.

Citation Format

You may look for your citation in your source, or you may use NoodleTools to create a citation.

  1. When you find an article you might use, READ THE ARTICLE first to get an overview of the information given.
  2. If it contains information that you want to use, scroll down to the end of the article and look for the Source Citation. Alternately, find a link that says something like “Generate Citation” or “Cite this Document”. You are looking for “MLA Citation”.

If you do not see a citation, you may use NoodleTools to create one. When you are citing an online encyclopedia in NoodleTools, you need to do the following:

Start your citation as follows:

  • Under New Source, Select “Database” from the menu.
  • From the pop-up menu, the most likely type of source you will be using is Reference Source (includes encyclopedias)
  • Fill in the blank spaces as appropriate.

The citation given will be in this order:

“Article Title”. Encyclopedia Title. Copyright Date. (If online URL and Access Date)

Example:

“Elizabeth Blackwell”. Britannica School, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020, school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/Elizabeth-Blackwell/273243. Accessed 21 Sept. 2020

Databases

These resource may be available from your public library. Check to see if your library has access using your public library card.

  • Gale in Context: Biography
  • Access Science McGraw Hill

Citation Format

If you are using an online database for information, you will need to cite your source correctly.

  • When you find an article you might use, READ THE ARTICLE first to get an overview of the information given.
  • If it contains information that you want to use, scroll down to the end of the article and look for the Source Citation. Alternately, find a link that says something like “Generate Citation” or “Cite this Document”. You are looking for “MLA Citation”.

If you do not see a citation, you may use NoodleTools to create one. When you are citing an online database in NoodleTools, you need to do the following:

Start your citation as follows:

  • Under New Source, Select “Database” from the menu.
  • From the pop-up menu, the most likely type of source you will be using is Reference Source (includes encyclopedias)
  • Fill in the blank spaces as appropriate.

The citation given will be in this order:
Author’s Last Name, First Name Middle Name. “Article Title.” Title of the Original Source. Original Publishing Company, Year of Publication of the Original Source. Name of Website or Database. Web. Date you viewed it.

You do not need to enter a URL (web address).
Example:
Yeh, Jennifer. “Sylvia Earle.” Water: Science and Issues. Gale, 2013. Biography In Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.