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Biological Sciences

Key Concepts: Scholarship is a Conversation

Scholarly communication in the biological sciences involves an ongoing conversation within communities of research scientists and practitioners.  This scholarship generates new insights and discoveries over time.  Much of this scholarship is published in scientific journals.   

In One Search: Cited in This or Citing This

Citation Trail in One Search

As you delve into the conversation through literature reviews and discussions with your instructors and fellow students, consider:

  • What is the context of the research?
  • What related research came before and after the work?
  • Are there voices that are not part of the conversation or as prevalent?
  • How can you contribute to the discussion?

Scholarly Journal Conversation

1.  In this example, Hoban et al. (2020) wrote an original article in Biological Conservation, inspired by an article published by Laike et al. (2020) in Science.  Hoban et al. discuss the use of a population size lower than 500 as one indicator to define a population at high genetic risk.
 

Original Research Article

Abstract of Original Research Article

2.  In response to Hoban et al. (2020), Fady and Bozzano (2021) write a Letter to the Editor in Biological Conservation.  They question whether the population size threshold should be 500 when measuring genetic diversity in forest trees. 

 

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor Introduction