Seminar in Natural Science (online)

Introduction to the Research Project
(Proposal and Web-based Presentation)

This project is your chance to follow up on an issue raised in our reading in order to explore it in greater depth, or to investigate an issue or controversy of your own choosing.  You have two options in terms of general topic area:

(1) Investigation and analysis of an Illinois ecosystem, species, or environmental science problem/issue (a Chicago-area focus is encouraged, but not required)

 -- or --

(2) Critical analysis of a particular scientific issue or controversy (not limited to IL or ecology/environmental science), including technological topics that have an important scientific component.

I encourage you to start thinking about possible topics early on in the semester--feel free to ask me if an idea you're considering is appropriate.  Indeed, the rhythm of the course topics/readings, as well as the annotated bibliography assignment and related IL ecosystem discussion groups, are designed to get you brainstorming possible research topics well before the proposal due date.

During week 7 (halfway through the semester) you will submit a formal research proposal (approx. 2 single-spaced pages), which I will return with feedback on your topic choice and focus; you'll then develop a web-based research presentation containing a background information on your issue or controversy, a focused argument and clear discussion in support of a particular position, backing from (and possibly critique of) a variety of information sources, and proper documentation of those sources (using MLA guidelines).  

Why Research a Scientific or Technological Controversy?

"The biggest stumbling block to the formation of coherent policies on science and technology has been miscommunication and lack of access to information."

-- Jim Collier, science studies scholar

"Regardless of the data or observable facts involved . .  . the important issues in scientific and technological discussions are always theories, assumptions, and conceptualizations and the very human interplay and debate about them. . . . Rhetoric is inextricably involved in all scientific and technical discussions." 

-- Paul Dombrowski, technical communications expert

"This is an era of specialists, each of whom sees his own problem and is unaware of or intolerant of the larger frame into which it fits.  It is also an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged.  When the public protests . . . it is fed little tranquilizing pills of half truth.  We urgently need an end to these false assurances, to the sugar coating of unpalatable facts." 

-- Rachel Carson, scientist and environmentalist

How to Think about Controversies:  Critical Approaches

A scientific or technological controversy involves a dispute among individuals and/or members of a group about, for example, the value of a research project, interpretation of data, explanatory power of a theory or model, implementation of a government policy, or impact of a scientific process or technology.  Various contexts exist for such disputes:  economic, political, environmental, philosophical, historical, statistical, etc.  Often you will find that basic assumptions--about what counts as good science, about what is fair public policy, about what sorts of arguments or data are valid--are questioned during such a dispute.  Once you locate a controversy that you're interested in, you need to analyze the role science and/or technology plays within the scope of your topic.  To help generate critical questions about your topic, think about . . .

Ø                   Benefits vs. Risks:  How do the ostensible benefits of a scientific process or a technological development match up with the possible risks (to the environment, to public health, etc.) for individuals and communities?  Consider the process of damming rivers to provide flood control, a steady water supply, and recreation.  What, on the other hand, are the costs of using dam technology on a river?  How do the values of science play into this controversy?  Wynn and Wiggins' chapter 8, on benefit-risk analysis, provides a very clear and useful analytic framework for this type of approach.

Ø                   Efficiency vs. Equity:  This conflict centers around local or community concerns with costs, benefits, and justice.  For instance, what are the social, environmental, and economic impacts of implementing a new landfill technology in a small rural community (or an incinerator in an urban neighborhood)?  Whose interests are at stake?  What kinds of scientific knowledge are brought into play?  To what extent can we balance the need for efficient waste disposal methods with the need for fairness toward local values and interests?

Ø                   Regulation vs. Freedom of Choice:  Our government has often exerted controls upon the development and implementation of technologies or scientific procedures in an effort to "protect" people from unregulated companies.  Opponents of such a view claim that government meddling interferes with scientific and technological breakthroughs and inhibits the growth of particular industries.  Consider the legislation concerned with protecting the environment--the Clean Air and Water Acts, the Endangered Species Act, etc.  Another example:  the degree to which newly-developed drugs are approved by the FDA and made available to the public.

Ø                   Science vs. Traditional Values:  Where do the values, methods, and procedures of scientific research and education conflict with the "traditional" (or non-science-related) values of a given constituency?  Some key examples here include the use of fetal tissue for medical research, the use of animals in experiments, the teaching of evolutionary theory in the public schools, and the acceptability of doctor-assisted suicide.  An environmental example would be the controversy surrounding tree-girdling and prescribed burning in public lands where forest is being restored to native prairie:  such practices can seem intrusive and negative from the standpoint of citizens who value decades-old tree stands, while ecologists and environmentalists see them as necessary to restoring the character of the native landscape.  What ethical and political issues are involved in these situations?  Is there common ground among interested parties?  Can we broker effective compromises between scientific goals and nonscientific beliefs and values?

(This conceptual framework for analyzing controversies is adapted from Dorothy Nelkin's book The Politics of Technical Decisions, 1984)

Where to Look for Controversies:  Selected Resources

You can find sources of scientific topics and controversies in a variety of places:  in our texts' bibliographies and footnotes, in your daily newspaper, and on the world wide web.  Within the context of our class, probably the best place to start is on our 391 Links page, particularly the Science News section (reprinted here):

The New York Times (check the science section)
New Scientist (one of the very best of its kind; has a special section devoted to current controversies)
Science News (good for short news articles)
Scientific American (a premier source of in-depth news and analysis for a general educated audience)
Science and Nature (the two most prestigious science journals in English; both publish news and original research)
Public Understanding of Science (a more academic journal)
The Why Files (a fun site for the curious)
Discover (similar to Scientific American)

Don't limit your research to this web-based sources and indexes, though.  Your best and most powerful research tool is the Roosevelt Library website, which gives you access to books, peer-reviewed journal articles, online reference works, and instructional tutorials on doing research and using the library.  You'll need to include at least a couple of print-based resources in your research presentation.  Check out this page for more information on finding sources.

Basic Strategies for Analyzing Controversies

These analytic categories and the questions within them won't apply to every topic choice.  However, in addition to Wynn and Wiggins' benefit/risk analysis framework, they provide a good starting point for identifying critical areas of debate and analysis you'll need to explore in your research.

(1)        Determine the participants and define their views about science and technology within the context of the debate:  Map out the different constituencies involved in the controversy.  What are the particular interests of each group?  Do they have an explicit and/or implicit agenda?  On what do various parties agree? Do members of a defined group have internal disputes?  Examples of constituencies:  lobbyists, unions, consumer groups, local communities, scientific agencies, professional organizations, educators, the business community, manufacturers, engineers and technicians, social critics, etc.  Look at the presence of "experts" in the debate--who counts as an expert?  How are these authorities used by various parties?  Do the experts agree?  If not, why not?

(2)        Determine the history and cultural context of the specific controversy:  When and under what circumstances did the controversy arise?  How does each interest group relate the history of the controversy?  What kinds of social, historical, and economic factors have contributed to the issues?

(3)        Examine the evidence used by different groups:  What kinds of data or "truths" do groups utilize in order to sway public opinion, make their case in court, etc.?  What counts as acceptable evidence?  How do the values and assumptions of a constituency relate to what this determination?  How are experimental results interpreted?  What use is made of polls, statistical data, anecdotal evidence, etc.?  Are experiments or studies sound?  Have they been replicated?

(4)        Analyze the use of scientific communication:  How are arguments constructed?  Where do technical documents come into play, and how do they affect the controversy (e.g., think of an environmental impact statement)?  How are visual representations used to complement data and arguments?  What role does the media play in the controversy?  What kinds of rhetorical appeals are made in the various arguments:  social good, economic growth, scientific truth and objectivity, moral values, individual freedom, etc.?

(5)        Take a position by framing a thesis about the controversy:  It's not enough to summarize the issues for this assignment--you need to analyze the issue and take a position (articulated as your thesis, or argument).  Which side's view is most valid?  Can the debate be resolved in the future?  If so, what shape will this resolution take?  Do you agree with that such a resolution is the desirable one?  What role does science have in framing a resolution?  From your examination of the controversy, what recommendations do you have?

A Small Sampling of Potential Topics and Controversies

Here's a short list of potential research topics, some of which have been successfully tackled by past 391 scholars.  Fee free to brainstorm your own topic focus, though.

Illinois/Chicago-related environmental topics:

A good starting point for this option will be the Atlas of Biodiversity text, as well as the bibliography searching and discussion you do within your IL ecosystem group (prairies, forests, wetlands, rivers, Great Lakes).  Some possible topic directions include:

• Prairie (or wetland) restoration in Northern Illinois:  science, nature, and public policy

• Protecting endangered species in IL

• Lake Michigan and pollution:  past failures, future challenges

• Nuclear power in Illinois:  present status and future potential

• Dealing with non-native plants and animals in the Chicago area

• Environmental racism:  the Ecology of Hazardous Waste Sites, Power Plants, and Brownfields

General issues and controversies:

• Space exploration, science funding, and domestic concerns

• Nuclear waste disposal:  technical options, future directives

• Smart highways and other transportation technologies

• Biomedical research:  science, politics, and ethics (e.g., cloning, fetal tissue research, assisted reproduction techniques, women's health issues)

• Trends in AIDS research (or cancer research)

• The Human Genome Project

• Genetic Engineering

• DNA Fingerprinting

• Scientific studies of intelligence, including Artificial Intelligence

• Global warming:  the latest word

• The Endangered Species Act

• Preserving biodiversity:  strategies and challenges

• Science and religion:  controversies and intersections

• Women and science:  progress thus far, challenges for the future

• Minority achievements in science

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Last updated 03/27/06