ASEN 5016 Homework # 1
Assignment Guidelines
Select a research topic related to the syllabus that you find of particular interest and email me with your choice for approval – due Tuesday 1/29 (topic only)
Your choice must explicitly address one or more of the specific questions identified for the Risks listed on NASA’s Bioastronautics Roadmap (http://bioastroroadmap.nasa.gov/index.jsp) - note that the emphasis of this class is placed on scientific aspects, so topics pertaining to operational medicine, psychology, vehicle systems and monitoring are generally not acceptable. You can submit a few alternatives if you can’t completely narrow it down to one topic yet, and can change your selection, with subsequent approval, if you end up going down a dead end path with your original choice.
CAETE students, add a week to the posted due dates.
If applicable, your selected homework must be on a subject other than your own previous or current research area!
Review textbooks, review articles and primary journal articles, and conference papers to gain an understanding of the current level of knowledge and issues pertaining to your selected topic, as related to space flight. Try to avoid the overuse of review articles or conference papers as your main reference sources, however.
“Primary” implies that the person who wrote it did
the research. “Journal” typically
implies it was peer-reviewed, some more thoroughly than others. Textbooks and review articles are good places
to start and give some broader perspective/consensus, but the material is
usually dated – especially in this field.
Recent conference papers are good for getting up-to-date summaries, but
are frequently not peer-reviewed, so be aware of credibility concerns. Use web sites sparingly, if at all, and be
confident in the source in all cases.
Your assignment is to summarize the current understanding of the topic you choose based on at least 5 relevant papers describing recent research on your selected topic, with at least 3 of them being primary journal articles from at least 2 different research groups (i.e. authors).
Submit one hard copy of the manuscript with a formal, signed cover letter and one electronic file (of the manuscript only, not cover letter) using MS Word - PC accessible please (CAETE students – electronic only for both parts is ok)
Double-space manuscript
Use 12 pt font with 0.75 inch margins all
around – top/bottom, left/right
Figures or tables should be inserted in line with the text in
appropriate locations, but use sparingly if at all, and do not ‘cut and paste’
without explicit permission.
Limit is 5-pages of text, excluding bibliography, but
including any figures or tables.
Follow the general outline below with approximate number of
pages as indicated in each section (non-compliant submittals will be returned
for correction and considered late if not resubmitted before the due date).
Professional Cover Letter to the editor (me) of the “Journal of Space Life Sciences”
Title and Author (12 pt font, across top line of page 1, not as a separate page)
Key words – under Title and Author line, up to 6 descriptors of the topic not included in the title
Running Title – author’s last name and page number in footer on each page
Background (of the topic in general and how it
relates to space flight) ~1-2 pages
Summary
(review of current understanding per literature cited) ~2 – 3 pages
Critique /
Suggestions for future research (your $0.02 worth goes here) ~0.5 – 1 page
Bibliography
(not included in 5 page limit)
Include at least 2 independent research teams in your
references. (i.e.
do not use 5 articles all from the same person or group as your only source of
information.)
Use the following example formats to cite your references
where they appear in the text and list them alphabetically by first author’s
last name in bibliography as shown:
#
Authors As cited in the text
one Doe (2001) showed that mice are dehydrated in space.
Mice have been shown to become
dehydrated in space (Doe, 2001).
two It was determined by Jones and Smith (1992) that space flight is risky.
Space flight has been determined
to be risky (Jones and Smith, 1992).
3 or more Schmoe
et al. (1997) reported that the astronauts were fatigued.
It was reported that the
astronauts were fatigued (Schmoe et al., 1997).
Doe, J.
(2001): “The effects of space flight on people”. J.
Space Flight Res. 15(2): 44-49.
Jones, D. and
Smith, J. (1992): “Space flight alters humans”.
Acta Astronautica,
12: 34-37.
Schmoe, J., Jones, D., Smith, J. and Doe, J. (1997):
“Influence of gravity on humans”.
Johnson and Fields (eds.): Fundamentals of Space Flight Research.
Every journal specifies required guidelines for authors. Some are more stringent than others. Nature and Science are two of the more prestigious journals in the literature. Check out their author instruction websites below (for fun only) to get an idea of what is involved in submitting an article to either of them for publication…
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