Drafts

Science requires specificity and clarity in order to be properly understood and replicated. For a scientific study to be recognized, the work must be able to be replicated with the same results. This facet of scientific research places importance on the record of how the research in any paper was performed.

----This is the introduction of the introduction section so its general short and to the point. Since Ive noticed its a common suggestion, the last sentance does actually transition to the next paragraph about recording process.
 

Specific Aims Working Draft

Overall objective: To select different Ulmus species for sampling on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in order to obtain data on the leaf mining insects that infest them, as well as to help understand the oviposition habits of these insects.

Specific Aim 1. To sample each species of Ulmus present on the UMass Amherst campus, and to survey them for leaf mining insects. In the preliminary work, leaf miners were found inhabiting a resistant Ulmus americana. This leaf miner is likely to be Stigmella Mulltispicata, however, they are only known to predate on Ulmus pumila. We will attempt to screen a sample of each Ulmus species on campus in order to assess the level of predation and locate possible factors.

Specific Aim 2. 

I am feeling overwhelmed about figuring out how to revise my rough draft of the methods paper. I always used to feel like I was a fairly decent writer but I no longer feel that way. This reminds me of my class I took for ENG 112 at GCC. There was a paper that I had to write about a story that I wasn't that into. I was allowed to redo one paper. The first time around that I did my paper I got a C as my grade. This was after getting solid A's in my last english course so I was surprised to get such a lackluster grade. But not the end of the world. I just redid and resubmitted the paper. Well I also got a C on my second time around and it was very frustrating to me. The professor had very high expectations. My following grades were better but I still didn't see an A. The last writing assignment also included doing some research. I spent DAYS going over this paper. Much of that time was spent sitting paralyzed at my computer trying to figure out where to begin or how to get my point across. The professor looked at my rough draft and said,"Yes!! This is exactly the kind of work I am looking for!". Well it was good to know that there was a way to impress this guy! But the time I needed to perfect that paper was out of the scope of what is usually doable for me. I don't think I am going to be able to make this Methods paper what it needs to be. I actually hate writing classes at this point although I do see their value and the reasons why I need to do them. But math and physics so much more straightforward. I think I prefer that.

I have been struggling with attempting to re-write my methods project paper. The biggest issue is changing the methods is would require an entirely new study. My poorly written methods section is the reason that the figures were not the same, nothing more. However, when I attempt to say this in the discussion I cannot use the correct language to properly describe this. THe 6+ hours that I have spent on my corrections seem to have made it worse (at least what I read) and I find myself returning to my original conclusion that by failing to properly write my methods the entire project is a failure.

The more I write the worse it becomes. The more I try to fix what I wrote the less clear it is. Refering to the book is useless because what the book is saying the comments on my paper are very different. What is the point of the abstrct? It seems that I may have just used the enitre results section instead of a abstract. I guess in my limited education I thought that a summery was not very detailed but just an overview of whats the main article/story was about. Apperantly that is not the case. 

Lets try this again. Today after class I stopped at an elm tree that was on my way to my vehicle. This was a smaller tree about 20 feet tall with a 10 foot crown (aproximatly). The tree seemed healty with no yellowing leaves or limbs without leaves. I did not see any leafminer activity on this tree but I was ony able to clearly see only a few layers of branches. Next I tried to use the campus tree finder to determine what species of tree it was. This is were an issue begain. My phone only wants to connect to the UMASS network. When it is connected I can get absoulty nothing from the internet. So I have to shut my WiFi off and use cellular data. Opening the page took a while and I found that I could not zoom in enough to tell what the tree was that I was stading next to. So hopfuly at least one of the phones in our group will be able to get this information or we will have to rethink out methods for sampling trees. We will need at a miniumn know what the genius of the elm is for our data collection. I was not trying to collect data at this time, this was just a dry run to try determine what complications that we may encounter. 

Today I had a great day. I woke up at 8am. I brushed my teeth and took a shower.  I started my morning off with some delicious Indian chai. After an hour I has eggs and some bread. After I finished eating I worked on my project for my writing class. I wrote some of this during that time. Then, I talked to my parents in India. We had an hour-long conversation. My dad said that he was proud of my progress in school. It made me really happy to hear that come out of my father’s mouth. When a parent expresses how proud they are of you it makes you feel very happy. After I had a long talk with y father I noticed I was running behind on getting ready for class so the first thing I did was to email my professor letting him know that I will be late. I got ready quickly after and took the bus at 12:49pm and came to class. Besides being late for class I had a great day. After class, I went home and relaxed. I watched tv and ate dinner and went for a walk out while listening to music and then spoke to parents. They said “goodnight Riya” and that’s where my day ended and I went to bed. Tomorrow I have to go to this research biology fair.

In science a study must be reproducible in order to be considered valid. As part of a Junior Writing Class, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I conducted a project to understand what affects the reproducibility of experiments. I looked to create a complex multi-panel image, write the methodology, have someone carry out the methods, record the differences, and identify factors that may have contributed to the differences observed. Certain aspects, such as the composition of the figure, were highly documented and detailed, while others, such as equipment used and general details of how the photo was taken, were left out or poorly described. Of the 26 recorded differences, 4 were caused by a change to the expirement site, ....

Abstract:

Background: The Stigmella multispicata was observed for the first time in Russia in 2014. There has been confirmed observations in the US but only in Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila). 

Need: Is this parasite yet another predator of the American Elm (Ulmus americana).

Research: Conformation of the presence of S. multispicata in U. americana by collecting leaves with leafminer activity that is consistant with the S. multispicata. Collect sample larve that can be incubated/grown in a labratory environment into adult form. Confirm that the tree is infact an U. americana. 

Significance: This would be the first observed and confirmed instance of S. multispicata in an U americana.

RESEARCH DESIGN

• Systematically check elm trees throughout campus, develop a sampling system perhaps look at all the leaves on a set number of branches and categorize activity that way? I saw a paper that deemed it necessary to rate the leaves locations from the trunk should we define sections either fractionally or with set distance and catalog that information as well?

• Sample leaves for surface area/ density with procedure from Walczak, which had density weighed on leaves next to leaf miners as to get pre infected values

• Note leaf symmetry on any infected leaf? You have both read that paper and I have not but I feel like we should just be cataloging infected leaves in their general properties as they are the ones that got infected presumably for their structure

• Catalog all data and look to see relationships if any for the various leaf miners and trees?

   

  SPECIFIC AIMS

  To collect data on leaf miners infesting elm trees, this would include trying to identify them in the book, and cataloging them

  To collect general data on elm leaves, this is probably mostly through literature, however, we can still go and make observations 

  To try and discern the causes behind the different leaf miners, with specific interest on the stigmella multispicata and the trees it may or may not have affected, this includes the different types of elms but we may also consider searching the nearby trees for evidence of the miner as well