Read the Critical Reading text and raise as many questions as possible about 1 What is the author's purpose in carrying out the survey?Do you think the three reasons the author offered are valid? 2 Do you think that the methods are appropriate to the objective of the study?And can you suggest better alternatives? 3 The survey was conducted among students in Norway.Would the same conclusion be reached if you should conduct the same survey in your university,using the same 10 questions? 4 Do you agree with the author that our misconception of radiation is often derived from the mass media?What do you think of the role the mass media plays in our knowledge? 5 Do you believe the knowledge of science like radiation and genetically modified foods will infuence the considerations and judgments? 52 Read the final section(Paras.23-28)of the Critical Reading text and raise as many questions as possible about the validity and reliability of:1)the conclusion of the study;2)the reasons and evidence behind;3)the methods and approaches used;4)the explanations offered for the results;and 5)the suggestions made.Then compare your questions with the questions below and try to answer them 1 What is the conclusion of the author? } What reason does the author offer to support the concusion 4 Do you think the reason is valid and the evidence is sufficient? 5 Do you think the constructivist approach can adequately explain the inconsistency etween the lay model and the expert mode? 6 What explanations would you offer for the gap mentioned above? 7 Why did the past efforts to bridge the gap tend to fail? 8 Does the present study prove that a sufficient level of knowledge has an effect on one's political considerations and judgments?What is the evidence? 9 What would happen if you change the method of the study(questionnaires and interviews)or the samples (the students)? 10 How can rational decisions and personal well-being be secured in your opinion? What suggestions does the author offer?o you agree that schools and should offer the courseSTS(Science,Technology and 12 Is the proposal reasonable that factual information and political considerations should be combined into the curriculum and classroom? 13 Have you mastered the skills of critical questioning listed on Page 20 and can you apply them when you read and evaluate an article? UNIT1 Choosing a Topic 21
Doing research projects 5 Watch Lecture 1 and answer the questions. 1 What agents are mentioned in the lecture that could attack the DNA? 2 How do the cells repair themselves after the DNA damage? 3 What is the difference between determinist effects and stochastic effects? 4 Why would the radiothe 5 rapy cause a second cancer? What principle is the radiation protection based on? Watch Lecture 1 again.Search for more lectures and articles about radioactivity and radiation and brainstorm some research questions which you can answer by doing research(e.g.,reading more reference articles or conducting surveys using questionnaires or interviews). Divide the class into five or six groups.Each group is to choose one of the research topics listed below.Search for a minimum of three related articles about radioactivity and ra 1 A survey of the knowledge of Chinese university students as laypeople about radioactivity and radiation.Use the ame questionnaires as that in the Critical Reading text. 2 A survey of laypeople's understanding of radioactivity and radiation,or a study of laypeople's attitude toward building nuclear power plants. 3 An investigation of the accident of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.What happened?What are the serious effects? 4 An investigation of the Chernobyl accident.What happened and what effects has it produced,both physically and psychologically? 5 A study of the advantages of building nuclear power plants. 6 A study of the potential dangers to health or environment a nuclear power plant may 7 A study of iodine-131,plutonium-239,caesium-137,and strontium-90.How do they produce harmful effects on health? 2EAP学术英语理工（第二版
Academic Writing Understanding a research report or paper experiment to understand the nature of gravity,a scientist may take years of systematic investigation to advance the understanding of radiation.According to its definition,research is "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans,culture and society,and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications" In short,scientific research is a systematic way of gathering data,aiming at increasing or revising current knowledge or explaining the nature and the properties of the world by discovering new facts,developing new theories,or reaffirming the results of previous work, solving new or existing problems. In academic studies,students are often required to do project work and write a project-based report or a research paper.Writing a research report or paper is to tu the resultsor findings of your research into written work. Read the Critical Reading text and discuss the following questions. 1 What are the differences between research papers/reports and college essays which you have written in the past in terms of purpose,content,organization and language?List as many of them as possible 2 How many sections does a research pap er contain?What are they?Why should it be divided into"Introduction"Methods"and other sections? 3 How many articles or research papers does the author cite? 4 What are the characteristics of the language of a research paper?Is it formal and objective or informal and subiective? 5 Do you think it is necessary to learn how to read and even write research papers?Why? Read the following article and answer the following questions. 1 How many basic elements are there in a research report or paper?What are they? 2 Why is a good knowledge of previous studies of the topic necessary? 3 Why is the procedures section important? UNIT1 Choosing a Topic 23
4 What are the contents of the discussion section? 5 What are the major requirements of a research paper in terms of style? Research Reports for Technical Writing Wayne Losano Introduction 1 A surprising amount of one's time as a student and professional is spent reporting the results of ones research projects for presentation to teachers,managers and clients.Indeed,without basic research kills and the ability to preser research results clearly and completely,an individua will encounter many obstacles in school and on the job.The need for some ability is felt nearly equally by college students in all fields,engineering and science as well as the humanities. Graduate study often makes great demands on the student's research-writing skills,and most professions continue the demand;education,advertising and marketing.economics and acotined engineering psychologyanthropology,the artsand rice may all require regular reporting of research data. Elements of a research report 2A standard research report,regardless of the field or the intended reader,contains four major sections.These sections may be broken down into a variety of subsections,and they may be arranged in a variety of ways,but they regularly make up the core of the report. Problem Section.The first required section of a research report is the statement of the problem with which the research project is concerned.This section requires a precise statement of the underlying question which the researcher has set out to answer.In this section there should be an explanation of the significance-social,economic,medical,psychological,educational,etc.- of the question;in othe for exampe,the questionWhat is the effec of regular of f foods on the health of the American teenager?"we must explain that the question is thought to have significant relevance to the health of this segment of the population and might lead to some sort of regulations on such foods. 4 A frequent subsection of this problem section is a review of past research on the topic being investigated.This would consist of summaries of the contributions of previous researchers to the question under consideration with some assessment of the value of these contributions. This subsection has rhetorical usefulness in that it enhances the credibility of the researcher by indicating that the data presented is based na thorou of what has been donein the field and,possibly,grows out of some investigative tradition. sProcedures Section.The second major section of a res earch report details,with as much data how the study wascarried out inudes description of any necessary equipment,how the subjects were selected if subjects were used,what statistical 24EAP/学术英语理工（第二版
technique was used to evaluate the significance of the findings,how many observations were made and when,etc.An investigation of the relative effectiveness of various swimming strokes would have to detail the number of swimmers tested,the nature of the tests conducted.the experience of the swimmers,the weather conditions at the time of the tests,and any other factors that contributed to the overall experiment.The goal of the procedures section is to allow the reader to duplicate the experiment if such were desired refute,your findings. 6 Results Section.The third,and perhaps the most important,section of a research report is the presentation of the results obtained from the investigation.The basic rule in this section is to give all data relevant to the research question initially asked.Although,of cou ones natura tendency might be to suppress any findings which do not in some way support one's hypothesis. such dishonesty is antithetical to good research reporting in any field.If the experiments undertaken fail to prove anything.if the data was inadequate or contrary to expectations,the report should be honestly written and be as complete as possible,just as it would be if the hypothesis was totally proven by the research 7 Discussion Section.The final required section of a research report is a discussion of the results obtained and a statement of any conclusions which may be drawn from those results.Of primary interest in technical research reports is the validity of the results as the bases for decisions:Will our planned construction project meet federal environmental guidelines and be approved for building?Will this new program attract skilled personnel to our company? Will this new oil recovery technique be financially feasible?Thus,the discussion section of the research report must evaluate the research results fully:Were they validly obtained?Are they complete or limited?Are they applicable in a wide range of circumstances?The discussion section should also point out what questions remain unanswered and perhaps suggest directions for further research. Style of research reports 8 Research reports are considered formal professional communication.As such,there is little emphasis on a lively style,although,of course,there is no objection to writing that is pleasing and interesting.The primary goals of professional communication are accuracy,clarity,and completeness.The ugh draft of any research report should be edited to ensur that all data is correctly presented,that all equipment is listed,that all results are properly detailed.As an aid to the reader,headings indicating at least the major sections of the report should be used,and all data should be presented under the proper headings.In addition to their function of suggesting to the reader the contents of each section,heading enhance the formal appearance and professional quality of the report,increase to some degree the writer's credibility by reflecting a logical and methodical approach to the reporting process,and eliminate the need for wordy transitional devices between sections. Research data should be presented in a way that places proper emphasis on major aspects of the project.For different readers different aspects will take on different degrees of importance, and some consideration should be given to structuring research reports differently for different audiences.Management,for example,will be most concerned with the results of a UNIT 1 Choosing a Topic 25