These are papers we will be reading and reviewing.

Week 1, September 2

First Class - get to know you meeting. We will read and discuss this short essay on communication of science. (Click here to download) and a second essay by a congressman (Click here to download)

Week 2, September 9

Discussion of the publication and peer-review process and "how to" for reviewing papers. 1. Read and be prepared to discuss these letters about the peer review process and come to class ready to argue for or against anonimity! (download PDF) and 2. Read this paper about how to write really bad papers (download PDF)

Week 3, September 16

Abstracts - for papers and for professional meetings
A. Read these two views of how what an abstract should contain and be ready to dicuss whether you agree or disagree with the authors.
The Abstract by Dr. Margaret Procter. download PDF
Down to Earth" Research Advice by Dr J. Mark Tippett. download PDF

B. Read the two abstracts below, one of which I prepared for the small meeting I attended in London and the other of which Lee Corbett (once a UVM MS student, back now with us for her doctorate) prepared for the 2010 GSA meeting in Denver. Come to class with a series of notes ready to discuss how these two abstracts differ and what information they were designed to communicate.
Using in situ cosmogenic 10Be to understand deglaciation timing and glacial erosion efficiency near Jakobshavn Icefjord, Western Greenland by Corbett et al. download .doc
Three decades tracing erosion and sediment with cosmogenic nuclides - where do we go next? by Bierman et al.. download PDF

C. Write an abstract (200 words or less!) about either the project you are working on now or a project you have done in the past. Bring 10 copies to class. We will read, compare and discuss these abstracts in class.

Week 4, September 23

This week we will look at the review process through the lens of a paper that's been through the cycle twice (and isn't done yet!). This is a paper of mine. It was submitted to the journal (Geology) back in the spring, was rejected with an invitation to resubmit, was resubmitted and just came back for revision this week. Please do the following.

1. Read the Geology web page and familiarize yourself with the journal http://geology.gsapubs.org . Who does it serve? What is its mission? Make sure to read the Author Information page and the Ethical Guidelines.

2. Read our original submission, the reviews along with the editor's letter rejecting the paper. Download these as a packet by clicking here.

3. Read our response to reviewers, the revised submission, the reviews of the revised submission along with the editor's letter suggesting moderate revision, a review as a PDF, and Download these as a packet by clicking here.

4. Be prepared to discuss: how the review process worked, the tone and content of each review, how we responded to the reviewers, and the way in which the editor wrote the cover letters.

Week 5, September 30

Review of Paul and Lee's draft NSF proposal. This week we will be reading and reviewing a proposal that Paul and Lee are submitting to the National Science Foundation. Please do the following:

1. Please read the RFP for the program to which we are submitting. You can download by clicking here.

2. Please read the proposal and mark up to improve grammar, logic, and structure as you see fit. Check to make sure the proposal is compliant with the instructions in the RFP. Please download the entire proposal by clicking here.

3. Prepare an NSF style review using the template you will find by clicking here. Please type out your responses which should be at a few sentences per question and include evidence to support your assessment.

Week 6, October 7

Review of paper by Matt Vaughan, Local and watershed controls on large wood storage in a mountainous stream network
There are three files Matt has provided. Please click on links to download each, read the reviews, and read and edit the paper being ready to offer suggestions for what he should do next.

Round 2 reviews click here to download

Round 3 reviews click here to download

Round 3 submission click here to download

Week 7, October 14

Review of Ariana's paper, Impacts of engagement with community supported agriculture on human attitudes towards the sustainable food movement. A few reminders about what I said in class today:

It's taken from my thesis so be wary of flow, structure, and chunks that may just not make sense.
It is LOOOOONG, I apologize. There are things I am considering on taking out but I want to hear what you guys think should be taken out. The journal I will be submitting to main focus is food systems, and agriculture... so that is my main audience. I have supplementary materials but don't think it is needed in this case since the models and figures in the writing can get you by. Mainly, want you to focus on the writing.

Here are the two journals I was looking at, order matters. The first one is the one I think I am most interested in.

The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development click here to see journal home page

Agriculture and Human Values click here to see journal home page

To download manuscript as .docx file click here

Week 8, October 21

NO CLASS, Paul at NSF

Week 9, WEDNESDAY October 28

Review of GSA talks and posters Read these ideas about posters download PDF

Week 10, WEDNESDAY November 4

NO CLASS, Paul at annual Geological Society of America meeting

Week 11, November 11

Review of paper by Nicole, entitled COMPARISON OF INDIRECT ESTIMATES OF LEAF AREA INDEX FOR INTENSIVELY MANAGED DOUGLAS-FIR. She is providing us a working draft of a paper from her master's work that she's hoping to submit for publication. The targeted journal is the Canadian Journal of Forest Resources which can be accessed by clicking here

To download manuscript click here for the .doc file

Week 12, November 18

This week we'll be looking at another paper with a long history. This paper was first submitted to Nature in February 2014. It was returned in March with comments which we addressed and then resubmitted. It was rejected in late April 2014. Since then, we've made more measurements, done more modeling, and been rewriting over and over. It's not there yet but will be good to have you all take a look at where it is now. I provide below three versions of the paper, the two sets of reviews, and our response to the initial reviews as well as the instructions to authors.

Nature instructions to authors download PDF
Initial submission download PDF
Revised submission, reviews, and response to reviews download PDF
Rejection letter download PDF
Upcoming submission download .docx

Week 13, November 25

NO CLASS, Thanksgiving

Week 14, December 2

Review of paper by Kathryn Wrigley entitled: "An Ecological Assessment of Gladed Ski Trails at Bolton Backcountry in Bolton, VT"

To download manuscript as .docx file click here

The targeted journal is the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration which can be accessed by clicking here

Week 15, December 9

Cookie swap and review of paper by Insu Koh entitled, Ecology and economics of alternative native bees for almond pollination

To download manuscript as .docx file click here

The targeted journal is Ecological Economics which can be accessed by clicking here