The Reflection sections of each lesson will challenge you to apply the concepts you're learning about scientific writing and the scientific process to your own life.

You're probably familiar with popular magazines on topics related to health, fitness, and diet. Through this course, you'll also be introduced to a number of primary sources. It is important to understand the differences between primary and secondary literature and be able to distinguish between these two sources.

Primary literature refers to the reporting of original research. In scientific disciplines original research primarily takes the form of articles published in scholarly journals. When looking for a primary research article, look for sections labeled "Methods" and "Results." These are articles that report data.

Secondary literature refers to materials that synthesize, repackage, or reference the primary research. Examples of secondary literature include articles published in popular periodicals such as Scientific American and news magazines such as Newsweek. Scholarly literature reviews, indexes, and reference books are also examples of secondary literature.

Q. What secondary sources do you use to get information about your interests and hobbies? What kinds of primary sources do you think the information in those secondary sources is based upon?