Science & Medicine

Examples SciMed

Example 1 for Science & Medicine

In the box there is an excerpt from page 207 from the article:
Rovio, S., Kåreholt, I., Helkala, E.-L., Viitanen, M., Winblad, B., Tuomilehto, J., Soininen, H., Nissinen, A. & Kivipelto, M. (2005) Leisure-time physical activity at midlife and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Lancet Neurology vol. 4:11, pp.705-711.

After that you can see how two students have integrated information from the excerpt into their own texts. In the text the abbreviation AD is used for Alzheimer’s disease. The marking […] indicates that part of the text has been excluded. Please notice that the reference list is not included in the example. It should contain the complete reference for the source, in this example according to the Harvard-style.

Excerpt

Individuals participating at least twice a week in a leisure-time physical activity had 50% lower odds of dementia compared with sedentary persons. The association was somewhat stronger for AD than for overall dementia; those in the active group had 60% lower odds of AD compared to those in sedentary group, even after adjusting for a wide array of potential confounding factors. […] Our results indicate that regular leisure-time physical activity at midlife may be protective against dementia and AD later in life. These findings may have wide implications for preventive health care; if an individual adopts an active lifestyle in youth and at midlife, this may increase their probability of enjoying both physically and cognitively vital years later in life.

Student text 1
A Swedish-Finnish research-group has shown that regular physical activity in the middle-age can lower the risk of getting dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by 50% and 60%, respectively. Their results may have wide implications for preventive health care. If a person adopts an active lifestyle in youth and in the middle age, this may increase his probability of getting physically and cognitively vital years when he gets old.

Is this a correct paraphrase?
No, the student has not given the original authors credit with a text reference. Even if the reporting words A Swedish-Finnish research-group has shown… shows that the information comes from an external source, a text reference is also needed to indicate the source reffered to. You can either use a note or an author-date reference, depending on which citation style you are using. Furthermore, the second and third sentences are almost identical to the last sentence in the original text, only a few words have been changed. It is better to try to summarize also this part in one’s own words. If you would like to keep an original sentence like this, you must show that it is a quote by using quotation marks.

Student text 2
A Swedish-Finnish research-group (Rovio et al. 2005) has shown that regular physical activity in the middle-age can lower the risk of getting dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by 50% and 60%, respectively. They suggest that the results may be important for preventive health care: “These findings may have wide implications for preventive health care; if an individual adopts an active lifestyle in youth and at midlife, this may increase their probability of enjoying both physically and cognitively vital years later in life” (Rovio et al. 2005, p. 710).

Is this a correct paraphrase?
Yes, the student has summarized most of the text in the first sentence. In the second sentence, the part that is taken verbatim from the source is marked with quotation marks. The original authors are given credit with text references in the Harvard-system. Since the student has used a verbatim quotation the text reference must include a page number, in addition to author and publication year. Note that in most citation styles using the author name in the text reference, you do not have to write all the authors in the text reference if they are more than three. Instead you write the name of the first author, followed by et al. (= and others).

Example 2 for Science & Medicine

The following text comes from an article discussing the risks with xenotransplantations, i.e. when organs or tissues from a donor of one species are transplanted to a recipient of another species (e.g. from pig to human).

In the box there is an excerpt from page 207 from the article:
Günzburg WH, Salmons B. Xenotransplantation: Is the risk of viral infection as great as we thought? Mol Med Today. 2000;6:199-208.

After that you can see how two students have integrated information from the excerpt into their own texts. The marking […] indicates that part of the text has been excluded. Please notice that the reference list is not included in the example. It should contain the complete reference for the source, in this example according to the Vancouver-style.

Excerpt

[…] there is a certain level of risk of viral infection associated with xenotransplantation, and caution is warranted to prevent the emergence of new diseases, but it is difficult to quantitate these risks. In view of the enormous potential benefits associated with xenotransplantation, and the fact that no further progress can be made in the absence of further experimentation, it would be unwise to discontinue work in this area. The most probable candidates for viruses that could be a danger to society are those that show good infectivity and are difficult to contain, namely the persistent viruses with a long latency period. Thus, it is imperative that xenotransplanted patients are centrally registered and closely followed for health- and virus-status to detect emerging viruses over extended periods. A battery of screening tests, based on our considerable knowledge of potentially zoonotic agents, as well as of physiological changes associated with viral infections in general, are essential to minimize potential risks to society, at least at present.

Student text 1
Xenotranplantations can bring about the emergence of new viral diseases. Care must be taken to avoid the spread of new diseases, but the actual risks are hard to estimate. However, the immense range of possible benefits associated with xenotransplantations, makes it wise to continue research in this area. Furthermore, without research there will be no more progress. Viruses that show good infectivity and are difficult to contain, i.e. persistent viruses with a long latency period, are the most likely candidates to become a threat to society. It is therefore essential that information on xenotranplanted patients is kept in a central register, and that their health- and viral-status is closely followed over extended periods of time, in order to detect emerging viruses(1).

Is this a correct paraphrase?
No, the student rearranged some of the sentences and changed a few words, but most of the original wording was kept and the structure of the original text was closely followed. Even though there is a text reference in the Vancouver-style at the end of the paragraph, the text is quite long, and the reader can not be certain that everything comes from the source or if part of the text is the writer’s own thinking. If you do not want to cut down on the text, and if you feel that you need to stay close to the original text, it is better to make a block quote of the whole passage. If you decide to do that, do not forget to comment on it, to show the reader your own opinion and the reason why you included the quote. Usually, however, it is better to try to summarize the original text and change it into your own words. In doing so, using reporting words is a way of making it clear to the reader which parts come from another source. Some examples of reporting words: according to/as reported by/as argued by/they conclude/they suggest.

Student text 2
Günzburg and Salmons(1) argue that the benefits of xenotransplantations are big enough to justify further research, in spite of the potential risks. To avoid the spread of new viral diseases, they suggest a comprehensive, long-term screening program for treated patients.

Is this a correct paraphrase?
Yes, the student has summarized the information with his own words. The source is properly credited, and the reporting words (…argue…/…they suggest…) clearly show which parts he got from the source. The content of a summary naturally depends on how you are going to use it. You should focus on the information that is vital to your own argumentation, without omitting anything that would change the interpretation.