Instructions
Although you already have an article written as part of your paper, in the real world, the Extended Summary is the last item that we write. In this assignment, you will write an Extended Summary for your paper. This Extended Summary will be longer (400- 500 words) than the abstract that you have already written and must follow the structure indicated below.
Provide a <500 word Extended Summary of your review research paper with the following structure below. Construct your Extended Summary by extracting sentences from your completed review, and then editing them to make a coherent and seamless piece of writing.
Without providing headlines, divide your summary in seven (7) sections:
1. Importance/Introduction:
Write one to two sentences of how your topic relates to a bigger field and/or why it is important to talk about it. The sentences should be comprehensible to a general scientific audience. Do not include jargon.
Example: If my topic is development of bird duets (it would be very specific and not attractive to a broad audience if I jump right to talk about bird duets), I could start with:
“Vocal communication is vital in many animal species, including humans.”
With this sentence, I am bringing in people interested in communication (not just duetting) AND I am saying that it might be of importance to our own species.
I will avoid mentioning concepts like “duet codes” in these sentences, because few people know what they are. Even other biologists might not know what I am talking about (duetting jargon).
2. Background:
Write one or two facts that are known about your research topic. You must make sure the information presented is accurate, comprehensible to scientists in related disciplines and are key for the reader to understand the rationale and motivation of your study.
Example: (remember I just said that vocal communication is very important)
“For instance, birds use vocal communication, in the form of calls and songs to defend territories and attract mates (FACT 1). There are some bird species, especially in tropical regions, in which both the male and females sing coordinately to form duets (FACT 2).”
I am still avoiding jargon, because non-bird people should understand what I am saying without searching obscure words. I am not saying anything that could be an opinion or that is inaccurate.
3. Problem statement:
Describe in one or two sentences the current gap(s) in our understanding of this field. The problem should be connected with the facts you just stated.
Example:
“Ample research has been done about the ontogeny of songs in species in which only the male sings, finding that songbirds learn to sing during early development in a similar way that humans learn to speak. However, it is still unknown if duetting birds learn the additional skills required to duet during the early stages of their lives.”
In the first sentence, I connect my two facts with the problem, in the second I state the problem that I will address in the study.
4. Hypothesis or Objective:
Write the main objective of the research/project. Your main objective should be to FILL the gap you stated there is. If you have multiple secondary objectives, state them all. Your objective(s) must be feasible. Your objective(s) should also contain the appropriate action verb(s). For reviews: You should state a purpose statement for all subsections of the review.
You can find an extensive list of possible action verbs in this website:
Action Verbs List
Example: remember gap = development of duetting skills in songbirds.
“In this review, I highlight (action verb) three key features of song learning—neuroendocrine control mechanisms, timing and life history stages of song acquisition, and the role of social factors in song selection and use—that have been elucidated from species where only males sing, and compare these with duetting species. I summarize (Second action verb) what is known about song learning in duetting species and then provide several suggestions for fruitful directions for future research.”*
*Modified from: Rivera-Cáceres, K. D., & Templeton, C. N. (2019). A duetting perspective on avian song learning. Behavioural processes, 163, 71-80.
Important note (applies to instructions 2-4)- if you struggle to figure out what statements to use to explain the facts, problem and solution proposed, use the following resource:
"And, But, Therefore" Statement | SESYNC
The post explains the ABT (And, But, Then) method as a compelling way to tell a story, The main structure is:
[This is true and observable] and [this is true and observable OR this data exists], but [problem statement], therefore [this is how we are addressing the problem]
Example:
[birds sing to attract mates and defend territories] and [some birds perform duets] but [not a lot is known about how duets develop] then [I will compare what we can learn from development studies in non-duetting birds and propose new research avenues]
5. Sources reviewed Methods:
Write one sentence with a general description of the literature surveyed including the time period and type of articles and the categorization of literature into subtopics.
Example: “To perform this review, I surveyed 10 research papers published between 1990 and 2020, including three reviews.”
6. Results:
Write 3-5 sentences stating the major trends observed across the literature search from each subtopic. The major trends must correspond to the original objectives of the review.
Example:
“Regarding neuroendocrine control mechanisms, it seems that in oscine birds, brain nuclei and hormone regulation of song repertoire acquisition are similar in non-duetting and duetting species. However, only one study has addressed the neural regulation of vocal interactions, showing that the brains of duetting birds are able to store more than the individual’s own vocalizations unlike non-duetting birds. Regarding social factors in song selection and us, both song repertoire and song interaction rules seem to be acquired during early development through experience. But it seems that many of the vocal interaction rules can be modified during adulthood. I propose that an obvious direction for future research would be to increase the scope of research to examine many of the above topics from the perspective of female song.”
Remember objectives: highlight three key features of song learning and summarize what is known about song learning in duetting species.
7. Broader impacts:
Provide 1-3 sentences of how the compiled results contribute to the field and society or how the review provides a foundation for future research.
“This review is the first to compare the research available on ontogeny of song in duetting vs non duetting birds. I delve in the multiple gaps in duetting literature and the possible methods that can be used to address these gaps. I conclude that focusing research efforts on duetting species could significantly advance our understanding of vocal learning in birds and further cement the importance of avian species as models for understanding human conversations and the processes of vocal learning more broadly.”
Overall format and writing style:
You should use proper grammar and correct spelling. Avoid using jargon or define all uncommon terms. If you use acronyms, provide a description for them. You should mainly use active voice throughout your summary, unless you need to use passive voice to emphasize a particular point.
Example of passive voice: “Ample research has been done about the ontogeny of songs in species in which only the male sings, finding that songbirds learn to sing during early development in a similar way that humans learn to speak.”
I used passive voice here because I am trying to emphasize the ample research that scientists have performed, and not the scientists that performed the research. All other sentences are using active voice.
You should follow formatting guidelines consistent with the full document/paper
Because extended summaries accompany the full paper and all the information comes from the full paper, extended summaries do not have a reference section. Also, by convention, extended summaries do not include in-text citations since they are intended to be short.
Full example of review summary:
Word count: 403
Vocal communication is vital in many animal species, including humans. For instance, birds use vocal communication, in the form of calls and songs to defend territories and attract mates. There are some bird species, especially in tropical regions, in which both the male and females sing coordinately to form duets. Ample research has been done about the ontogeny of songs in species in which only the male sings, finding that songbirds learn to sing during early development in a similar way that humans learn to speak. However, it is still unknown if duetting birds learn the additional skills required to duet during the early stages of their lives. In this review, I highlight three key features of song learning—neuroendocrine control mechanisms, timing and life history stages of song acquisition, and the role of social factors in song selection and use—that have been elucidated from species where only males sing, and compare these with duetting species. I summarize what is known about song learning in duetting species and then provide several suggestions for fruitful directions for future research. To perform this review, I surveyed 30 research papers published between 1990 and 2020, including three reviews. Regarding neuroendocrine control mechanisms, it seems that in oscine birds, brain nuclei and hormone regulation of song repertoire acquisition are similar in non-duetting and duetting species. However, only one study has addressed the neural regulation of vocal interactions, showing that the brains of duetting birds are able to store more than the individual’s own vocalizations unlike non-duetting birds. Regarding social factors in song selection and us, both song repertoire and song interaction rules seem to be acquired during early development through experience. But it seems that many of the vocal interaction rules can be modified during adulthood. I propose that an obvious direction for future research would be to increase the scope of research to examine many of the above topics from the perspective of female song. This review is the first to compare the research available on ontogeny of song in duetting vs non duetting birds. I delve in the multiple gaps in duetting literature and the possible methods that can be used to address these gaps. I conclude that focusing research efforts on duetting species could significantly advance our understanding of vocal learning in birds and further cement the importance of avian species as models for understanding human conversations and the processes of vocal learning more broadly.
