Homework 1

Your submission should be typed. You may either attach a file of the appropriate format OR copy-and-paste your submission into the “Write Submission” portion of the assignment. Do not write in “Comments” field toward the bottom. Submissions in “Comments” field will be treated as late submissions.

Instructions:

On page 137 of the book you’re reading from this week, in a later chapter, “Chapter 5: What’s Bad Science? Who Decides? The Fight over Secondhand Smoke,” our authors, Oreskes and Conway, mention the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), calling it “weighty.” In fact, it is one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world. Your task for this assignment is to answer the following questions, based on your study of the website for the NEJM. Note: you do not need to use the Merchants book at all for this assignment.

1. What does it take for an author or authors to get a paper accepted for publication in the NEJM? What are the specific steps the author must go through to submit a paper and eventually to have it accepted for publication? Are there any restrictions in place? What?
2. What specifically does the journal do when a paper is submitted by an author for publication? What are its steps? How long does it take?
3. What is the peer-review process like? How is selected? How does the process work? How long does it take? Who reviews what? 

Your submission will be a short, two paragraph or more summary essay addressing all of the above question. There is no need to editorialize. This is a factual, non-judgmental report. Make sure each sentence you write is clear and contributes to answering the above questions only.

You may use one and only one source, the website for the NEJM, some important parts of which are linked to below:

Home: http://www.nejm.org/

Author Center: http://www.nejm.org/page/author-center/home

You should also look around and familiarize yourself with the other parts of the website. You might look for anything about the current editors of the journal, or who the reviewers are. You could look at the FAQ to help. 

Additional Requirements: 

1. Word Minimum = 250 words for body of essay (most word processors, such as Word or Google Docs, have word count features. Make sure you use it. Two letter grades per 100 words below minimum.)
2. Grading is according to the general rubric.
3. Make sure everything is spelled correctly.
4. Make sure prose is clear and free from grammatical errors.
5. Works cited: you do not need a works cited because we are all using the same website. Please indicate, however, what section of the website you’re using when you quote material or summarize material, which will be often. Example (not real): “The NEJM asks reviewers to have Ph.D.’s in their areas of expertise” (“What to Expect”). Notice that the ‘What to Expect’ in quotes mentions a part of the website. No need for page numbers. Just tell me the specific section you got your information from.
6. Again, you are not evaluating the NEJM’s policies and proceedures. Stick to accurate description. You wouldn’t describe it as ‘fair’, ‘excellent’ or ‘great’, or with any other kind of evaluative language. If you have questions, please email me a draft. I’m happy to help.

This assignment contributes to the following course learning outcomes:

2. Identify the kinds of support offered for claims.

3. Identify unstated assumptions in various arguments. 

4. Evaluate the support for claims in terms of acceptability, relevance, sufficiency. 

5. Apply the above skills to extended arguments…