Students are often faced with the challenge of writing research papers in which they need to reference multiple sources and provide a properly formatted works cited list (bibliography) at the end, all while avoiding plagiarism. To address this need the Biology Department developed a module for the required sophomore seminar course that teaches students how to handle in-text citations, works cited lists and the use of bibliographic databases.

To encourage students to learn how to integrate information from different sources without plagiarizing, students are provided with several different short “articles” about the Biology Department and asked to create a paragraph that combines information from at least three of the sources.  The students are asked to use appropriate in-text citations.  Then, the students must complete a series of works cited lists for their paragraph that follow three different formats so they will learn about the differences in style and will recognize the different components of a citation.

Finally, the students are taught how to use Zotero, a free bibliographic database that is capable of generating in-text citations and works cited lists, automatically formatted to the specifications of common journals.  They must search for a citation, import it into a shared database and use the program to generate sample citations.  These skills should serve them well both in future classes and in their careers as scientists.

Submitted by: Sara Morris, PhD, associate vice president, academic affairs

So, how does the presidential race look to you now?  Does Trump have a clear path to the nomination?  Is there any way for Bernie to stop Hillary?  And what does all this mean for the general election?

John Sides, PhD, associate professor of political science at George Washington University, will explain tonight at 7 p.m. in the Grupp Fireside Lounge. His lecture, entitled “Who Will Win the White House? How to Understand the Unpredictable 2016 Campaign,” is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event is presented by The William H. Fitzpatrick Chair of Political Science Lecture Series.

The 2016 presidential primary has flummoxed political observers and even some of the candidates themselves. How can we make sense of such an unpredictable campaign season?  By drilling into the data, Sides tries to explain Hillary Clinton’s dominance, the Republican Party’s disarray and Donald Trump’s long tenure at the top of the polls. The results will help illuminate how we choose presidential nominees, and who might next occupy the White House.

Sides studies public opinion and American elections.  He is the co-author of a book about the 2012 campaign, The Gamble. Sides helped found and contributes to The Monkey Cage, a political science blog that is now part of The Washington Post. He has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post’s Wonkblog, CNN, The Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Salon, Boston Review and Bloomberg View.

For more information, contact the Office of Public Relations at Ext. 2790.

Submitted by: Public Relations

Looking to watch a great women’s lacrosse game? Then stop by the Demske Sports Complex today as your Golden Griffins (2-2) hosts the fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals (7-1) at 4:00 p.m.

It’s a rare treat to have the opportunity to see a team ranked this highly visit the Canisius campus. Louisville already owns wins over Notre Dame and Northwestern and is coming off their only loss of the season at Duke. Your Griffs have split their first four games this season however, they are the favorites to win the MAAC crown.

There is no admission charge for the game. For additional information, visit www.GoGriffs.com.

Submitted by: John Maddock, associate athletic director, external affairs

This Sunday, March 20, the Fine Arts/Music program, along with ArtsCanisius, presents the Spring Student/Faculty Recital at 3:00 p.m. in the Montante Cultural Center.  The concert features a wide variety of music for piano, voice and piano, and percussion by Accurso, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Handel, Liszt, Monteverdi, Mozart and Torelli.

Student performers include pianists Victoria Erdman, Miyoko Ito, Owen Liu, Benjamin Parlato and Henry Welsby; vocalists Michael Alessi, Devon Bradley, and Kayla Goodman; and percussionists Rommie Arringiton, Amayia Campbell, Taryn Jessen, James Pokomowski, and Kevin Pryles.

Faculty performers include percussionist Bob Accurso and pianists Frank Scinta and Melissa Thorburn.  This concert is free and open to the public.

Submitted by: Ellen Barnum, director, ArtsCanisius