BNFo 591 
Subcommittee on Genetic Modification
Staffers: Topic Definition
Spring 2019 

Your representatives will be writing portions of the regulatory guidelines in three areas: In each case, the first step is to define interesting topic, one that is appropriate for the final report, and to marshall your resources. The topic may be quite narrow but sufficiently substantial that it warrants the full attention of your representative. One criterion on whether it is substantial is how many pertinent research articles can serve as the basis of a discussion of the topic.

Prepare a brief description of a topic, perhaps a paragraph, defining its scope and its interest. Supplement this with an annotated bibliography of research articles. If (for your own uses) you want to include non-research articles (review articles or news accounts), feel free, but be certain to label them as such.

Each entry to the bibliography should be a complete reference, including author(s), title, journal, volume, and pages. So long as this information is present, the format is unimportant, though it would be kind to use the same format throughout. It would also be helpful to include a URL for the resource, though sometimes (e.g. books), this is not possible. Follow each reference with a brief description (perhaps one or two sentences) of at least one pertinent experiment from the article and what it contributes to your topic.

Finally, describe the methods you used to search for references, in sufficient detail that someone else could replicate your search and reach the same references you found. If the topic is an area of controversy (and most will be), then it is important to ensure that you have sought evidence that represents all reasonable perspectives on the question.