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Frequently Asked Questions
Content
What is a Journal Club?
Webster's defines a Journal Club as "a group of individuals who meet regularly to critically evaluate recent articles in scientific literature."
In layman's terms, a member of the division staff gives an informal 20-minute presentation on a paper of his/her choice, presumably a subject of potential value to the division. Participants, having read the paper during the preceding week, share their views concerning the merit of the study, the statistics employed, the writing style, the validity of the conclusions, their usefulness, etc, and whether these results might lead to new research or new applications. In some cases, we might attempt to synthesize together the results of several papers from prior meetings.
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What's in it for me?
- Become more familiar with the advanced research in your field.
- Become a more critical, discerning reader of technical reports, and apply those skills to strengthen your own writing and ARC-310 reviews.
- Improve your skills in understanding and debating current topics of active interest in your field.
- Engage in regular, civil, technical interchanges on a wide variety of topics with your personable, witty and impressively good-looking colleagues.
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How does it work?
The AF Journal Club is proposed to operate on a 3-week cycle, beginning with a reading assignment and ending with a 1-hour gathering of the club to review and discuss the paper.
- An annual Journal Club calendar is developed to identify the date and leader (a.k.a. "stuckee") of each Journal Club gathering. In this way, everyone can plan ahead for their slot.
- AF Journal Club gatherings take place from 11:45am to 12:45pm every third Tuesday (nominally). BYO Lunch: You're encouraged to bring a sack lunch or get take-out.
- One week prior to the next gathering, the assigned leader announces his/her choice for the next reading selection, presumably on a subject of potential value to the division. The leader posts the paper (or a read-ahead on the selected subject) to this website for easy distribution. Papers selected may be of any quality; low-quality papers are often instructive. If, due to an unavoidable schedule conflict, the assigned leader cannot present on his/her date, it is their responsiblity to find someone to switch dates with.
- Members are expected to read the posted material during the ensuing week in order to foster a meaningful technical interchange at the next gathering.
- The leader prepares an informal 20-minute presentation summarizing the selected paper. Presentations typically review the motivation, approach, findings, and significance of the selected paper, and may also cite perceived strengths and weaknesses of the work. However, any format and content are welcome. These presentations are meant to be informal, without a lot of fancy PowerPoint-ness. The emphasis should be on conveying the knowledge and having an interaction. Presenters should focus on the substance and not the style.
- Meeting day: The group convenes, and the leader delivers his/her presentation. Participants voice their views concerning the merit of the study, the statistics employed, the writing style, the validity of the conclusions, etc. Even if the results of the study are seen as valid, there might be a discussion of how useful the results are and whether these results might lead to new research or new applications. There could be an attempt to synthesize together the results of several papers, even if some of these results might first appear to contradict each other.
- Return to step 3 and repeat.
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