---

Task 1.1: Begin Research on Genetically Modified Animals

You and your teammates have been asked to begin research on GM animals. For this task you are exploring the scientific and ethical issues around allergies and genetic modification of animals. Keep track of your research in order to properly cite any works you use for the projects.

Reminder: In your research you may encounter theological or religious arguments, particularly regarding ethics. Remember that you have been asked to not include this line of discussion in any of your deliverables.

The steps below will help you with your task.

Before you begin:

• Download the Project Guidelines from Dr. Woodrow's introduction email. The information in this document will help guide your work and help you determine how to structure your work. You will be expected to meet these guidelines in your work.
  
  
• Review the Resources link (above) to get a feel for what you have available to you.
  
  
• Review the General Skills Resources link (in the left menu), particularly on "Citations/References", to understand what resources are available to you. You may want to refer back to these resources as you conduct your work to help keep track of your research.
  

Overview of your task

Once you're ready to begin, you'll have a number of different steps to complete. The remainder of this guide will provide detailed help on each of your steps, divided into sections. Every step you'll be completing is listed below, linked to further detail on how to complete that task.

Here is the general approach to this task that is recommended:

1. Manage your project - begin by assigning a manager, setting up management documents, and other steps to help your team work effectively.
2. Prepare to conduct a focus group - look ahead to a critical task that you'll be completing later that needs to be planned and set up in advance.
3. Do your research - look into the specific questions that you've been asked to address.
4. Reconvene with your team and submit your work - put together what your team has researched.

Detailed Help

Choose the step you'd like assistance with: (click the item to jump to that section)

• Manage your project
  
  
• Prepare to conduct a focus group
  
  
• Research genetics and biotechnology
  
  
• Research a llergies and pets
  
  
• Research ethics
  
  
• Reconvene with your team
  
  
• Review and submit your work
  

Manage Project (back to top)

Part of your job in this rotation involves working with your team to:

• determine what tasks need to be accomplished
  
  
• assign specific work to individual people
  
  
• monitor what progress has been made
  
  
• keep track of what still needs to be done
  

1. Meet with your team and select a project manager for this part of the rotation. The project manager (PM) is in charge of making assignments and keeping track of the progress of the team. The PM needs to complete other work for this task as part of the team as well. The role of project manager will rotate for each topic (e.g., animals, food, humans), allowing each member of the team to gain experience in this role.
   
   Tip: You may want to review the General Skills Resources link (in the left menu) for information on project management.
   
   
   • The project manager is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the team. Each member of the team also needs to manage their own projects, breaking larger tasks down into smaller components, keeping track of what has been done, what still needs to be done, and prioritizing work accordingly.
     
     
2. Create a status report template to track what needs to be completed and who is responsible for its completion.
   
   
   • See the Resources for this task under “Project Management” for sample status reports to get a feel for how you might construct your status reports. Use the information available to you on project management in the General Skills Resources, and work with the whole team to determine how to structure the status reports for your team (e.g., develop a template for your team, use word document with headings, etc.).
     
     
     • You may adapt one of the example status reports for your team's purposes.
       
       
   • At a minimum, your status report must include the following level of information:
     
     
     • Roles and responsibilities
       
       
     • What decisions have been made
       
       
     • What has been accomplished
       
       
     • What still needs to be accomplished
       
       
     • Any open questions, issues, or obstacles
       
       
   • The project manager needs to submit a status report of the team at the end of this task.
     
     
   • Tip: Although individual status reports are not required, it may be helpful to use similar support materials to help each member keep track of their work.
     
     
3. Review ALL of the emails to clarify your understanding of what is being asked of you. Keep in mind the larger picture and how this task fits into that larger picture.
   
   
4. Your team discussion may identify questions you have about these topics or additional points you want to research to include in the main projects for this rotation. With your team, discuss what needs to be accomplished and who is responsible for each item. Use your status report template to record your decisions as you go. Keep in mind that one area may require more work than others and to divide tasks accordingly. It may be helpful to look through the steps below to get a better feel for what needs to be done.

   Trap: Talking about what needs done without assigning tasks to individuals runs the risk of everyone agreeing something needs to be done but nothing actually happening about it. Make specific assignments to people to help ensure everything gets completed.

   • Break complex tasks into smaller parts to make them easier to manage and complete.
     
     
   • Each member of your team needs to understand each component well enough to conduct a focus group, participate in the debate, and write their final report. It is recommended that each member do some research on each topic and collaborate and discuss the information rather than dividing the work topically (e.g., science and ethics).
     
     
   • There are some parts of this task that everyone must do. Be sure to assign responsibility accordingly.
     
     
   • Make sure to keep track of what tasks you are assigned to make sure you complete them all. You are responsible for answering to the project manager about the tasks you have been assigned.
     
     
   • Your team may need to check in with one another periodically and reassign work to accomplish this task successfully.

Prepare to Conduct F ocus Group (back to top)

You have been asked to start preparations to conduct a focus group to get people’s reaction to the issue of genetically engineering pets. Some of these steps may need to be revisited once your initial research has been conducted. Note: Each member of your team needs to conduct their own focus group, unless otherwise directed by your mentor.

1. Review the Resources link (above) for information on what a focus group is and what’s involved in conducting a focus group.
   
   
• Who you include in a focus group can affect your experience and results. As you look through the Resources, pay attention to points on selection criteria.
  
  
2. Schedule a time and place to hold the focus group, giving the members of the group adequate notice beforehand, and giving yourself enough time to complete research before conducting the session.
   
   
• The focus group needs to be completed by the end of task 1.2. Schedule accordingly based on the Rotation Schedule and discussion with your mentor. Give yourself enough time after the focus group to write up the results while still being able to complete the task on schedule.
  
  
3. Develop selection criteria for your focus group to help ensure members in the group are similar to one another. In order to get good information from a focus group, the people in it must be willing to express their views, and the more different their views are, the less likely they are to state their true opinions.
   
   
• Use your research to develop criteria that are meaningful to the goal of finding people with similar viewpoints.
  
  
  • Example: Gender is unlikely to have significant influence on people’s views of genetic modification and would be a poor criterion.
    
    
  • Example: Using criteria based on current viewpoints of genetic modification by asking a short question such as “Do you currently support the genetic modification of plants?” is more likely to serve the purpose of encouraging discussion in the focus group.
    
    
• Meet with your team to discuss what selection criteria each member plans to use. Your team can get a richer experience and more diverse views if each member uses different criteria. Look for more information on these issues in the Resources link (above). Note: You may have to relax your selection criteria based on who is available for the focus group.
  
  
  • The first three parts of this rotation involves a focus group. If two or more members are interested in using the same selection criteria, compromise and rotate who uses the criteria in each section.
    
    
4. Begin recruiting people to include in the focus group. Make sure you find people who fit your selection criteria and are willing to participate in your focus group.
   
   
• Use your imagination or do research for ways to find people that you may not otherwise know (e.g., with permission, placing a flier at the local library).
  
  
• Although some resources suggest offering an incentive to recruit focus group participants, you do not need to. Do what you can to recruit voluntary participants. If you’re having difficulty finding people, talk with your team or mentor for ideas.
  
  
• If you’re having trouble finding enough people who fit the criteria and are willing to participate, talk to your team as they may have ideas based on their own recruitment. You may need to discuss the issue with your mentor and/or adjust or relax your criteria. Your main goal is to conduct a focus group with 4-6 people, so it is more important to have enough people than to ensure that they meet strict criteria.
  
  Tip: Some people may be willing to participate but do not fit the selection criteria. Explain to them the reason for selection criteria and let them know that additional focus groups will be conducted on similar topics with potentially different criteria. They may be willing to participate in the other focus groups, or they might participate in this group if you relax your criteria.
  
  
5. Develop a structure for your focus group to determine how you are going to conduct it, and what is needed for your chosen structure.

Research Genetics and Biotechnology (back to top)

You have been asked to discuss how a cat could be genetically modified to be hypoallergenic. Note that some of the questions regarding genetics overlap with those on allergies. To accomplish your task, you need to understand some basic information on genetics and genetic engineering. This step is geared towards gaining that basic information. (Note: The steps below assume no prior in-depth knowledge of genetics or biotechnology.)

1. Review the General Skills Resources link (in the left menu) if you haven’t already done so for information on conducting research. Note: You are free to conduct research by any means (e.g., internet, library, experts, etc.). Make sure to evaluate sources of information for things such as bias, authority, and accuracy.
   
   
2. Start by looking at the links under “Genetics” in the Resources link (above). These will help you understand some of the basic genetic concepts and how genetic engineering techniques work.
   
   
   • As you look through the Resources, take note of concepts you encounter that seem relevant to the task at hand or that aren’t clear to you from the information available at those sites. You’ll need to conduct additional research to investigate these concepts more thoroughly.
     
     
3. Do additional research by searching the web. Use the keywords from the notes you took while doing the work above as a starting point.
   
   
   • As you conduct your research, keep track of useful information you find and how it might be used in the various projects you’ll be working on throughout this rotation (e.g., presentation, debate, and final report). Use the method that works best for you.
     
     
   • As you get closer to finalizing projects, the way ideas are organized is likely to change. The focus here is more on what information may be useful regardless of how information will be used or in what order it will be presented.
     
     
   Tip: It may be useful to keep track of the keywords you use to search for information, and what type of results they bring up to help in further research as needed.
   
   
   • Look through the results to see if the sites it brings up have the information you’re looking for. If not, you may try the other steps in this section to refine your search.
     
     
     • Take note of the web addresses for sites that do have useful information you so you can easily return to them later.
       
       
   • Look for commonalities between the sites that are useful, either on genetics generally, or on a specific topic within genetics.
     
     
     • Are there additional terms or different terms used on the sites that seem useful that the less useful sites don’t have? If so, try refining your search to include these terms.
       
       
     • Are there terms that are on the less useful sites that the useful sites don’t have? If so, you can use advanced search features to exclude those terms. Many search engines have links to Advanced Search options with clearly labeled fields.
       
       
4. Refine your search using additional and/or different keywords to find answers to the questions you need to be able to answer. Note that the keywords used for one question or type of question may be different than for other questions.
   
   Tip: If the information your searches return is too complex for what you’re trying to find, try adding keywords to describe that you’re looking for basic information first. As you get a handle on the basic information, the complex sites are easier to understand.
   
   Trap: Genetics is a complex field with a lot of information on different topics. While you’re encouraged to explore things that interest you, don’t lose site of the task at hand and be sure to get your work done so your team can move forward.
   
   
5. Conduct additional research on genetics as needed to get any information you or your team members need to complete this stage of research.
   
   
   • If you’re having difficulty finding useful information on the questions try to think of other ways to describe the problem and try your search again. If you’re still having trouble, contact your mentor for assistance.
     
     
6. Repeat the research process for biotechnology techniques. Keep in mind your audience and the level of detail they are most likely interested in. For the purposes of your presentation, the information can be more theoretical (e.g., changing a gene) than specific (e.g., specific techniques and enzymes). A different audience (such as a group of scientists) would require a different approach.

Research Allergies and Pets (back to top)

You have been asked to compile answers to questions related to genetically modified animals, using allergies and pets as the main example. Note that some of the questions regarding allergies overlap with genetics. For any questions you cannot answer, you need to conduct research. The steps below are intended to assist you in conducting internet research on allergies. (Note: The steps below assume no prior in-depth knowledge of allergies.)

1. Identify the questions you need to answer and any other tasks you need to complete from the emails and from your notes from your team discussion.
   
   
2. Begin by searching for “allergies” in the search engine of your choice. As you read through the information you find, keep your eye out for answers to Congresswoman Barlow’s questions, that address Dr. Woodrow’s points, or that you find informative or useful.
   
   
• As you conduct your research, keep track of useful information you find and how it might be used in the various projects you’ll be working on throughout this rotation (e.g., presentation, debate, and final report). Use the method that works best for you.
  
  
  • As you get closer to finalizing projects the way ideas are organized is likely to change. The focus here is on what information may be useful regardless of how information will be used or in what order it will be presented.
    
    
  Tip: It may be useful to keep track of the keywords you use to search for information, and what type of results they bring up to help in further research as needed.
  
  
• Look through the results to see if the sites it brings up have the information you’re looking for. If not, you may try the other steps in this section to refine your search.
  
  
  • Take note of web addresses for sites that do have useful information you so you can easily return to them later.
    
    
• Look for commonalities between the sites that are useful, either on allergies generally or on a specific topic within allergies.
  
  
  • Are there additional terms or different terms used on the sites that seem useful that the less useful sites don’t have? If so, try refining your search to include these terms.
    
    
  • Are there terms that are on the less useful sites that the useful sites don’t have? If so, you can use advanced search features to exclude those terms. Many search engines have links to Advanced Search options with clearly labeled fields.
    
    
3. Refine your search using additional and/or different keywords to find answers to the questions and points you still need to address. Note that the keywords used for one question or type of question may be different than for other questions.
   
   Tip: If your searches return information that is too complex for what you’re trying to find, try adding keywords to describe basic information first. Once you get a handle on the basic information, the complex sites will become easier to understand.
   
   
4. Conduct additional research as needed to get any other information you or your team members need to complete this stage of research.
   

Research Ethics (back to top)

You have been asked to address the ethical issues regarding the genetic modification of pets in your presentation. To accomplish your task you need to understand basic information on ethics. For questions you don’t already have the answers to, you need to conduct research. (Note: The steps below assume no prior in-depth knowledge of ethics.)

1. Start by looking at the links under “Ethics” in the Resources link (above). These will help you understand what ethics is and some of the ethical considerations involved with the genetic modification of animals.
   
   
• As you look through the Resources, take note of concepts you encounter that seem relevant to the task at hand or that aren’t clear to you from the information available at those sites. You need to conduct additional research to investigate these concepts more thoroughly.
  
  
2. Do additional research by searching the web. Use the keywords from the notes you took while doing the work above as a starting point.
   
   Tip: It may be useful to keep track of the keywords you use to search for information, and what type of results they bring up to help in further research as needed.
   
   
• Look through the results to see if the sites referenced have the information you’re looking for. If not, you may try the other steps in this section to refine your search.
  
  
  • Take note of web addresses for sites that do have useful information you so you can easily return to them later.
    
    
• Look for commonalities the sites that are useful, either on ethics generally, or on a specific topic within ethics.
  
  
  • Are there additional terms or different terms used on the sites that seem useful that the less useful sites don’t have? If so, try refining your search to include these terms.
    
    
  • Are there terms that are on the less useful sites that the useful sites don’t have? If so, you can use advanced search features to exclude those terms. Many search engines have links to Advanced Search options with clearly labeled fields.
    
    
3. Refine your search using additional and/or different keywords to find answers to the questions you need to be able to answer. Note that the keywords used for one question or type of question may be different than for other questions.
   
   Tip: If the information your searches return is too complex for what you’re trying to find, try adding keywords to describe that you’re looking for basic information first. As you get a handle on the basic information the complex sites are easier to understand.
   
   
• If you’re having difficulty finding useful information on the questions try to think of other ways to describe the problem and try your search again. If you’re still having trouble, contact your mentor for assistance.

Reconvene with Your Team (back to top)

1. Meet with your team to discuss the information each person found, any questions or issues the research uncovered, any issues that weren’t fully resolved, what needs to be done to answer those issues, and other points as determined by your team.
   
   
• One of your team members may have found information on a point you classified as an open issue, or you may have answers to their open issues. Engaging in an active dialogue with your teammates about the information you found may help you answer each other’s open questions.
  
  
2. Create a rough outline of the information your team found that may be useful for the presentation.
   
   
• At this stage of research the focus is more on what information you have than the specific order you list it in.
  
  
• See the Resources link (above) for software programs that can help you organize your thoughts and generate outlines.
  
  
3. Project manager only: Update your team status report documenting the progress that was made and what still needs to be accomplished, including how each team member is doing in regards to recruiting their focus group.
   

Review and Submit Your Work (back to top)

1. Review your work
   
   
   • Did you conduct enough research on each topic to be able to answer all the questions you were asked?
     
     
   • Did you identify areas in your research where you need additional information?
     
     
   • Did you begin preparations for their focus group?
     
     
   • Did your team have an active dialogue about the information each member found and a plan to address any open issues that remain?
     
     
   • Did you work with your team to create a rough outline of the information you discovered.
     
     
2. Submit your work
   
   
• Review the checklist located in the Submit Your Work section of this task to ensure completion of the task before submitting your deliverables to your mentor.

---

Tip: Remember how the tasks being worked on during one stage of research fit into the big picture.

Trap: Don't focus so much on the big picture that the details of the current stage of research get left behind.

Tip: There’s a balance between giving enough information on a topic so an audience can understand it, and giving too much information that will either overload an audience, or bore them. Finding the balance may be difficult, but a presentation will benefit from doing so.

Trap: It may be tempting to include information just because appears in multiple sources. Asking “Is this information necessary to understand the topic?” and thoughtfully considering the answer can help you prioritize information. Part of the reason some information appears in multiple places may be because others may not have considered the question.

Trap: Some internet searches don’t seem to return useful information. Don’t get frustrated; take a step back and think of other ways to think about the information.

---

The links below are intended as a starting point for your work. If you are unable to find all the information you need, or if the information here leaves questions you still need to answer, you may need to conduct further research to complete your work. In the event of a broken link, use the description as a starting point to search for similiar links.

While Wikipedia is a valuable resource, unlike some other websites anyone can contribute to or modify the site (whether they're knowledgeable about the topic or not). As a result, the site is subject to constant change by questionable sources. Be sure to cross-check information on Wikipedia with other reputable sites to ensure accuracy.

Ask the Expert

Tell me about genetic engineering.

If people are allergic to cats, couldn’t they just a different animal?

Would making a cat hypoallergenic affect it in other ways?

What other genetic modifications have been done to animals?

What are some of the ethical considerations in genetically modifying an animal?

Note Taking Software

The programs below are intended as examples of software options available and not intended as an endorsement. Other programs may be available.

Free Note-taking Software
An entry from Wikipedia listing and describing note taking software programs that are free.

Inspiration
Constructs concept maps showing the relationship of data using easy to use tools and converts concept maps into outlines. A 30 day free trial is available.

Microsoft One Note
A note taking tool that allows you to easily enter, edit, and reorganize your information. You can enter detailed information and collapse sections to produce a more concise outline. One Note integrates with other Microsoft products allowing you to save your notes in a MS Word document or to send pages from internet explorer to One Note. A 60 day free trial is available or you can test it online.

Project Management

Note: The status report here is included as a starting point. You'll need to adapt the style to fit your team's purposes, as described in the step-by-step guide. There are additional resources on "Project Management" under the General Skills Resources link (in the left menu).

Project Status Report
An example status report with sections for listing tasks, objectives, which things are on target, items that are not yet complete, and what is planned to get the project back on target.

Genetics
Basic Genetics FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions on genetics from the American Medical Association.

Genetic Science Learning Center
An informative site with interactive features, including information on basic genetics, some of the techniques used in biotechnology, and topics related to gene therapy.

DNA from the Beginning
An introduction to genetics including animations, biographies, images, video interviews, and links.

Biotechnology Glossary
Descriptions of common terms used in biotechnology from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ethics

Note: The websites below provide ethical considerations about genetic engineering, but in some cases do so partially from a theological perspective. For the purposes of this rotation do not include theological considerations in your deliverables.

Ethics Overview
An overview of what ethics involves, and the major divisions of ethics, including the perspectives of each.

Ethical Decision Making
An overview of different ethical perspectives and how they differ in determining what is ethical. Be sure to look at “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making” and “Who Counts?” topics. The “Bioethics” and other links on the left may also be of interest.

Genetic Engineering: Animal Welfare and Ethics
A discussion of the different ethical considerations surrounding the genetic modification of animals.

Genetically Modified Animals
D iscussion of ethical issues surrounding the genetic modification of animals. Note: This site is based on a specific ethical perspective with corresponding conclusions. It does discuss the major ethical points involved in the debate. Read accordingly in conjunction with other resources.

Focus Group

Focus Groups
An entry from Wikipedia on focus groups.

Guidelines for Focus Groups
Guidelines for preparing for, conducting, and analyzing a focus group with a specific example to illustrate points.

Focus Group Fundamentals
Information on focus groups, factors that influence the quality of focus groups including the similarity of participants, and what the type of information focus groups produce.

Dos and Don'ts for Focus Groups
Recommendations of things to do in a focus group and common mistakes to avoid.