GENERA tutorial

Why GENERA?

One of the biggest challenges of discussing controversial topics in science is ensuring that information is accurate and easily accessible to be public. In the area of agricultural genetic engineering, public perception is that there is little if any independent research on the risks, yet the scientific literature contains many studies addressing those very questions. The purpose of the GENetic Engineering Risk Atlas (GENERA) is to provide an easily searchable database of those studies.

Each entry in the atlas will include basic information such as title, authors, abstract, and funding sources if available. Many entries will also include an expert summary, funding sources, and impact analysis. An advanced search function will allow a full text search as well as searches for any studies within these categories: study type, crop, location, findings, funding source, and publication status. Some studies that haven’t been peer-reviewed but that are frequently cited in the popular media and by NGOs will be included. This database will be useful for consumers, non-profit organizations, governmental regulatory organizations, and more. Scientists may even find it useful in their own research.

We need your help to get the studies entered and to start the task of creating expert summaries. We hope you’ll join us in helping to make science-based information about genetic engineering easily available to everyone with an internet connection.

1. Getting started

First, register at Biofortified and fill out at least some of your profile (see the Community tutorial for more information). Any GENERA entries you author will have a link to your profile page at the top and a short bio with your picture at the bottom of the entry. This helps improve transparency for people using GENERA as a resource.

Then, you’re ready to request Contributor status. Just contact us via email to indicate your interest. Tell us a little about yourself, such as whether you have any relevant expertise or why you’re interested in helping with this project. If you have any writing samples published online, provide a link. No prior experience is necessary, but let us know why you think you’d be a good GENERA contributor.

You will receive an email once you have Contributor status. In the meantime, check out these two example GENERA entries:

The first is a Quick Entry: Maize gene expression and nitrogen fertilization. It includes basic information, including the Citation, Funding Summary, and Abstract. In the left hand sidebar, details about the study can be found, including Publication Status, Crops Studied, Type of Study, Source of Funding, Country, and Study Findings.

The second is a Full Entry: Long term cow feeding study with Bt corn. It includes all of the information in the quick entry, as well as a Content Summary and Impact Summary.

2. Using the WordPress Visual Editor

There are 3 rows of buttons above each text entry box. The 1st row, next to the text Upload/Insert, can be used to insert images and videos into the post. WordPress accepts many file types, and they have great tutorials on Media, including: Insert Images and Upload Documents.

The 2 rows of buttons below Upload/Insert in the Visual Editor can be used to format text. You can use these buttons to underline, indent, change the text color, and more. Two of the buttons look like little clipboards, one for pasting as plain text and one for text copied from a Word document. The first will strip any formatting from the text you paste in and the second will retain formatting from Word. For a full explanation of the buttons, visit the WordPress Visual Editor support page.

You can also use HTML to edit the text if you would like. Just click on the HTML tab at the upper right hand corner of the text box, or click on Visual to get back to the Visual Editor. Allowed HTML tags are listed at the WordPress support page.

3. Creating a GENERA entry

1. First, make sure the paper you want to enter isn’t already in the database by searching for keywords on the GENERA main page.

2. Log in to Biofortified if you haven’t already and go to the Site Admin page. In the left-hand side bar of the WordPress Dashboard, click on the GENERA button which will open a dropdown menu with an Add New button. Click on Add New.

3. Create a title just below the text “Add New GENERA Entry”. The title should be fairly short yet describe in non-technical terms what the study is about. For example, the study Effects of long-term feeding of genetically modified corn (event MON810) on the performance of lactating dairy cows has a GENERA title of Long term cow feeding study with Bt corn.

4. Do not enter anything into the large text entry box – skip to the section titled Custom Field Template.

5. Cite. Enter the citation, using the following guidelines.

Find the reference in PubMed.

Cut and paste the author names from PubMed. This will automatically bring over the links which point to PubMed searches for each author. If there is no entry on PubMed, enter the author names in order, with last name no comma first letter of first name. The list of authors should end with a period.

Next, paste the full name of the study, and link it to the PubMed page for the study by highlighting the title name in the text box and clicking on the link button. If you need to remove a link, just put your cursor in the link and click the broken link button. The name of the study should only have the first word and any proper nouns capitalized and should end with a period. If the study is not on PubMed, link the title to the most reliable source you can find for that study, where the abstract and possibly full text can be found.

Then, paste or type the name of the journal which appears just above the study title in PubMed. Click on that journal name in PubMed to get a popup box. In that box, click on Journals. The resulting page is the PubMed reference page for that journal. Attach that link to the journal name. End the journal name with a period. If the study is not on PubMed, find the journal on the NCBI Journals database and use that link.

Last, copy and paste the date and end with a period. The date should be in the format: year month day with the month abbreviated.

6. Abstract. Paste the abstract. If needed, use the Select Custom Character button to enter Greek and other characters.

7. Contentsum. Optional. Write a summary of the study in your own words. Short quotes from the study may be used if they are clearly marked as quotes. You may include images from the study as long as you clearly indicate the original source. If you aren’t writing a summary but a summary can be found on a site such as ScienceDaily, paste the title to the article and add a link. Science-based summaries of the study on Biofortified and other blogs can be linked as well.

8. Answer the series of short questions. If you aren’t sure, leave the question blank.

9. Fundsum. Optional. Find the funding source for the study. Often, this information can be found on the first page of the study. Occasionally, the information can be found on press releases or other related material. If you aren’t sure, leave this blank.

Example: This work was financially supported by the Spanish MEC project with ref. AGL2007-65903/AGR. AC received a studentship from the Generalitat de Catalunya (2005FI 00144).

10. Impactsum. Optional. Enter the impact factor of the journal that the paper was found in and the number of times the study has been cited as of the date that you are entering the study into GENERA. Information about the impact factor of a journal can sometimes be found using a search engine but it is often necessary to use a specialized website like Web of Science that only academic institutions have access to. If you can’t find this information, leave it blank.

Example: The Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition is ranked 18 / 49 in Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science and 44 / 141 in Veterinary Sciences. Its impact factor is 1.229, according to ISI Journal Citation Reports in 2009. This article has not been cited as of 29 June 2010.

11. PDF and other media. Optional. Use the Choose File buttons to upload the study and supplementary material only if it is Open Access, such as PLoS, or if it is clearly listed under another open license such as Creative Commons, or if you have received permission from the author or copyright holder. This is also a good place to upload responses to the study from other organizations or scientists. Again, do not upload copyrighted content without permission.

12. Ignore the rest of the boxes at the bottom of the page.

13. You may edit and save your draft(s) to finish them at your leisure. Once an entry is complete, just click on the Submit for Review button. Once your entry has been submitted, email us to let us know so we can review and publish. Occasionally, an editor will email you back to request additional information or other changes. When an editor publishes your entry, they will assign it a date according to when the paper was first published.

14. If you are interested in getting a discussion started on the study you just entered, start a new topic in the Forum.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!