Skip to main content

Things To Bear In Mind When Researching Food Science

If you are diving deeper into food science and technology, you will have to often conduct deep research. But research will only be beneficial if you can derive authentic and useful information from it. Not everything you find in an online search for food science will have the same value. So, how do you decide which information to retain and which to overlook?

Humberto Ojeda Avila, a food science technician working at Garden Master in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, US, tells us what to remember when researching food science. He shares some great tips from his experience in the field and believes every researcher can benefit from minding these little things.

Understand the different stages of research

Humberto Ojeda Avila says that the first thing every researcher needs to understand is that there are two stages to retrieving information for research – information discovery and information access. Information discovery is finding out that the information exists somewhere on the internet. Certain tools like the Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA), International Food Information Service (IFIS), and PubMed are meant for information discovery.

Information access refers to getting the full text of a research paper or article. For this, we usually need tools like Google Scholar, ResearchGate, or a subscription to the Food Science and Technology journal.

Keep your search subject-specific

Now food science is a relatively wide area, says Humberto Ojeda Avila. It involves Chemistry, Biotechnology, Biology, and other subjects too. But if your search is not highly focused you could end up with a mountain of information and finding out what is relevant from among these hundreds of research articles will be a nightmare.

Search for subject-specific sources instead. For example, FSTA will give you information about research papers that are only related to your field that is Food Science and Technology. Multidisciplinary databases are more likely to give you irrelevant hits which could consume a lot of your time unnecessarily.

Diversify instead of sticking to a single source

Often researchers prefer to consult a single source because they find it reliable and feel that all the information they need is available in one place. But research is about gathering as much information as you can on a topic. Humberto Ojeda Avila recommends using more than one source for research. Subject-specific but diverse sources can give you a wider outlook.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Food Safety Is Important

Unsafe food that contains viruses, bacteria, toxins, or parasites causes over 200 diseases that include diarrhea and serious illnesses such as cancers. Apart from health risks, these preventable illnesses lead to a loss in productivity, higher medical bills, and pose a huge public health burden. What causes foodborne illnesses? Many types of microorganisms can cause foodborne illnesses including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Chemical substances and toxins in the food also lead to illnesses. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that 64 percent of foodborne illnesses resulting in hospitalizations were caused by harmful bacteria, 27 percent by viruses, and 9 percent by parasites. The most common pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses include: E.coli - E.coli is a type of bacteria that can enter our body through contaminated food or water. While some types of E-coli are harmless and live in our gut, other types cause serious illnesses. Norovirus - T...
Post a Comment
Read more

Roles and Responsibilities of a Food Science Technician

Have you ever wondered what a food science technician does? If so, then you’re in luck. Food science technicians typically assist food scientists and technologists with performing research in the fields of quality control and production. Food science technicians like Humberto Ojeda Avila are well-versed in all areas of intensive studies and analysis when it comes to studying food. They conduct a variety of tests to determine whether ingredients, additives, finished products, and packaging meet all of the necessary rules and regulations. Technicians also closely monitor foods to determine their chemical composition and properties and they can be involved in processes that take raw food products and transform them into table-ready food and beverages. Food science technicians like Humberto Ojeda Avila, have the ability to work at food production and processing plants or laboratories. For certain job environments, technicians might have to deal with being exposed to noisy machines and ...
Post a Comment
Read more