Research Proposal Ecology and Evolution

Uitgebreide vaknaam	Research Proposal Ecology and Evolution
Leerdoelen	At the end of the course, the student is able to: 1. critically read, discuss and review recent scientific papers; understand diversity of research approaches and analyze research structure 2. formulate a sound research question, testable hypotheses and design an a dequate study to test these hypotheses 3. write a scientific research proposal 4. present these research plans orally 5. present these research plans on a poster 6. provide feedback on assignments of fellow students 7. chair oral sessions and group discussions
Omschrijving	The course consists of lectures, reading, discussions and writing assignments. Each week, two experts (typically from GELIFES) will present their work, with special emphasis on the underlying questions, the choice of methods and study system, the scope and limitations of the results obtained so far, and open questions for future research. Students need to prepare for each of these sessions by reading one or two pre-selected papers by the presenter prior to the talk. After each presentation, there will be a 1-hour indepth discussion session on the talk and the pre-selected papers (in the presence of the expert). The discussion session is chaired by one of the students. In addition, two students are assigned to prepare critical questions. Furthermore, students will get a series of short lectures on how to write a research proposal (can be used for their MSc thesis or another project), with focus on developing a sharp research question, with associated testable hypotheses, the choice of adequate methods, the designs of experiments, and the a-priori choice of proper methods for data analysis. Students will get writing assignments and will choose a topic for their research proposal from a list of ecological/evolutionary themes and a supervisor with affinity to this proposal. Students will regularly get feedback on the writing assignments by their peers and their supervisor. Towards the end of the course students present their research plans in the presence of their peers and supervisor. After having received feedback in the subsequent discussion, the students will finalize their proposal.
Uren per week
Onderwijsvorm	Hoorcollege (LC), Opdracht (ASM), Werkcollege (T) (Students are expected to be present at all lectures and tutorials. The guest lectures are also mandatory. When missing out an element, a replacement assignment has to be completed. Omission of elements results in not completing the course.)
Toetsvorm	Presentatie (P), Verslag (R) (Grades for research proposal and poster should all be sufficient (6 or higher, 5 or lower is not allowed). Interim assessments (not graded) of presentations of students (presenting research ideas etc) are used to assess quality and progress during the course.)
Vaksoort	master
Coördinator	prof. dr. B.I. Tieleman
Docent(en)	prof. dr. B.I. Tieleman
Verplichte literatuur	Titel Auteur ISBN Prijs 'How to write a scientific paper' Day Powerpoint slides of lectures (handouts, on Brighspace). Four research papers offered by guest lecturers
Entreevoorwaarden
Opmerkingen	Capacity max. 30 students.
Opgenomen in	Opleiding Jaar Periode Type MSc Biology: Research  (Compulsory master courses) - semester I b keuze MSc Biology: Science, Business and Policy  (Compulsory master courses) - semester I b keuze MSc Ecology and Evolution: Ecology and Conservation  (Electives/optional modules) - semester I b keuze MSc Ecology and Evolution: Evolutionary Biology  (Electives/optional modules) - semester I b keuze MSc Marine Biology: Research  (Compulsory master courses) - semester I b keuze