Vår 2020

BIO-3529 Academic skills - 5 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

The course is a multi-disciplinary master course for students in natural sciences. This course is recommended during the 1st or the 2nd semester of the master program. The maximum limit of participants is 30.

The course can be taken as a singular course. 9371 - enkeltemner på masternivå

Course contents

The course will give the students basic academic skills in the form of scientific writing and giving scientific presentations within the natural sciences. The focus will be on the structure of a scientific text, and we will also devote time in refining your academic English skills, and how to present research data. An introduction to a range of library resources, for example relevant databases, scientific search, and to use of reference tools (EndNote), will also be given. Moreover, we will discuss important issues like the critical use of sources, what is considered plagiarizing and scientific fraud, and how a good scholarly reputation is evolving. We hope the course will contribute in building a creative and constructive social network of master students at the faculty.

Admission requirements

The course can be taken as a singular course. 9371 - enkeltemner på masternivå

Objective of the course

Knowledge:

communicate research both in written and oral formats
know the structure of a scientific writing and the writing process
basic presentation techniques
critical and ethical use of references and other research material

Skills:

prepare and present research results both in written and oral formats in an engaging and understandable way
learn to give constructive feed-back to your peers on their writing and presentations refine your scientific English skills
how to conduct scientific searches
how to use a reference tool (EndNote) when writing

General competence:

plan, evaluate and edit your own scientific text
prepare and present a scientific presentation at scientific conferences
understand the relationship between knowledge and communicating knowledge

Language of instruction

English

Teaching methods

One week, 31 hours of lectures and 4-11 h group-work. The teaching on the course will be a combination of theory and practical exercises in text editing, and presentation-techniques. We will work in small groups where we will evaluate and give constructive critique to each others texts and presentations. There is a possibility for filming the presentations.

Assessment

Assessment:
Exam: Give a 10 min presentation of your master project plus 15 min oral examination.
Grade: Pass/Fail.
Resit: no.

Coursework requirements:
1) Make a 10 minute presentation of your (tentative) master-project.
2) Obligatory attendance on 80% of lectures
3) Obligatory attendance in group-work assignments.

Date for examination

Presentation on your master-project 13.05.2020

The date for the exam can be changed. The final date will be announced at your faculty early in May and early in November.