Senior Research/Internship I and II
MSCI 4902/4903
Savannah State University
Fall 2011
Instructor: Dr. M. Gilligan
Office: Marine Biology 102
Phone: 358-4098
e-mail:
Office Hours: 10:00-12:00 Daily
3:00-5:00 Daily
I am available at other times. Please stop my office any time; if I cannot meet then, we can set up an appointment. Alternatively, you may set up an appointment over e-mail or phone.
Course Description
This is an independent study opportunity to engage in original independent scientific research. The student must meet regularly with the research advisor (SSU or research institute faculty member), submit a complete research report, and make a presentation to peers and faculty.
Course Objectives
· Design and conduct an independent scientific research project.
· Gain experience in communicating the results of that research, both orally and in writing.
· Review literature critically in support of research topic.
Grading
Grades will be assigned based on a research plan and timetable (10%), research report (65%), and research presentation (25%). The graded drafts will be incorporated into the final grade for the research report. Grade of incomplete (IP) will be given only in cases in which significant effort has been made to stay on schedule in the designing, planning, and implementation of the research project and significant progress has been made on the research report, but due to the nature of the research project, the final report and/or final presentation cannot be completed by the end of the semester.
Date / Topic and Assignments8/19 / Class meeting: Introduction
Work on Research (background literature and introduction, methods sections)
Completed Contract Form due
TIMETABLE DUE
DRAFT I OF RESULTS DUE
DRAFT DUE
Work on background literature
Work on Introduction and Materials and Methods Section
DRAFT OF COMPLETE RESEARCH PAPER DUE
DRAFT OF COMPLETE RESEARCH PAPER DUE
Practice oral presentationsClass meeting: ORAL PRESENTATIONS (Power Point) /FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE
Savannah State University
College of Sciences and Technology, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Marine Science Program
Writing in the Disciplines 6/25/2009
Writing a Research Report (from Gilligan, Kozel, and Richardson 1991, Gilligan 1995, with edits by T. Cox, C. Curran, and C. Pride 2009)
A laboratory report is a mini-version of the principal vehicle for the communication of scientific research findings: the journal article. The article is accepted for publication in a scientific journal by an editor who relies upon expert reviewers (scientists who specialize in the area) to advise whether or not the article is worthy of publication. The journal article is the solution to the underlying organizational and communication needs of science. It reflects all the elements of the scientific method (hypothesis, evidence, experimentation, validation or rejection of hypothesis, and interpretation or conclusion). It is the vehicle by which new knowledge in science is published. As mini-versions of journal articles, laboratory reports are useful exercises for future scientists.
Parts of the report
The elements of the laboratory report (or journal article) are: title, introduction, methods, results, discussion and literature cited (references) sections. The report may also include a summary, abstract, and acknowledgments.
The introduction describes what you planned to do and why. It includes a statement of the problem or question to be studied and an explanation of why the knowledge gained by this research is of interest and to whom.
An introduction states the hypothesis, an educated guess as to the process by which the phenomenon under investigation operates.
A general outline of an introduction would look something like the following example. Note: different people have different styles; it is okay to switch these around a bit to fit what flows best in your mind, but the last paragraph is critical.
1. Broad Context
a. What are the theoretical underpinnings of the study? How does your specific project fit into the broader context of knowledge on this topic?
b. Note: this is often the hardest part of a paper.
2. Specific background knowledge regarding topic
a. Use published literature and cite it.
b. However, do not make this simply a review of the literature. Make sure you note the relevance of the literature to your study.
3. Objectives
a. First, link the previous 2 paragraphs immediately to your objectives.
b. Then, state the specific hypothesis you are testing.
c. This should be the shortest part of the introduction. Be concise and straight-forward; you do not want the reader to have to search for what you did and why you did it.
You should have thoroughly reviewed the primary literature prior to writing the report, but only include the most relevant references in the paper.
The methods section is a concise description, written in the past tense, of the procedures used. It describes the equipment used and how information was collected: by laboratory or field experimentation, surveys, or literature review. This section contains the most explicit (exactly described) statements of how you did the experiment or study. It should contain enough detail for someone else to repeat the study.
The results section describes what you found out. It is a compilation and organization of the information (facts, data) collected in the study, typically organized into tables and graphs. Important data should be included in flowing sentences. ALL tables and graphs should be referenced to in the text. Tables and figures must be arranged in numerical order and on separate pages. Tables and figures must be referred to in chronological order (e.g., Table 1, Table 2, Table 3 {not 1, 3, 2}).
The discussion section includes explicit statements of what the results mean in a logically unfolding pattern. Simply, this is what you think the results mean or what the results reveal about the way nature works. The discussion should tie your findings back to your introduction – how do the results compare to a) what you expected to find (i.e., your hypothesis) and b) what can be found in the primary literature (i.e., what other researchers have found). It contains the conclusions and perhaps even recommendations for future investigation.
Literature cited is a list of references to substantiate statements in the introduction, methods, or discussion sections. References are written in a standard format which differs from journal to journal (see below for a sample format).
The laboratory report should contain all of these sections and a title that describes the specific investigation or experiment completed. Summary, abstract, and acknowledgments sections would also be expected in detailed reports, such as journal articles and other publications.
A summary is an abbreviated overview of the major findings of the study within the broader context of the project. It can contain a very condensed version of each section of the report. This goes after the discussion section.
An abstract is a condensed and concise summary found at the very beginning of scientific journal articles.
Acknowledgments sections thank people and organizations that helped with the study. This goes after the summary section and before the references.
How is writing a laboratory report different from writing a narrative of what you did and what you found out? In technical writing the goal is to state facts, procedures, processes, and concepts as clearly as possible, concealing the writer’s own opinions or feelings about the problem. Typically, expository writing, such as an English composition, concentrates instead on commentary based on opinion and personal values.
Good technical writing is: clear (not diffuse, vague, or general), accurate (data honestly gathered, accurately reported, edited and proof-read to ensure that it is error-free), concise (not wordy), conventional and consistent (following accepted patterns for reporting information consistently throughout), mechanically correct (proper grammar, -spelling, and usage), and interesting (has enough stylistic character to be interesting as well as informative to the reader).
Some of the keys to good writing in general are:
1. Avoid sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
2. Keep tense, person, and number consistent within sections.
3. Use the active (rather than passive) voice. Maintain agreement between pronouns and antecedents. Keep the placement of modifiers consistent and search for parallel constructions.
4. Avoid long words when short ones will do the job equally well. Avoid wordiness, redundancy, clichés, jargon (e.g. officialese, bureauquack, engineerese, gobbledygook), overblown phrases, misused words.
5. Keep ideas together within paragraphs of moderate length and make clear transitions between paragraphs.
6. Write naturally while remaining detached from your subject (objective).
7. Avoid overwriting and over-explaining.
8. Concentrate on clarity and coherence.
9. Use graphs and tables for clarity, simplification, emphasis, summary, reinforcement, interest, impact, credibility, or coherence.
10. Do not excuse, diminish or find fault with the study. Let the reader judge the quality and significance of it.
Standard Format:
Title
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
Summary (optional)
Acknowledgments (optional, but recommended)
Literature Cited (sometimes called References)
Tables (such as site information, summary statistics, t-test results)
Figures (such as study location map, data)
Literature Cited
(Example of format)
Alverson, D., M. Freeberg, J. Pope, and S. Murawski. 1994. A global assessment of fisheries by-catch and discards. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. FAO, Rome, pp. 339.
Barnes, R.S.K. and R.N. Hughes. 1999. An Introduction to Marine Ecology: third edition. Blackwell Science LTD, Malden, MA. pp 202-204.
Gilligan, M.R., T. Kozel and J.P. Richardson. 1991. Environmental Science Laboratory: A Manual of Lab and Field Exercises. Halfmoon Pub. Savannah, GA, 156 pp.
Gilligan, M.R. 1995. Improving Your Technical Writing. Fisheries 20(5):36
Murray, J.D., J.J. Bahen, and R.A. Rulifson. 1991. Management considerations for by-catch in the North Carolina and southeast shrimp fishery. Fisheries 17:21-26.
Rulifson, A.R., D.M. Murray, and J.J. Bahen. 1992. Finfish catch reduction in South Atlantic shrimp trawls using three designs of by-catch reduction devices. Fisheries 17:9-20.)
Research Internship Paper Name______
Beginning1 pt. / Developing
2 pts. / Accomplished
3 pts. / Exemplary
4 pts. / Score
Introduction
(lead-in) / Information provided is not directly relevant to the report / Gives very little relevant information / Gives too much information on project specifics – more like a summary or abstract / Presents a concise lead-in to the report
Introduction
(intro material for your project) / Does not give any information about what to expect in the report / Unclear on objectives of the project / Hints at questions addressed by the research and report but it is not concisely spelled out / Concisely defines question addressed by the research and report
Methods / Not sequential, many steps missing and/or confusing / Some of the steps are understandable; most are confusing and lack detail / Most of the steps are understandable; some lack detail or are confusing / Presents easy-to-follow steps which are logical and adequately but not overly detailed
Results / Tables and graphs not properly referenced; many significant trends in data or other findings not discussed; excessive listing of data that could be put in a table / Tables and graphs not properly referenced or many significant trends in data or other findings not discussed / Most tables and graphs properly referenced and nearly all significant trends in data and significant findings discussed / All tables and graphs properly referenced and all significant trends in data and significant findings discussed
Discussion / Provides illogical explanations for findings; does not compare our results with those in published literature; much of discussion is irrelevant to project objectives / Provides illogical explanations for many findings or does not compare our results with those in published literature or much of discussion is irrelevant to project / Most explanations for findings are logical; inclusion of many relevant comparisons or our results to those in published literature; most of discussion is relevant to project / All explanations of findings are logical; many comparisons are made between our results and those in published literature; all included information is relevant to project
Conclusion
or
Summary / Conclusions do not represent material in results and discussion / Conclusions are relevant to report but not concisely written and/or significant amount of important points left out and/or introduction of new material / Conclusions include summary of major points in results and discussion, but also includes extraneous and/or new material / Conclusions include concise summary of major points in results and discussion without introduction new material
Graphs/Tables / Incomplete, poorly represent data, and bad formatting / 2 of the following: Incomplete, poorly represent data, or bad formatting / 1 of the following: Incomplete, poorly represent data, or bad formatting / Clearly highlight major results
Cited Literature (citations
w/in text
and reference section)
See plagiarism / 3 or more of the following: citations rare and not following proper format (first author, yr); excessive use of quotations; few papers cited; papers cited, but irrelevant; reference section incomplete / 2 of the following: citations rare and not following proper format (first author, yr); excessive use of quotations; few papers cited; papers cited, but irrelevant; reference section incomplete / 1 of the following: citations rare and not following proper format (first author, yr); excessive use of quotations; few papers cited; papers cited, but irrelevant; reference section incomplete / Multiple papers cited in proper context, proper use of citations within text; reference section complete
Grammar
and Spelling / Very frequent grammar and/or spelling errors / More than 4 errors / Only 1 or 2 errors. / All grammar and spelling correct
Timeliness / Report handed in 4 or more days late / Report handed in 2-3 days late / Report handed in 1 day late / Report handed in on time
Plagiarism: Incidences of plagiarism will result in a grade of zero. / TOTAL:
Adapted from http://edweb.sdsu.edu/triton/tidepoolunit/Rubrics/reportrubric.html
MSCI 4902 and 4903 Senior Research/Internship -- Research Presentation Evaluation
Name of Speaker ______Name of Evaluator ______Total Score ______
Very Needs Needs Significant
Good Good Work Improvement
Was the problem/question statement clearly stated? 3 2 1 0
Quality and usefulness of graphics 3 2 1 0
Quality and appropriate use of text 3 2 1 0
Spoke at appropriate level given the audience 3 2 1 0
Clarity in explaining concepts 3 2 1 0