BIOLOGY 501 METHODS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
FALL 2005
CLASSES SCHEDULED IN DO-103, TUESDAYS AT 5-7PM (unless otherwise noted)
Dr. Robert Roer - Office hours by appointment - JH 2nd Floor (x4117)
roer@uncw.edu
| DATE | TOPIC | READING |
| Aug. 23 | Introduction, e-mail, forms, committees, etc.; The prospectus, prospectus symposium and comprehensive exams; Statistics course offerings (Dr. Jim Blum) | Grad. Student Handbook |
| Aug. 30 | Safety - fire, chemicals, biohazards, radioactive materials - Ms. Deb Tew (Environmental Health and Safety) | |
| Sep. 06 | Computer literature searches (meet in Randall Library - Classroom at the rear of 1st floor, on the right) - Mr. Peter Fritzler | |
| Sep. 13 | The scientific method, experimental design | Chaps. 1&2 |
| Sep. 20 | Basic sampling theory & experimental design - (Dr. Ed Boone et al., Mathematics & Statistics faculty) | Chaps. 3&4 |
| Sep. 27 | Elements of research design | |
| Oct. 04 | Basic inferences from statistical software (Dr. Ed Boone) | |
| Oct. 11 | Writing theses and papers - Take-Home Exam | Chap. 5 |
| Oct. 19 | The thesis and scientific paper | Chap. 6 |
| Oct. 25 | PowerPoint - capturing images & making presentations; grants and support | Chap. 7 |
| Nov. 02 | Effective tables and figures | Chaps. 8-10 |
| Nov. 08 | Fraud, honor and perceptions of science | Chap. 11 |
| Nov. 15 | PowerPoint presentations | |
| Nov. 22 | THANKSGIVING BREAK | |
| Nov. 29 | PowerPoint presentations |
Text: Valiela, Ivan (2001) Doing Science. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. 294p.
Expectations and Grading: You will be expected to complete a literature search (the library staff will assist you as required) and to prepare a BRIEF (one or two slides) PowerPoint presentation to introduce us to your research topic. You must also turn in a draft of the literature review section of your prospectus by the last scheduled class. Grades are calculated on a 10 point scale and will be based upon the mid-term exam (30%) and the literature review portion of your prospectus (70%).