Research Practice in Biology

Contents:

The student will, under the guidance of a scientific employee at BIO,carry out a practical research project. The student's project can be a stand-alone or part of an ongoing research project, and it can be carried out independently or in collaboration with other students. The thesis may be methodical, empirical, analytical, or theoretical.

The student will gain knowledge of the research process (the path from hypothesis or a research question via study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the results) and will gain practical experience with two or more of the steps in this process (for example, data collection, data compilation, and writing of field or lab report).

The student participates in course meetings, workshops, and a poster session, allowing them to develop scientific knowledge and skills.

An overview over potential projects are found here: mitt.uib.no/courses/23588 (note that possible projects are not limited to this list).

The scope of the course is a total of approx. 250 hours including compulsory activities as well as planning, implementation, reporting, and presentation of results from the project.

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of biological research as a process and working method
• can explain the principles behind and the purpose of the research activities that are included in the project assignment
• has experience with some of the field's scientific methods
• can place their own data and findings in a professional context

Skills

The student

• can plan, implement, and report results from a defined research task according to the standards of the subject
• can find, summarize and use specialist knowledge relevant to a defined academic project
• has knowledge of how the results in the project assignment can be interpreted and evaluated
• can assess their own results against updated professional knowledge within the field

General competence

The student

• develops understanding of the specificity of research and the contribution of research in society
• develops professional identity and understanding of roles
• can work with others in a research community
• can create and present a professional poster

Autumn and spring

This course has a limited capacity, enrolment is based on application. The application deadline is Wednesday in week 2/33 for the spring/autumn semester. Please see this page for more information. You will receive confirmation of whether you received a seat in Studentweb no later than Monday the week after the deadline.

It is compulsory to attend the first lecture/orientation meeting, or you risk losing your seat. If you are unable to attend the first lecture, you must contact the Study Section (studie.bio@uib.no). The time of the first lecture/orientation meeting can be found in the schedule on the course website or on Mitt UiB.

To complete the course, the student must conduct an internship project with one of the scientific staff at the Department of Life Sciences. You can sign up for the course and attend the start-up meeting before you have found a supervisor. It is the student's responsibility to find a supervisor and hand in a signed project agreement within a set deadline (see mandatory work requirements). Contact a relevant scientific staff or studie.bio@uib.no for help in finding an a project and a supervisor.