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Biology 210 – Introduction to Research

Biology 210 – Introduction to Research Winter Term 2009 Course Objectives Develop basic skills required to do scientific research Hone communication skills for presenting research results Gain an understanding of how knowledge is accumulated within the natural sciences

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Biology 210 – Introduction to Research

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  1. Biology 210 – Introduction to Research Winter Term 2009

  2. Course Objectives • Develop basic skills required to do scientific research • Hone communication skills for presenting research results • Gain an understanding of how knowledge is accumulated within the natural sciences • Further develop skills to work effectively as a member of a group

  3. The excitement of field biology

  4. Experimentation with Microbes

  5. Course Webpage • http://courses.knox.edu/bio210

  6. Notebooks Exercises/homework Poster Oral Presentation I Oral Presentation II Microbe Paper I Microbe Paper II Microbe Paper III Participation Midterm exam 20 pts 10 – 15 pts 20 pts 10 pts 30 pts 10 pts 20 pts 30 pts 10 pts 20 pts Course evaluation

  7. Darwin’s Finches

  8. HMS Beagle as drawn by Covington – from his journal Syms Covington

  9. Guidelines for keeping a lab notebook • Use a bound notebook instead of a loose-leaf binder – a composition book works well • Be sure to date all material that you put in the book • WRITE IN INK and be sure to write legibly • Include a table of contents at front of notebook • State a purpose for each experiment • Carefully record your methods • Record your results – be sure to list units of measurement; also note unusual or interesting phenomena • Discussion – briefly comment on whether results fit expectations

  10. Include the following in your lab notebook: • Table of Contents – please have a table of contents at the beginning of your notebook • Purpose – keep this section as brief as possible. The purpose section should contain the following: goals of the experiment (hypotheses, predictions of what you will observe). • Methods – write you did and why you did it – be as complete as possible – always list units of measurement (you may forget later), list kinds of equipment used • Results – record what you measure or find – again write out units of measurement – also note interesting or unusual phenomenon • Discussion – just briefly comment on whether your results matched your hypotheses

  11. The Handbook of Biological Investigation notes: • “The enterprise [learning to do independent research] is doomed to fail if: • students are not adequately prepared before they begin independent work; • students are not given appropriate credit for the actual experimental effort (as well as the eventual scientific report); • the instructor insists that experiments be truly original and/or successful; • the instructor insists that the final reports be of publishable quality; and if • - the instructor believes the students incapable of high-quality, creative, independent work.”

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