Entry requirements

At least two years of basic courses in Natural Sciences, equivalent to 50 points/75 credits in Biology and 20 points/30 credits in Chemistry.

Learning outcomes

After the course, the student shall:

• have in-depth knowledge ina self-selected area within biology
• be able to search for relevant scientific literature and critically summarise and interpret it
• be able to generate hypotheses to explain the observations made in the chosen area of specialisation
• be able to present his/her knowledge in Swedish, and to some extent in English, to different target groups, both in scientific and popular scientific styles
• have a good ability to handle text and present data (figures, tables), references, etc. according to the format specified for the particular genre
• be able to give constructive criticism of other students' manuscript drafts
• be able to present his/her knowledge in a poster in a pedagogic manner
• identify and in a structured way discuss ethical issues related to the topic the student has chosen.

Content

The course consists of an independent bibliographical project and constitutes the degree project for the Bachelor's degree in biology. Features that are of relevance for a future career as a biologist include: literature search and compilation, presentations using various techniques and media, practice in reading and critiquing others' manuscripts.

To meet the course objectives, the student shall:

• find, evaluate, and summarise information
• compose texts for different genres, based on a critical analysis of the information gathered
• actively participate in seminars where the texts and work with them are discussed
• critique another student's work with different texts

To help the student meet these objectives, there are lectures on:

• how to search for information: libraries, scientific literature, evaluation of sources
• how to write and publish: technical, editorial, and linguistic aspects; how to construct figures and tables; the editorial process; scientific and popular science styles; how to write in English and Swedish.
• how to make a poster: technical and pedagogic aspects

and

• obligatory seminars in which the teachers and students provide feedback on the students' drafts. The seminars also include critical evaluation and discussion of the scientific content of the texts.

Instruction

The teaching is in form of literature seminars and group discussions. Attendance to seminars is compulsory.

Assessment

The project shall lead to three presentations:

• a scientific essay in Swedish
• a summary in Swedish or English, this can be written in the form of a popular science article or as an executive report to a governmental body, company, etc.
• scientific poster in English or Swedish to be presented at the end of the course's poster session

Either the summary or the poster must be in English.

To obtain a passing grade, the student must actively participate in the seminars and present approved presentations.