Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- The Environment School
BIOL3933 provides an enhanced research experience to highly motivated and high achieving students. It is designed for students in the third year of their BAdvSc degree. Students will be immersed in a research group and will take charge of a small research project, including experimental design, execution and data analysis, interpretation and presentation Students will learn transferable skills and knowledge relevant to scientific research, and present their findings to peers. Through interactions with their research mentors and through critical review of contemporary primary literature students will develop an advanced perspective of a research discipline identifying areas of future interest, societal needs and training and employment opportunities.
Please apply for permission to enrol in this course using theﾠﾠONLINE FORM
Students taking this courseﾠwill have a unique opportunity to developﾠcore research skills relevant to a wide spectrum of biological researchﾠby doingﾠa short field or laboratory research project in an area ofﾠinterest. Typically the project will involveﾠa small data-gathering assignment which is then written up in the form of a short scientific paper (i.e. abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion and references sections).
Students must organise a supervisor, who should be anﾠacademic staff member in the School of the Environment, before they can enrol in this course. The research interests and contact details of potential supervisorsﾠcan be found on the School of the EnvironmentﾠwebsiteﾠSchool of the Environment. Students shouldﾠcontact a potential supervisor themselves (preferably by email) to determine ifﾠthey can supervise your project. Alternatively, make an appointment with the Course Coordinator (Dr Gurion Ang gurion.ang@uq.edu.au) to discuss your research interests and shortlist some potential supervisors.
NOTE: Academic staff may already be over-committed and unable to supervise student projects.
Once a supervisor has been organised, the student should complete the online form and ask their supervisor to email senv.admin@uq.edu.auﾠto formally confirm their willingness to be your supervisor.ﾠ You will be notified when you have been given permission to enrol.
All details relating to course organisationﾠwill be discussed in the first lecture.ﾠ
Please note:
- Students should have completed at least #4 of Level 3 courses before enrolling in BIOL3933.
- Students are only able to enrol in #4 of research project courses throughout their program. Students who enrol in more than #4 research project courses will be asked to withdraw their enrolment.
- For students planning to enrol in two research project courses, you may not have the same supervisor.
ﾠ
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students should have adequate background in the area of their topic as assessed by the project supervisor and course co-ordinator. Studentsﾠare recommended to have completed #4 of 3 level courses.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
BIOL2106 and BIOL2904 or BIOL2910 or BIOL2902 or BIOL2903
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
SCIE3011 and SCIE3240
Restrictions
Restricted to students in the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours).
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
Students will gain advanced research experience in experimental design, technical research skills and data analysis and presentation and develop transferrable skills and scientific expertise in their chosen research topic.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Design and execute experimental plans to test hypotheses
LO2.
Analyse and interpret research findings in context of the chosen field
LO3.
Develop advanced understanding of scientific topic and identify gaps in knowledge
LO4.
Effectively communicate research findings to peers
LO5.
Explain the ethical and social implications of an area of research
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance |
Research proposal
|
10% |
This assessment should be completed by Week 5, and will occur at a mutually agreed time between the student, supervisor, and Course Coordinator. |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Research Report
|
60% |
21/10/2024 2:30 pm |
| Performance |
Final seminar
|
20% |
21/10/2024 - 25/10/2024 |
| Participation/ Student contribution |
Research Conference Professional Practice
|
10% |
4/09/2024 3:00 pm |
Assessment details
Research proposal
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Performance
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
This assessment should be completed by Week 5, and will occur at a mutually agreed time between the student, supervisor, and Course Coordinator.
- Other conditions
- Student specific, Work integrated learning.
Task description
You will present your proposed research project informally through a verbal discussion between you, your project supervisor, and the Course Coordinator. You will assessed on how effectively you:
- demonstrate your understanding of the scientific basis or context you are working in
- describe your proposed research methods
- respond to questions that your supervisor or the Course Coordinator ask during the discussion
- present yourself using professional etiquette
Submission guidelines
Not applicable.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Research Report
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
21/10/2024 2:30 pm
- Other conditions
- Student specific.
Task description
Task Description: The research project will usually be in a research laboratory (or as a field study); the student should work independently and will be supervised by an academic staff member from the School of the Environment. As a guide, it is expected that students will do approximately 100 hours of laboratory / field and library work throughout the semester.
Report: You should write a detailed report (< 2500 words in total, excluding title, author name, acknowledgements, references, figures, tables and their legends; however, in-text citations are included in the word count) that is formatted in the style consistent with the requirements of a selected journal. Please do not email to ask whether you can go over the word limit. Please add the word count on the first page of your report.
You should discuss with your supervisor which journal would be an appropriate outlet in which to publish the type of research that you have done, and identify the journal in your written report. Note, it is NOT an expectation that you produce a manuscript/ results that are publishable.
Your completed report will be marked by two undisclosed academics but NOT by your supervisor.
Acknowledging the contribution of others: if you have done your project with help from other members of the laboratory you are working in, this should be acknowledged on your first page. Collaborations with others is expected in science, but it must be clear to your markers what is your own work. Contributions include: substantial help with acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, or drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content. If you have been provided with a dataset to analyse, also make this clear in your report (it is sometimes unclear whether the student was given the data or collected it themselves).
This assessment task evaluates student's abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of Al technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission of Word version is via Turnitin only. Please make sure you retain the Turnitin receipt as proof of submission. This assessment task evaluates student's abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of Al technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Final seminar
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Performance
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
21/10/2024 - 25/10/2024
- Other conditions
- Student specific.
Task description
All students taking BIOL3933 must participate and attend the seminar session at the end of semester and they must attend all of the presentations given by the peer group. This may be integrated with the research project presentations from the SCIE3240 and/or SCIE3241 cohort. Each student will give a 15-minute oral presentation based on their project research and answer questions on the presentation afterwards. Guidelines on oral presentations will be presented at the poster/ seminar workshop/ lecture during semester, but students should also seek the advice of their supervisors, give a practice seminar to the lab group and obtain feedback from their supervisors before they present their seminar in the BIOL3933 seminar session. Academics attending the BIOL3933 seminar session will grade the presentations but supervisors will NOT grade their own students.
The venue and time and order of the student presentations will be confirmed in week 12 of semester.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Research Conference Professional Practice
- Identity Verified
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
4/09/2024 3:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Student specific.
- Learning outcomes
- L05
Task description
As part of your professionalism training in this course, you will discuss with the Course Coordinator a meaningful way to contribute to the UQ Science Undergraduate Research Conference taking place in the middle of the semester. Your contribution will allow you to practise an important activity in professional research: how to run a research conference. Skills you can choose to hone include reviewing submitted abstracts, generating a research conference program, communicating with stakeholders (e.g. inviting keynote speakers), event management, event evaluation etc.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The minimum percentage required for this grade is: 0% |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The minimum percentage required for this grade is: 30% |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: The minimum percentage required for this grade is: 45% |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The minimum percentage required for this grade is: 50% |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The minimum percentage required for this grade is: 65% |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The minimum percentage required for this grade is: 75% |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The minimum percentage required for this grade is: 85% |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Supplementary assessment is available
Courses graded 1-7
Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply.
Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.
If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.
Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes.
To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.
Additional assessment information
Applications for Extensions
Information on applying for an extension can be found here - my.UQ Applying for an extension
Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.
If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a Word document outlining why you cannot provide the documentation and upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.
Please note: While your extension request is being considered, you should work towards completing and submitting your assessment as soon as possible.
If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses. You might need to consider applying for removal of course. We strongly recommend you seek advice from the Faculty that administers your program.
Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)
For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time.
Submission of Assessment
Unlike undergraduate courses,you can only submit your assignmentﾠONCEﾠthrough Turnitin - multiple submissions cannot occur. The Turnitin site will be open on the due date.
Please make sure you submitﾠonly the final versionﾠthrough Turnitin.
Submission of assessment items by email is not accepted.
Allﾠappropriate assignments must be submitted through Turnitin. The course coordinator may also request a hard copy submission of the assignment.ﾠ
Turnitin submission
- Access the Assessment folder on the course Blackboard site
- Upload an electronic version through the Turnitin site for the assignment
- A digital receipt can be downloaded from the Assignment Dashboard on Turnitin.
ﾠ
Penalty for Late Submission
Failure to submit the electronic and hard copy (if required) on time will result in the late penalty (10% of maximum marks per day) being applied – late submission of either version will result in the late penalty being imposed.
ﾠ
Course Information
All details relating to course organisation and assessment will be discussed in the first lecture.ﾠ
Students should receive feedback from their supervisors about every aspect of assessment AT LEAST ONCE. However, in order to be able to provide this, students must organise a meeting with their supervisors and hand in the preliminary work (i.e. draft of research report) early enough so supervisors have sufficient time to give useful feedback.
Attend Lectures:ﾠ-ﾠLectures and workshops will provide a forum for the discussion of the preparation of research report.ﾠ
Laboratory Performance:ﾠ- Student performance during the laboratory/ fieldﾠwork will be assessed by the supervisor. Assessment of professionalism, experimental design, conduct of research experiments, enthusiasm, inquisitiveness, and record keeping will all contribute to this mark.
Seminar Presentation:ﾠ- Students will present a 15ﾠminute seminar on their research at the BIOL3933 seminar session atﾠthe end of semester. During the seminar session students will present their work to an audience that consists of supervisingﾠacademics and other students taking theﾠcourse. Students are expected to attend all the presentations made by their peers durng the seminar session. Presentations will be assessed by the academics attending the seminar session but supervisors will NOT mark the presentations given by theirﾠown students.
Project Report with Research Topic Outlook:ﾠ- Students will write a detailed report following aﾠformat that would be suitable for submission ofﾠa manuscript to a researchﾠjournal in their field of research. The Research Topic Outlook should form a part of this assessment piece, with an original overview of the topic and its future in terms of research advances, potential impact on the society and other fields of scientific inquiry. Theﾠreport will be marked by two academics from the School of Biological Sciences. Supervisors will NOT mark the reports of their own students.
ﾠ
Plagiarism
You should be aware that the University employs purpose built software (Turn-it-in) to detect plagiarism. It is very important that you understand clearly the practical meaning of plagiarism.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE (AI)
The assessment tasks in this course evaluate students’ abilities, skills, and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
The necessary learning resources will be provided by the student's supervisor after consultation with the student about the details about the particular project being undertaken.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
General contact hours |
Catch up (with Dr Gurion Ang) Regular catch-ups with the Course Coordinator to check in on your progress. |
Week 7 |
Symposium |
UQ Science Undergraduate Research Conference Contribute to the UQ Science Undergraduate Research Conference. Learning outcomes: L05 |
Week 13 |
Seminar |
Project seminars Presenting your research project (may be with SCIE3240 and/or SCIE3241 cohort). |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.