Dear all,
There are two new MSc level courses that have recently started that there
seems to be some confusion about.
1) Orientation to Research Work.
The new Orientation to research work course (12-20 credits or 12-18 credits
for international MSc) in part replaces the old course Laboratory practice
II in the new system. Students undertake a combination of Laboratory
practice II (or equivalent) and/or periods of research work in research
group(s). As well as gaining experience of the practical work required to
undertake research, this course is also designed to allow students to make
an informed decision about the right place to do a Pro Gradu project i.e.
students are advised to do one month in the lab they are thinking about
doing the Pro Gradu in as part of Orientation to research work.
There is no set timetable for the research work and the students can do the
work in any research group and are advised to spend at least 1 month in a
group outside the department. Groups are free to advertise their projects
for example via Histoni´s email list.
When doing work in a research group, each student will make direct contact
with the group leader and a mutual agreement made for the research period. A
full-time working week (40 hours) gives 1.5 credits for the student. A
maximum of 6 credits (four full-time working weeks) can be awarded for
working in one research group. The research work can be either full-time or
part-time. For example, working 1 day a week for 10 weeks would earn 3
credits. It is up to individual group leaders to decide if and how students
should report the results e.g. a written report or a presentation. A formal
report (työselostus) is not required. Any time taken by the student to
prepare the report must be included in working time. After the research
period the group leader is required to write a short statement on a card
provided by the student, naming the subject of research, the dates over
which the work was done, the number of hours worked and proposed credits to
be awarded (40 hour work = 1.5 credits, op). Group leaders should be careful
not to over- or under-credit the work done. Any credits should be in
multiples of 0.5 credits. There is no requirement to notify the course
convenor (Jari) in advance of the work
It is possible also to get credits for this course by undertaking the
Laboratory practice II exercises (Biokemia II exercises). These are
typically 1 week in length and are an excellent way to learn new techniques.
Since these require a written report one full-time working week plus written
report gives 2 credits for the student. Students should sign up for these
exercises in advance on the notice board.
There is no grading for this course, just credits for appropriate level of
work.
2) Dissertation.
The new optional Dissertation course (18 credits) is a major review of the
literature. The credits awarded are equivalent of 12 weeks full time work by
the student.
The student should make direct contact with the group leader they wish to
supervise them (this can be within the department or beyond), who should be
a recognised expert in the field. There are no formal requirements for
style, length etc, but students and supervisors are advised to chose a style
from an appropriate journal which would publish comprehensive reviews in the
field. As a guide many comprehensive reviews are 15 to 30,000 words in
length with 250-300 references.
Students are advised that this course does not have to be done as a solid 12
week block, that the workload can be spread over an extended timeperiod and
hence it makes an excellent way to balance workload over a longer period of
time. Students are also advised that the dissertation requires in-depth
knowledge and understanding of a subject. Furthermore, English for
Biochemists II or English for Biochemists III are strongly recommended
before undertaking the dissertation. Students are also advised that
plagarism has been a problem with similar courses run elsewhere and that
plagarism will not be tolerated in any manner.
Supervisors are advised that this task should not be entered into lightly,
supervising a dissertation properly will require a large amount of work in
providing guidance and reading drafts of the work.
Occasionally I would expect a dissertation to be sufficiently good so as to
be submitted to a journal as a comprehensive review (it happens in other
places with similar courses) - a nice bonus for student and supervisor.
There is grading for disertations, on the 0-5 scale. Grading will be similar
to that for the Pro Gradu project except that the supervisor will be one of
the two examiners. A detailed marking scheme should appear on the
departmental web site in the next couple of weeks.
I am course convenor. My task is to provide advice in choosing a topic
and/or supervisor and to help in any cases where disputes arise between
student and supervisor
I hope these explanations help.
Best wishes,
Lloyd