This course is not currently offered, please contact the school or faculty of your program.

Course description

This course will involve the development of practical research skills and the development of intellectual skills in the formulation of a hypothesis and testing it by appropriate experiments. This will involve the development of a research proposal that outlines the work that students will undertake in their research project. This proposal is intended to provide an early focus for project work. It may also form the basis of the introductory research report chapter. Students will learn to keep detailed written records of all laboratory and field work and report the details of their research project in the form of a substantial research report. The ability to present research findings at scientific meetings, and the ability to defend the research findings, is an essential part of the training of a research scientist. Thus, this course will also develop skills in science communication with emphasis on oral communication. Students will also participate in selected research seminars and provide a critical evaluation of selected seminars. The course will also contain a module on Special Topics in Microbiology & Parasitology that aims to broaden the education of the student in a variety of scientific areas unconnected with their direct area of research. This will take the form of a research paper presentation and a written report on this topic. All students will be required to attend four research theme sessions, one where they present their paper and the remaining three where they attend as active participants. In addition students are required to attend courses on scientific writing, scientific presentation and other skill-based seminars, such as Seminar Deconstruction sessions and the Honours Journal Club as determined by the Honours Directors.