Courses

Prerequisites:

Animal Physiology (Biology 151L).

Description:

Discussions on research design. Review of relevant scientific literature. Student development of research topic in animal physiology, and independent design of research project. Written proposal and scientific paper, oral presentation required. Peer review of all work.

Course Staff:

Course Professor: Sönke Johnsen, Ph.D.
Office: 046 Bio Sci Building
Phone: 660-7321
E-mail: sjohnsen@duke.edu

Lab Instructor: Vickie Knight Eason, D.V.M.
Office: 304 Bio Sci Building
Phone: 684-5446
E-mail: vkeason@duke.edu

Course Information:

Excerpts from "New Course" request form (some info = direct answers to specific questions about how you would achieve certain goals)

This course will be designed to allow those students already possessing a background in animal physiology, to take an interdisciplinary approach to the advancement of those skills acquired in the prerequisite Bio 151L. The goal of this course will be the enhancement of their basic laboratory, research design and execution, and scientific writing skills as they explore their own areas of interest, and develop their individual research ideas.

All instruction, supervision, and grading will be the direct responsibility of Drs. Eason and Johnsen.

Students employ computerized data collection techniques to record data. Calculations and tabulations are made of the recorded data. The students then apply appropriate statistical tests to analyze their data. The data is presented in tables and graphs.

Students will participate in literature searches of major scientific journals, and through the review of current published information, explore various topics in animal physiology. They will proceed to develop their own research idea and design an independent research project. Their research idea and design will be presented in the form of a proposal. The proposal will be reviewed, and the experimental design modified, if needed. The research will be conducted and a scientific paper written and then presented orally.

A written proposal (approximately 5 pages in length) will be required, which will undergo a two-stage review and revision. A formal scientific paper (approximately 10 pages in length) will undergo the same process. Both papers will be written according to recognized guidelines for submission to scientific journals for publication.

The students will be given guidelines/instructions as to how to properly write a scientific paper. Both the proposal and the final paper will undergo a two-stage review and revision process: The first stage involving a formal written review by their peers (other students in the class), that will be followed by a rewrite incorporating needed modifications. The second stage will involve a written review of their papers by "journal editors" (instructors), and a second rewrite of each paper, if needed.

As the students perform literature searches, they will experience first-hand the value of disseminating current scientific information through the publication of scientific work. By reviewing the written work of their peers, they will also learn the most effective ways to present their own research results. Should a student's research paper actually be accepted by a scientific journal for publication, they would learn, in part, the value that good writing skills can have on career advancement.