Undergraduate Course: Professional Skills in Ecological and Environmental Sciences (ECSC10032)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Professional skills include (a) technical skills and (b) interpersonal skills. We will discuss the following topics in an integrated way. How to be effective; Planning a project; Survey and Experimentation; Data Management and Databases; Philosophy and objectives of statistical analysis; generalised linear models and higher-level models (e.g. mixed models); Visualizing and Presenting Data; Communicating science to your peers; Communicating Science to the public; Professional Networking.
In addition, the course covers topics that should help you to produce and present a rigorous plan for your honours project. Time will be allocated to the preparation of a draft project plan, with the aim of presenting it during the course. The continuous assessment for the course will take the form of a briefing statement for policymakers based on the critical appraisal of an ecological/environmental science paper. The sessions on research design, data management, statistical analysis, and data presentation will form the basis for the examination at the end of the course. |
| Course description |
Week 1: Designing a Research Programme
Week 2: Data, data management, and databases
Week 3: Networking, Outreach, and Science Communication
Week 4: Effective Criticism
Week 5: Analytical Tools for Social Studies
Week 6: Statistical Analysis I: Theory and introduction to R programming
Week 7: Statistical Analysis II: Generalised linear models and higher-level stats
Week 8: Statistical Analysis III: presenting data and making figures
Week 9: Effective Presentation
Week 10: Presentation of project plans and feedback
Week 11: Course Wrap-Up and Exam Revision Session
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 18,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 3,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 9,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
68 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Intermittent Assessment (40%): At the session on 6th October you will be provided with a choice of two recent ecological/environmental science papers. You will be asked to read one of the papers, critically assess its merits, and write a clear and concise account of your findings as a briefing statement for the Scottish Government. Your report should be submitted to the Undergraduate Secretary, Undergraduate Office, room 215, Crew Building by 12 noon on Friday 7th November 2014.
Examination (60%): The course will also be assessed by an examination designed to test your understanding of how to apply the scientific method to investigate ecological questions. Check the registry website for the exam timetable. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Professional Skills in Ecological and Environmental Sciences | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Plan your work properly, exercising autonomy and initiative in a professional level activity
- Produce scientific text at the level needed for the project dissertation
- Interpret, use and evaluate a wide range of numerical and graphical data to set and achieve goals
- Give a formal presentation on a specialised topic to informed audiences
- Communicate with your peers, senior colleagues and specialists through the effective use of a scientific, professional level poster.
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Reading List
R Core Team (2014) An Introduction to R. Available at http://www.r-project.org/ under manuals (documentation).
Emden J Van (2001) Effective communication for science and technology. Palgrave, New York.
Ford ED (2000) Scientific method for ecological research. CUP Cambridge
Hairston NG (1989) Ecological Experiments: purpose, design and execution. CUP, Cambridge
Hughes IG & Hase TPA (2010) Measurements and their uncertainty. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
O'Connor M (1991) Writing successfully in Science. Chapman & Hall, London.
Gotelli NJ & Ellison AM (2013) A primer of ecological statistics. Sinauer Associates Inc, Sunderland, USA. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
1 three-hour session per week |
| Keywords | ECSC10017 Prof Skills in EES |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kyle Dexter
Tel: (0131 6)51 7065
Email: Kyle.Dexter@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Meredith Corey
Tel: (0131 6)50 5430
Email: meredith.corey@ed.ac.uk |
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