Course: Research Skills credits: 2

Course code
ELVH17ARESS
Name
Research Skills
Study year
2022-2023
ECTS credits
2
Language
English
Coordinator
P.M. Gomes Lourenco
Modes of delivery
  • Assignment
  • Individual supervision
  • Lecture
  • Practical / Training
Assessments
  • Research Skills - Assignment

Learning outcomes

At the end of this study unit your are able to:
  • Find scientific articles that are relevant to a given topic by using a search engine
  • Explain the conclusion(s) and goal(s) of the research in a given scientific article by summarizing part of the article
  • Enforce arguments, verify or falsify a statement by using references to scientific articles at the correct point in a text in a consistent format
  • Pose a research question and sub research questions that makes clear what the main topic of the research is.
  • Write experimentals in such a way that others that were not present and do not know about the experiment can repeat the following procedure and arrive at the same results:
    • Machine type and manufacturer
    • Pre-treatment of samples
    • Measurement details
    • Analysis of the results
  • Keep a lab journal that includes details of all experiments that are performed so all people involved in the research understood what was done
  • Present results and observations depending on the type and amount of result:
    • Graphs
    • Tables
    • Written sentences
  • Compare found results with results found in literature to determine whether something is expected or not and come up with a reasonable explanation why things are different by using references and differences in experimental procedures
  • Write a conclusion that answers the original research question and explains all (most) observations
  • Write an abstract that includes the research question, experimental design and conclusions in 5-10 sentences
  • Extract information about special sensors by reading selected scientific articles
  • Understand some of the latest techniques applied in research on sensor technology by reading selected scientific articles
  • Find and compare at least 3 scientific articles on a given topic to enhance critical thinking and draw conclusions
  • Explain the principles and potential applications of modern research on sensor technology in a selected scientific article to an audience of semi-specialists

Content

In this study unit you will learn how to properly write a scientific article based on your research. We will use your project as input for this article. The following topics will be addressed:
  • Reading articles
  • Referencing
  • Posing a research question
  • Doing/writing experiments
  • Getting/writing results
  • Writing a discussion
  • Writing conclusionsWriting an abstract
Next to how to write a scientific article we will also discuss state-of-the-art sensors. These sensors are often not on the market yet, but still in a proof of concept phase in various laboratories all over the world. You will receive a relevant and modern scientific article in which a special sensor is investigated and explained. It is your task to present the contents of this article (in groups of 2-3 students) to the rest of the class. For passing this course, you are going to receive  a grade for the summary of your article (50%) and a grade for your presentation (50%). Delivery of all parts of the article, attendance and co-assesing are conditional.
 

Included in programme(s)

School(s)

  • Institute of Engineering
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