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Brain and Cognitive Sciences Research Projects

Practical issues and information

Programme

Practical information / Approval and supervision (Silke van Beekum) Research Abroad (Femke Bokma)

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Research project

• All students conduct two research projects. First project – until July 2013 Second project – until July 2014 • The amount of credits for the research projects differs per track and per research project. 1 EC = 28 hrs f.e.30 EC = 840 hrs = 21 wks 3 Research project

Research project

Research Project 1: Neuroscience 25 – 35 EC Cognitive neuroscience 21 EC minimum Cognitive science 19 EC minimum Research Project 2: Neuroscience 40 – 50 EC Cognitive neuroscience 44 EC minimum Cognitive science 38 EC minimum Total EC minimum: Neuroscience 75 EC Cognitive Neuroscience 65 EC Cognitive Science 57 EC 4

Research project

In the time frame of the research project you have to explore, conduct, report and present the study. You need to relate to all stages of the research: • • • • • • Development of a research question Designing the experiment Selection of the research methods to address the question Data collection, analyses of the data, literature used Interpretation of the data Development of the argument and discussion 5 Research project

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How to find a research project?

Find it yourself:

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Subject • Technique • Lab

• Courses • Lectures • Books • Advice • Journal articles • Lab websites

Package deal: • Internship advertisements

www.csca.uva.nl/education/information-for-current-students/research-project

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Research project database

How to find a research project?

What has your interest -> What do you want to research!

• Explore internet – world wide web!

• Talk to second year students

– 18 October Cognito Evening!

• Talk to your lecturers • Email research groups • Keep an eye on www.csca.uva.nl -> research opportunities Have a global idea of what you would like to do (e.g. which techniques, what kind of study, which subjects) More important: know what they do… Inform yourself about the research they conduct Always be polite and respectful when initiating contact 8

Good Internship

LUCK SUPERVISOR PROJECT PLANNING YOUR INPUT

Beware:

• you might get offered a different project than you orignially were interested in

Realize:

• an internship is good for you but your supervisor can also benefit from it 9

Research project supervision

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Inform us on where you will do your research and who will be your supervisor!

Supervisor

• ‘daily’ guidance during the project • assesses and grades experimental work, presentation and report •

Co-assessor

• reads and grades the report • co-assessor and examiner can be the same person •

UvA representative

• can mediate between student and supervisor if necessary • combined • doesn ’t grade, unless the roles of examiner and co-assessor are makes sure UvA standards are realised in the project 10 Research project

Research project supervision

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Supervisor

Permanent member of staff, PhD student or post doc at the research institute •

Co-assessor

permanent member of staff, a PhD student or post doc at the UvA

(preferably from a different discipline than the supervisor).

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UvA Representative

permanent member of staff at the UvA (

not a PhD student

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Research project supervision

Don

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t forget to discuss these themes in advance:

Time schedule Research subject & question Techniques Meetings Your work station Courses Holidays Appointments Work

Supervision: agree on guidance

How often per week? Agree on certain day and time Are daily informal discussions?

Back up supervision?

What techniques will you learn?

Supervision: agree on time planning

Discuss time planning concerning research and courses Deadline for project, keep study plan in mind Plan enough time for data-analysis and writing

Provide your supervisor with the supervisor manual

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First meeting Plan project Read & study Learn Techniques Do experiments Start Internship Data analysis Presentation Writing Finish Internship First meeting Plan project Read & study Learn Techniques Do experiments Data analysis Writing Presentation

Approval procedure

Approval by Board of Examiners within the first month of starting • Research Project Approval form • Master Study Plan form

www.csca.nl

-> info for current students -> ‘forms and documents’ or ‘research project’

Without approval students will not be credited for their research project!

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Research proposal research project approval form

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Data of participant and supervisor Title Description (e.g. key questions) Procedure (operationalisation, materials, data analyses etc.) Work plan (time schedule, task distribution etc.) References The Board of Examiners needs to approve, without approval your grade can not be registered!

Deadline: Every last workday of the month Make sure your proposal is compete and submitted in the first phase of your research 15 Research project

Mid-evaluation Mid-evaluation form

Evaluation of the project halfway through Student is responsible for setting the meeting Important meeting to discuss progress, planning and expectations Mid-evaluation form to be filled out independently by supervisor and student and to be discussed in the meeting Final mid-evaluation form has to be sent to [email protected]

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Research report

• • • The research project report: in English scientific article set up depends on the project itself and on the editorial guidelines of the intended journal for which it is written. • • • In general: The report should be an account of: the researched (sub)questions arising from the project used methods and techniques discussion of all discovered results 17 Research project

Colloquium

• public presentation of research project • part of the final grading • supervisor and/or co-assessor needs to be present • 30 minutes presentation, 30 minutes defense • final stage of the research • at the research lab or at the university, but must be public 18

Research project assessment

The assessment of the research project is based on three components: • • • Research Report (scientific article) Experimental work Colloquium (presentation) Student and supervisor agree in advance on the relative weight of the three parts Weight factors should be stated on the Research Approval form 19

Research project: in short

• Select a supervisor / UvA representative / co-assessor • after internship agreement: inform us ([email protected]) who your supervisor is • Write your research proposal approval with help from your supervisor. • N.B. make solid plans concerning your time planning with your supervisor!

• Approval by the Board of Examiners within the first month of starting with the research project • without approval your grade can not be registered • if BoE decided changes need to be made these can still be implemented • Results should be reported in a scientific journal article format, the editorial guidelines of the intended journal should therefore be followed • The results of the thesis should be presented and defended in public (colloquium) 20 Research project

Tips from second year students

• Don ’t be too ambitious for your first project • If you take on too much for your first project, you might take a lot longer than planned and lack time to learn the basics • Plan a mid-evaluation meeting with your supervisor • If you plan your mid-evaluation already when you start your project, you know you have a fixed moment to discuss progress and expectations • Keep a journal • Write down what you do, when and why from the start. This saves you a lot of time when you have to write your report • Plan enough time for writing your report • Take a summer break • Don’t continue on to your second study year without taking some time off 21 Research project

Questions

Any questions concerning the given information?

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