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Brain and Cognitive SciencesResearch Projects

Practical issues and information

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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 2013Second 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

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Research projectResearch Project 1:

Neuroscience 25 – 35 EC Cognitive neuroscience 21 EC minimumCognitive science 19 EC minimum

Research Project 2:Neuroscience 40 – 50 ECCognitive neuroscience 44 EC minimumCognitive science 38 EC minimum

Total EC minimum: Neuroscience 75 ECCognitive Neuroscience 65 ECCognitive Science 57 EC

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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

Research project

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Find it yourself:• Subject• Technique• Lab

Package deal:• Internship advertisements

How to find a research project?

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

7 Research project database

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

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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

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Good Internship

YOUR INPUTPLANNINGPROJECTSUPERVISORLUCK

Beware:• you might get offered a different project than you orignially were interested inRealize:• an internship is good for you but your supervisor can also benefit from it

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Research project supervisionInform 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• doesn’t grade, unless the roles of examiner and co-assessor are combined • makes sure UvA standards are realised in the project

Research project

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Research project supervision

• SupervisorPermanent 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).

• UvA Representativepermanent member of staff at the UvA (not a PhD student)

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Research project supervision

Supervision: agree on guidance

How often per week? Agree on certain day and timeAre daily informal discussions?Back up supervision?What techniques will you learn?

Supervision: agree on time planning

Discuss time planning concerning research and coursesDeadline for project, keep study plan in mindPlan enough time for data-analysis and writing

Provide your supervisor with the supervisor manual

Don’t forget to discuss these themes in

advance:

Time scheduleResearch subject & question

TechniquesMeetings

Your work stationCoursesHolidays

AppointmentsWork

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First meeting

Plan project

Read & study

Learn Techniques

Do experiments

Data analysis

Presentation

Writing

First meeting

Plan projectRead & study

Learn Techniques

Do experiments

Data analysis

WritingPresentation

Start Internship

Finish Internship

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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 proposalresearch project approval form

1. Data of participant and supervisor2. Title 3. Description (e.g. key questions)4. Procedure (operationalisation, materials, data analyses etc.)5. Work plan (time schedule, task distribution etc.)6. 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

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Mid-evaluationMid-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 info-mcs@uva.nl

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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

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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

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Research project assessment

The assessment of the research project isbased 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

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Research project: in short

• Select a supervisor / UvA representative / co-assessor• after internship agreement: inform us (info-mcs@uva.nl) 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) Research project

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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

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Questions

Any questions concerning the given information?

Research project