VSC595a - Critical Evaluation of Scientific Literature

Spring, 2008
Monday, 8:00am, VS/M 205

Office Hours:
Call or E-mail for an appointment.

Course Outline:
The purpose of VSC595a Critical Evaluation of Scientific Literature is to critically evaluate scientific papers and to introduce students to scientific discussion.

Each student is required to present a scientific paper to the class. The purpose of the presentation is to describe and critically review the salient points of a paper and to lead a discussion of the paper's content.

Papers selected for presentation must adhere to the following criteria:

Please forward a PDF copy of the paper to Dr. Jost (jost@u.arizona.edu) for distribution, on or before the Wednesday prior to the presentation.

Class Location:
Class will meet at 8:00am on Mondays in VSM205.

Attendance:
Attendance at class is mandatory. If you will be absent for any medical, legal, or other legitimate reason, please notify Dr. Jost prior to class.

Grading:
VSC595a has three components; attendance, presentation and participation, all of which will be graded according to the criteria set out below.

Attendance: Attendance at >80% of classes guarantees a D grade, except where indicated below. Attendance at <80% of classes guarantees a failing grade, regardless of grades in other components. If you are more than 15 minutes late without a valid excuse, you will be marked absent. If you are habitually late to class, this will also affect your participation points.

Presentation: Since a presentation is required, failure to present will guarantee a failing grade, regardless of grades in other components. A satisfactory presentation will elevate the D grade from the attendance component to a C grade.

Most students use a Powerpoint slide show format when doing the presentation. It is the student's responsibility to obtain the projector from the front office and to organize a laptop for the presentation.

Plan for about 20-25 minutes of slides and the same amount of time for discussion. Be prepared to be interupted during the presentation to answer questions, clarify issues, etc...

A satisfactory presentation includes:

- General research into the topic (may require reading additional journal articles)
- A brief introduction to the topic, as found in the journal article and in the general research
- Presentation of additional background information to allow the class to understand the topic (if necessary)
- Definition of the hypothesis or aims underlining the work
- Presentation of all of the data found in the journal article (which may be any combination of tables, figures, or data presented solely in the text)
- A critical assessment of whether the authors' data is relevent to the aims of the work and whether it is valid in terms of the methodologies and statistical analyses used
- Presentation of the authors' conclusions and an assessment of whether those conclusions were upheld by the data as published
- Leading the class in a discussion of all these areas and being to able to answer general questions regarding the research background, the aims or hypothesis, the methodology used in the work and/or data (both format and content)

If the instructor consider the presentation unsatisfactory based on these criteria, the student will be given the opportunity do a second presentation later in the semester.

Participation: As VSC595a is primarily a discussion class, a heavy emphasis is placed on class participation. In essence this equates to commenting or asking questions about the paper which are substantive, significant and/or relevant and demonstrate that the paper has been read in depth. (This does not include whispering a comment to the person next to you or making a comment to the instructor outside of class). It is also a requirement of the course that students read the paper being presented prior to the class. The paper will be e-mailed to you as a PDF file.

Participation of this kind in >50% of classes is required to elevate the C grade to a B grade. Participation in >80% of classes is required to elevate the B grade to an A grade. Grading for participation will be affected by not attending classes without a legitimate excuse.

While these criteria represent the minimum standards for obtaining each grade in this class, it would be of benefit to both the student and the class, for each student to come to every class prepared to participate at a high standard. This is a class where you can learn information that will be applicable in future research careers. However, you will only get out of the class what you are prepared to put in.

Student Code of Academic Integrity:
Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See: http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/

All forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited, including, but not limited to: cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, plagiarism, modifying any academic work to obtain additional credit without the approval of the instructor, or attempting to carry out any of the above. Committing any of the above will result in sanctions being imposed on the student's scores or grade up to and including the assignment of an "E" for the entire course. If you are unclear about the ethics of obtaining or using any information, please ask the instructor for guidance.

Special Needs and Accommodations:
If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

Disability Resources Center
1224 East Lowell Street
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (520) 621-3268
Fax: (520) 621-9423
Email: uadrc@email.arizona.edu http://drc.arizona.edu/

The need for accommodations must be documented by the appropriate office.

Classroom Behavior:
Please turn off your cell phones and pagers during class. It disturbs the instructor, as well as your fellow students.

The Arizona Board of Regents' Student Code of Conduct, ABOR Policy 5-308, prohibits threats of physical harm to any member of the University community, including to one's self. See: http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threaten.shtml

Confidentiality of Student Records:
See: http://www.registrar.arizona.edu/ferpa/ferpa.htm

Other than the grade and attendance policy, this syllabus may be subject to change, with advanced notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

Updated December 3, 2007
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