Bachelor's Thesis
18 EC
Semester 2, periode 5, 6
5042BPB18Y
| Eigenaar | Bachelor Biologie |
| Coördinator | dr. Dorian Swarts |
| Onderdeel van | Bachelor Biologie, jaar 3Bachelor Bèta-gamma, major Biologie, jaar 3 |
At the end of their bachelor programme, students finish their education with a bachelor project. Knowledge and skills gained during the bachelor study will be used in a largely independently conducted research project. The bachelor project Biology is preceded by and linked to the mandatory course “Research Project Design and Planning” (RPDP). In this course students will perform their literature research on their bachelor project topic and write a proposal for the research that will subsequently be conducted in the bachelor project. Bachelor project supervisors will be involved in the preceding course by providing feedback on the draft version(s) of the research proposal and by grading the final version. The bachelor project itself will start in period 5, this year on 1 April 2024, and will be concluded with a symposium on 27/28 June 2024.
For external projects and SILS projects, the student contacts well before the official starting date of the bachelor project (and the preceding course RPDP) a teacher/researcher for supervision and decides together with the supervisor on the subject. For projects within IBED, a list of projects will be published in November/December and students will be matched with a project after the student has provided his/her preferences for specific topics. It is not possible to do a bachelor project abroad.
The student formulates together with the supervisor one or more research questions. The student registers the project on DataNose and provides a short description of the background, research question, methods and timeline of the project. During the preceding course RPDP, the student studies the available literature on the chosen topic and writes a concise research proposal in which the aspects indicated above are further elaborated upon. The research proposal can serve as a basis for the introduction section of the bachelor thesis but is not part of the final mark for the bachelor project (grading of the research proposal will be done as part of RPDP).
To start the student needs to have year 1 and 2 completed (120 ECTS) on March 1st. Please contact the study advisor for inquiries about dispensations. Note that having finished year 1 statistics (“Data verzamelen en analyseren”) is an absolute requirement to start with the bachelor project.
In week 1-2 of the bachelor project the will get acquainted with the techniques that are being used for the internship (i.e. lab skills, field work or methods of data processing and analysis).
In week 3-8 field work is being performed or research in the lab. In week 6, there will be an interim evaluation for both student and supervisor.
In week 9-10 data analysis is done and if needed extra measurements can be taken.
In week 11-12 the bachelor thesis will be finished. The thesis will have the structure of a scientific research article. The student will receive at least one feedback round from the supervisor on a draft version of the thesis. In addition, students perform peer-review on each others theses. In week 12 a final presentation will be provided by the student in English on the bachelor project symposium.
The final deadline to hand in the bachelor thesis and the associated data files is 1 July 2024, unless agreed otherwise with the supervisors and coordinator (well) before the deadline. If the final deadline is missed the student will receive an 'NAV' (niet aan voldaan), with the possibility to hand in the report again as a resit (maximum grade 6).
Please contact the bachelor project coordinator as soon as possible in case of a possible delay.
More details can be found in the bachelor project manual, which can be find on the Canvas page Bachelor Biologie.
All study material until March of year 3.
|
Activity |
Number of hours |
|
Presentation |
16 |
|
Self study |
488 |
|
Total 18 EC x 28 hours |
504 |
Aanwezigheidseisen opleiding (OER-B):
Aanvullende eisen voor dit vak:
The student is expected to work 40 hours per week on the project and to participate in planned activities by the research group.
| Onderdeel en weging | Details |
|
Eindcijfer | |
|
40% Practical work | Moet ≥ 5.5 zijn |
|
40% Bachelor thesis | Moet ≥ 5.5 zijn |
|
10% Presentation | Moet ≥ 5.5 zijn |
|
10% Data management | Moet ≥ 5.5 zijn |
Grading will be done according to the rubric in DataNose. Marks are entered by the assessor. The research report is graded by both the assessor and examiner. The course coordinator enters the marks for the oral presentation.
An independent resit is possible for the research report, the data files and the final presentation. The maximum grade for a resit is a 6. It is not possible to do a resit for the practical work. In case of a fail for the practical work, a new bachelor project on a new topic needs to be done, preferentially with a different supervisor. This is also the case if one of the resits of one of the other components remains insufficient.
Om een inzagemoment aan te vragen, kun je contact opnemen met je begeleider.
The assessor is responsible for providing a possibility for a student to have insight in the grading process and ask questions about this. The student can request insight in the grading of the oral presentation by e-mailing the coordinator.
The final research report is written in English and starts with a title page with the report title, the student name and number, the supervisors (assessor, examiner and daily supervisor), and the submission date. It contains a summary, material and method, results, discussion and references. There is no minimum or maximum to the number of words, pages or references used. In general, the length of the report should be comparable to a journal article reporting the same research, 4,000-5,000 words is a good indication. The basic principles can be found in the manual “Wetenschappelijke verslaglegging” (Scientific Writing) of the course “Academische Vaardigheden” (Academic Skills, year one bachelor Biology). A PDF-version of this manual, as well as additional supporting material is available on the Bachelor Biology Canvas page. The research report will be graded according to the rubric in DataNose by both the supervisor(s) and the examiner.
The final oral presentations (in English, 12 minutes + 3 minutes discussion) will take place during the last week of June at the UvA. The schedule will be announced in June. Students will organise the symposium, act as session chairs, and guide the discussion. The assessment by a panel of jury members (appointed by the coordinator) is made according to the rubric of the bachelor project. The grades for the oral presentation are the average grades of the panel members. Parents/guardians of the students are also welcome during the presentations.
In case of external projects, students may also be asked to give an oral presentation at the department/institute where the project was performed. Such presentations may be used to prepare for the oral presentation and discussion at the University of Amsterdam, but cannot replace a presentation at the UvA and will not be formally graded.
Raw data, derived data and all analysis (scripts) needed to go from raw data to derived data are preferentially documented in a on-line data repository (possibly under embargo). Details of the way to set up this data repository can be found on Canvas. A clear description of where the data files can be found need to be present in the final report as well as on DataNose.
Dit vak hanteert de algemene 'Fraude- en plagiaatregeling' van de UvA. Hier wordt nauwkeurig op gecontroleerd. Bij verdenking van fraude of plagiaat wordt de examencommissie van de opleiding ingeschakeld. Zie de Fraude- en plagiaatregeling van de UvA: http://student.uva.nl
Week 1-3
Reading literature and updating the research proposal (if needed). Pilot experiments, construction of data files.
Week 4-8
Practical work, documentation of the data and preliminary analysis. In week 6 both student and supervisor will receive a mail with a request to report on the current status through a small questionnaire.
Week 9-10
Final experiments. Analysis and documentation of the data. Writing an outline of the final research report with introduction, the proposed figures and conclusions, submitted end of week 9 latest week 10. Receiving feedback from the supervisor.
Week 11-12
Writing the final version of the report. Peer review by students. Submitting the final report in DataNose at the end of week 12. The data files will be shared with the supervisor and/or stored in a data repository. Oral presentation of the project will take place at the symposium.
For honours students, a simple extension of the bachelor project is not sufficient; they are expected to make a specific assignment, which will take part partly during the regular trajectory and partly afterwards. The honours extension is a separate course. Honours students can contact the honours extension course coordinator (Charlene Diepenbroek-Barker) for more information.