Research Project

Code: ZOO10915M

12 ECTS

Duration: 30 weeks/312 hours

Scientific Area: Animal Science

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese

Sustainable Development Goals

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Learning Goals

Objectives:
Students will have lectures on topics such as life science research methodologies, and techniques of literature
review, oral and written expression, development and project management, as well as notions of research
ethics. Based on these, students should prepare and draft a proposal for a research project (PRP) including:
i) Identification of objectives to be achieved
ii) A solid literature review of the "current state of the art", and
iii) A justified proposal with the minimum resources necessary to implement it.
Student should:
i) Apply the acquired knowledge in the preparation and drafting of the PRP
ii) Collect, interpret, and use autonomously and in a critical manner scientific information relevant to the PRP
iii) Present, discuss, and defend the PRP in jury sessions and present it in written form
iv) Be critical, suggesting alternative solutions that do not distort the scientific objectives of the PRP or are
technically and economically unfeasible.

1. Research Project: Objectives
2. The phases of a Research Project
3. The literature and its sources
4. The structures of a Dissertation, a Project Work, and a Training Report
5. The references
6. The reading of articles. Critical reading
7. Oral and written communication: poster, paper, reports, graphics, pictures ...
8. The techniques of developing and managing project(s)
9. Types of research and information sources
10. Honesty and Ethics in Scientific Research
11. Preparation and development of a Research Project.

Teaching Methods

Sessions of a collective nature in the classroom (T, PL and S) and support sessions in Moodle. PL and S with the presence of several professors, trying to cover all areas of interest of the students. Dynamic sessions, with active participation of the students with a view to the proposal, presentation and discussion of a monograph.
Evaluation:
Continuous assessment - 6 evaluation sessions on the work progress, 4 with a jury of several professors (75% of the final grade) and 2 by UC professors (25%). Exclusive for students with 75% or more attendance in PL classes. The rest will do an appeal exam and/or special season. The final assessment regime includes components that, by their nature, have to be assessed during the period. Thus, under paragraph 9 of article 110, there will be no Normal season.
Appeal and special season exams will include a monograph and respective oral defense, before a jury (55% of the final grade) in addition to 3 written evaluations by UC professors (45%).