Original research papers

Course Description:

Students, with the help of the supervisor, will find an interesting research topic in life sciences to perform a literature research, and critically assess the scientific basis of the conclusions drawn. Students will discuss regularly with a supervisor, summarize the research findings in an oral presentation and a written report.

Course Syllabus:

Students, with the help of the supervisor, will find an interesting research topic in life sciences to perform a literature research. The students will first search for the relevant scientific literatures using online databases such as PubMed (www.pubmed.org). The scientific literatures should cover both reviews articles as well as original research papers. The students should understand the methodology of research described so that they can critically assess the experimental basis of the conclusions drawn in these papers. After reading a number of relevant papers in the selected topics, the students will summarize the research findings, critically analyze the information obtain and propose the way forward; platform and written presentations are required

Learning Outcome:

The students will be able to:

1. find relevant scientific literature in life sciences
2. interpret and analyze the experimental data presented in the scientific literature
3. understand the research methodology
4. summarize the findings in the scientific literature, and present them to the peers
5. write a review article on a current research topic in life sciences

2. Written Report (40%)

The students are required to submit a written report on the topics they have selected. The detailed format should follow those described for the Annual Reviews. You should refer to the “Author Handbooks” at the web page of Annual Reviews(http://www.annualreviews.org/page/authors/author-instructions/preparing/handbooks).

Each written report must contain at least 5,000 words and no more than 8,000 words; around 8 to 10 figures/tables/diagrams must be included. Any experimental data or other published information must be cited in accordance to the University guidelines on Honesty in Academic Work.

In brief, the manuscript should contain the following components:

1. Title
2. Abstract (within 400 words)
3. Keywords
4. Graphical Abstract (optional)
5. List of abbreviations and acronyms
6. Introduction (background), with aims of the paper at the end
7. Contents – _with listing of section headings and page numbers
8. Main text – _divided into section headings
9. Conclusions and future perspectives
10. References

The length of the review article should be around ~50 A4 pages (12pt fonts; top/bottom/right/left margin = 2.5/2.5/2.5/3.0 cm; double-line spacing)