Objectives and competences
Students master the rules and characteristics of scientific writing, they learn how to search for sources, how to evaluate and use them. They learn to plan a research work, to carry it out and to evaluate, present and analyse results.
Content (Syllabus outline)
Fundamentals of scientific writing. Composition of a scientific paper, seminar, thesis. Writing of equations, citations, referencing, figures. Searching for sources and their evaluation. Searching the scientific bases, scientific journals that are on-line in the University computer web. Preparation of the multimedia projection of the scientific work. Introduction to the scientific research: selection of a problem, survey and evaluation of the existing literature, planning of the individual experimental or theoretical research. Evaluation of the results, their presentation and analysis.
Elements of a disposition of a thesis.
How to prepare an ICT support to oral presentation and the elements of poster presentation.
Short seminar:
Each student writes a seminar on a topic of his/her own choice or a topic assigned by the lecturer. The rules for scientific writing should be obeyed strictly. The electronic multimedia presentation is prepared.
Concluding seminar:
Each student choses the topic of the seminar, which can be a part of the work within the scope of another subject or the practical work. Each student prepares and presents a disposition of the concluding seminar. The recommended length of the seminar is approximately 20 pages. It will be encouraged that the presentation of the seminar is the last act of the study, i.e. the student presents the seminar when all the rest of the exams in the study program are passed. Each student prepares a poster presenting the topic of the concluding seminar. Oral presentation should be supported by a proper use of ICT.
Learning and teaching methods
- lectures
- seminar
- guided research work
- explanation
- discussion
- demonstration
- work with text
- work with graphic elements
- use of simulations
- use of simulation software
- inquiry based learning
- experimental work
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
On completion of this course students will be able to:
- plan a research work, which means that they can define a goal, set hypotheses, choose appropriate research methods, define assumptions and limitations and predict the results;
- search, evaluate, analyse and use different sources by obeying the authorship rights;
- evaluate the results of the research work;
- report on the research in terms of a written text, orally with a support of ICT and with a poster; they can tell the characteristic differences among different types of presentations.
Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes
On completion of this course students will be able to:
- independently plan and carry out a complex experiment or research, use appropriate methods for the data analysis and evaluate data reliability;
- solve open problems in a way that they define the problem, identify its crucial characteristics and use different methods to solve the problem;
- correctly use the scientific language;
- use ICT support for communication and analysis.
Readings
1. R. A. Day, B. Gastel, How to write and publish a scientific paper, Greenwood Press, 2006.
2. Znanstveni in strokovni članki v znanstvenih in strokovnih revijah / Scientific and technical papers in scientific and technical journals
3. Učbeniki s področja diplomskega dela / textbooks on the topic chosen for the diploma thesis.
Prerequisits
Before the diploma thesis is presented the student should have accomplished all other obligations at the study programme Physics of Complex Systems
