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MAOK4005 Research process and topics

    • Number of credits
      10
    • Teaching semester
      2025 Autumn
    • Language of instruction
      English
    • Campus
      Evenstad
    • Required prerequisite knowledge

      None

Course content

The course aims to (1) integrate the knowledge acquired during previous courses (in particular Wildlife in the Anthropocene) and (2) enhance students’ abilities to critically engage with the process of scientific research and publication. The course will be based on a combination of scientific papers, popular science articles, and lectures / seminars on specific topics familiar from the previous courses. Students will then be asked to critically discuss these with respect to what they say about the scientific method and the application of science in real world management situations, including the links between results and recommendations and the need to integrate insights from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The course will touch on issues related to scientific practices such as the peer review process, open access publication, predatory journals, the value of journal metrics, and citation practices.

Learning Outcome

After successful completion of the course, the student will have the following knowledge, skills, and general competence. 

Knowledge

The student

  • Knows how to critically gain new knowledge from the scientific literature on current topics within applied ecology and related to the application of ecological insights.
  • Understands the research process so as to be able to critically assess the quality of a scientific study.
  • Understands the different epistemologies, practices, and traditions within different disciplines.
  • Understands how different disciplinary perspectives complement each other when trying to understand complex issues.
Skills

The student

  • Can read, extract key relevant messages, present, and critically evaluate and discuss scientific papers from different natural and social science approaches.
  • Can understand and process results produced by multiple disciplines.
General competence

The student

  • Has an in-depth understanding of the measures to evaluate scientific quality of oral and written presentations.
  • Can communicate and participate in discussions related to scientific publications.
Teaching and working methods

Campus-based lectures, seminars, self-study, group work, group and individual presentations, in class discussions. The course will draw heavily on scientific articles as material for discussion.

Required coursework

Minimum 80% attendance in lectures

One presentation of an assigned scientific paper / topic in class

Completion of one group presentation

Form of assessment

Final oral exam assessed using a grading scale from A-F, where E is the lowest passing grade. 

Assessments
Form of assessmentGrading scaleGroupingDuration of assessmentSupport materialsProportionComment
Oral examination
ECTS - A-F
  • No support materials
100
Faculty
Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology
Department
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management