AE9100 PhD introduction seminars
- Course codeAE9100
- Number of credits5
- Teaching semester2025 Autumn
- Language of instructionEnglish
- CampusEvenstad
Content
THE PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
- theories, hypotheses and models
- explanation, laws, prediction, causation and understanding
- scientific theories and models
- acquiring knowledge
- environmental ethics
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ETHICAL CONVENTIONS AND GUIDELINES
- good research practice and intellectual freedom
- ethical guidelines regarding the use of animals in research
- ethical guidelines regarding the use of questionnaires and interviews in research
- ethical guidelines for cooperation and authorship
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION
- the structure of scientific papers and popular science
- characteristics of (good) review papers, original research papers, popular papers and other literature
- writing, reading and the oral presentation of scientific results for academics and laymen – the popular scientific presentations
- interactions and communications with the public media and on the world-wide web the peer-referee process
Learning Outcome
After completing the course, the students should have the following learning outcomes with regard to knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The candidate:
- has a profound understanding of the history and philosophy of science
- understands how new knowledge develops in the biological sciences
- appreciates how the forefront of knowledge within her/his research topic developed
- has a basic insight into environmental ethics and how values and normative theories relate to biological research
Skills
The candidate:
- can reflect upon philosophy of science and research ethics
- knows how to store, secure and manage research data
- can review and comment on each other’s written and oral work
General competence
The candidate:
- can identify new relevant ethical issues and carry out research with scholarly integrity
- can discuss academic issues and challenge established dogmas regarding knowledge and practice
- understands how scientific communication functions, including associated ethics, with impact factors, open access and scientific societies
- can contribute in the communication of scientific actions targeting different audiences, such as scientists within applied ecology or biotechnology, scientists in other fields, and users of the scientific results and laymen
Teaching and training methods
Lectures, seminars and self-study.
The course will consist of one day to organise the course, followed by preparation for the course by self-study and one intensive seminar week. Each topic covered will start with a broad presentation by professional lecturers followed by group discussions and presentation by the course participants.
Evaluation
To pass the candidate has to pass evaluations of the following:
- One individual written essay on ethical considerations, history, technical advancements or future applications of the individual field of expertise
- One presentation and introduction to discussion related to philosophy of science
- One individual oral presentation and introduction to discussion related to a scientific misconduct