COURSE OUTLINE

BIOLOGY HONOURS THESIS BIOL-4111/6

COORDINATOR:

Dr. Murray Wiegand, Room 2RC049, phone: 786-9108 fax: 774-2401, e-mail: m.wiegand@uwinnipeg.ca (E-mail communication is preferred.)

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:

This course provides an opportunity for students to undertake a  research project of personal interest under the guidance of a faculty member or equivalent and the Course Coordinator. Practical experience is provided in hypothesis forming, experimental methodology, data analysis, in the verbal and written presentation of the findings, and participation in an inter-university biological conference. Students find this course gives them a solid background for entry into graduate programs or research oriented careers. Theses written by recent students can be viewed here.

PRE-REQUISITES:

BIOL-1115/3 and BIOL-1116/3, or the former BIOL-1111-1, plus 24 credit hours of biology courses at or above the 2000 level; a minimum GPA of 3.0 in biology courses and a minimum overall university GPA of 2.75, (or permission of the Department Chair), and at least 3 credit hours in Statistics or Data Analysis.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Discuss your interest in taking the course with an appropriate faculty member. If that person is willing and able to act as your thesis supervisor, the two of you will then need to select two Advisory Committee Members. Contact them to determine whether they are able to act as your Committee Members. At this point you should complete the "Honours Thesis Application Form" (available from the Biology Department office 2RC005). The completed form should be returned to the Coordinator or Biology Department Assistant. The Coordinator will then review the Application to determine whether to grant written permission to register. Students wanting to register for the 2012 fall term should submit their Application in the spring of 2012 or as soon as possible after that in order to be sure of obtaining an Advisory Committee. If your research will involve the use of vertebrate animals you MUST apply by June 30th. See the Coordinator if you need help with this process. If your proposed Supervisor or Committee Members are unfamiliar with this course, ask them to click here or send them this link.

 Enrolment in this course may be limited by the availability of Supervisors and Supervisory Committee Members. Avoid disappointment by applying early! You will need a "Permission Form" provided and signed by the Coordinator (Murray Wiegand) or Chair (E. Byard) to register.

TEXT: You don't need to buy a text for this course.

CLASSES meet irregularly on Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30-9:20, in 1RC018, to discuss how to:

• Write the research proposal.
• Prepare and give oral presentations.
• Obey work place health and safety regulations.
• Access electronic databases and the scientific literature.
• Prepare the progress report.
• Apply to grad school and obtain financial support. 
• Prepare for PUBS 
• Write the Thesis. 
• Prepare for the oral exam.

These topics and others are described in more detail in the course Manual.

EVALUATION:

Note: The Final Presentation is graded by the two Committee Members, the Chair of the Biology Department and the Coordinator. The Oral exam is graded by the two Committee Members, the Chair of the Biology Department, the Supervisor, and the Coordinator. The Thesis is graded by the two Committee Members and the Coordinator. The marks of these individuals grading the Final presentation, Oral exam, and Thesis are averaged, meaning that each person contributes equally to the mark for these components of the course. The Supervisor's  grade is decided by the Supervisor alone. The Coordinator's grade for the Thesis is based on both the quality of the Thesis and overall performance during the course. Notwithstanding the preceding, the Biology Department can not guarantee that you will always be evaluated by the persons specified above. Unavoidable circumstances may prevent evaluation by a Supervisor, Committee Member(s), the Chair, or the Coordinator.  In such cases the evaluation will proceed with the absent person(s) replaced if possible by a substitute. 

Oral examinations will be held in the latter part of April, 2013. Exact dates will be arranged in late March. 

The Biology Department does not curve exam marks. What you earn is what you get. Your mark will be converted to a final letter grade according to standards set by the Department: 90-100 A+, 85-89 A, 80-84 A-, 75-79 B+, 70-74 B, 65-69 C+, 58-64 C, 50-57 D, <50 F.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  Due to the nature of the thesis course, it is not possible to provide the usual 20% of the final mark prior to the withdrawal date.  

ASSIGNMENTS & DUE DATES (2012 - 2013):

·         Research title, written proposal, and Abstract for oral presentation of proposal. Due 19 October.

·         Oral presentation of proposal. 01, 03, 05 November (free slots, Monday, Wednesday, Friday) - Room TBA.

·         Written progress report. Due 17 January.

·         First draft of thesis (ALL parts). Due 07 March.

·         Final oral presentation. Saturday, March 12th.

·         Thesis. Due 17:00 (5:00pm), MONDAY 04 APRIL.

DEADLINES:

Please note that deadlines are firm. Missing an evaluation may result in a loss of marks.

A late thesis submission will result in an automatic reduction by a full letter grade.  

 

ACADEMIC REGULATIONS AND POLICIES

It is your responsibility to be familiar with the information on Academic Regulations and Policies of the 2012-13 Calendar which can be found on the University’s website http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/cms-filesystem-action/pdfs/calendar/RegulationsandPolicies.pdf .  This section covers classroom regulation, grading, transcripts, challenge for credit, academic standing, student discipline (academic and non-academic misconduct), appeals including grade appeals, University Policies and Codes, graduation.

 

A summary of important information regarding Academic Misconduct follows:

Forms of Academic Misconduct:  

·         Plagiarism:  includes presenting other people’s published or unpublished work in part or as a whole as your own.  This includes material from lab manuals, essays, journal articles, books, etc.  Plagiarism also refers to submitting the same work in more than one course without both instructors’ permission and to the situation where two or more students submit identical (or nearly identical) work for evaluation when the work was to be completed individually (p 9- 10).

·         Cheating: includes copying another person’s answer on a test, communicating with another person during a test or exam, consulting unauthorized sources(incl. written and electronic sources), obtaining a copy (all or part) of a test/exam/assignment before it is officially available, purchasing tests, essays or other assignments and submitting the work as your own (p 9).

·         Improper Academic/Research practices include:  fabricating or falsifying results, using other peoples’ research findings without permission, misrepresenting research results or methods, referring to non-existent sources or investigators, contravening the University’s Policy and Procedures On Research Integrity (p 9).

·         Obstructing academic activities of another person; for example interfering with another person’s access to pertinent resources or information to gain academic advantage (p 9).

·         Impersonation: both impersonation of another individual or allowing someone to impersonate you (p 9).

·         Falsification or Modification of an Academic Record: including tests, transcripts, letters of permission, etc (p 9).

·         Aiding and Abetting Academic Misconduct (p 9).

 

Penalties for Academic Misconduct (p 9-10):

Can include, but are not limited to:

·         Written warning

·         Lower or failing grade on an assignment or test

·         Lower or failing grade in a course

·         Denial of admission or readmission to the University

·         Forfeiture of University awards or financial assistance

·         Suspension from the University for a specified period of time

·         Withholding or rescinding a UW degree, certificate or diploma

·         Expulsion from the University

 

Procedures:

All allegations of academic misconduct must be reported initiating a process which involves several steps.  These include procedures involving the instructor of the course in which the misconduct is alleged to have occurred, the Departmental Review Committee, and the Senate Academic Misconduct Committee.  See pages 10 through 14 for a detailed description of the procedures. These pages also outline the Appeals process regarding Academic Misconduct.

 

 

VOLUNTARY WITHDRAWAL 

**You must formally withdrawal from a course.  If you simply stop going to classes, you may receive an “F” on your transcript and loss of tuition credit.   

 

Please note the following deadline dates for voluntary withdrawal from Biology Courses:

October 25, 2012 for 3 credit hour courses beginning Sept. 5, 2012 and ending Nov. 27, 2012

January 22, 2013 for 6 credit hour courses beginning Sept. 5, 2012 and ending Apr. 5, 2013

March 4, 2013 for 3 credit hour courses beginning Jan. 7, 2013 and ending Apr. 5, 2013