Course details

General
FacultyHealth Sciences
DepartmentMedicine
Education levelPostgraduate / Master of Science
Course codeC4Semester1
Course titleHow to write a paper or a grant proposal
Independent teaching activitiesHours per weekECTS
Lectures1
Practice3
Total44
CoursetypeGeneral setting course, skills development
Prerequisite coursesNone
Teaching and assessment languageEnglish

Learning outcomes

Objective

Upon completion of the course, the student will know the basic principles of writing and presenting a scientific study (oral presentation, poster presentation, full publication), and the writing of a research proposal and will be able to submit them via the internet.

Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, graduate students will be familiar with:

  • The structure of a complete publication, oral communication, poster presentation or research proposal
  • The basic steps from initiation through completion of writing a scientific study or research proposal
  • The judgment process of a scientific study (peer review)
  • The ethics posts
Skills

The course participants upon completion will be able to:

  • Organize and write the “Introduction” and “Discussion” of a full publication
  • Organize and write the section of “Materials and Methods” of a full publication
  • Organize and write the “Results” of a full publication
  • Build Tables and Charts
  • Write author citations of a publication using Reference managers
  • Submit a complete publication, via the Internet
  • Write titles and summary (abstract)
  • Prepare and present an oral presentation (slide structure)
  • Prepare and present a poster (construction poster)
  • Organize and write a graduation thesis
  • Prepare and write a research proposal (grant)

Course contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Writing Introduction and Discussion
  3. Writing Materials and Methods
  4. Writing Results
  5. Tables and Charts
  6. Writing Citation- Reference managers
  7. Submitting-Process peer review
  8. Writing titles and summary (abstract)
  9. Oral Communication-Transparency Construction
  10. Poster-poster Construction
  11. Writing thesis-PhD thesis
  12. Writing research proposal(grant)

Teaching and learning methods – evaluation

Teaching methodsFace to face
Distance learning
Use of information and
communication technologies (ICT)

  • Use of ICT in Teaching- Moodle Virtual learning environment (VLE)
    (asynchronous learning, wikis, Online Discussion Fora, Educational Portfolio, assignment submission, assessment process)

  • Use of ICT in Communication with students
    (email, instant messaging via Moodle)

Module structureWork Hours per SemesterActivity
Lectures 30
Exercises (Quiz) 5
Exercises (Wikis) 5
Exercises (Online discussion fora) 10
Exercises (Study relevant papers) 20
Essay background work40
Essay writing15
Overall work for the course125
Assessment Methods
  • Written assignment, in English, approximately 2,500 words long, to be submitted by each student at the end of the course

  • Assessment of knowledge at the beginning and the end of the course with short-answer questions and essays development

  • Weekly quizes, with multiple choice questions

  • Assessment based on comments submitted by each student in online discussion fora

Recommended Bibliography

  1. The Cochrane Centre brochure, UK Cochrane Centre, Summertown Pavilion, Middle Way, Oxford OX2 7LG, UK.
  2. Chalmers I, Altman DG, eds. Systematic reviews. London: BMJ Publications, 1995.
  3. Pauling L. How to live longer and feel better. New York:Freeman, 1986.
  4. Mulrow C. The medical review article: state of the science. Ann Intern Med 1987; 106: 485- €“8.
  5. Cook DJ, Mulrow CD, Haynes RB. Systematic reviews: synthesis of best evidence for clinical decisions. Ann Intern Med 1997; 126: 376- €“80.
  6. Oxman AD, Guyatt GH. The science of reviewing research. Ann NY AcadSci 1993; 703: 125-€“31.
  7. Farthing MJG. Research misconduct. Gut 1997;41:l-€“2.
  8. Farthing MJG. Retractions in Gut 10 years after publication. Gut 2001;48: 285-€“6.
  9. Lock S. Research misconduct 1974–1990: an imperfect history. In: Lock S, Wells F, Farthing M, eds. Fraud and misconduct in biomedical research. 3rd ed. London: BMJ Publishing Group, 2001:51-€“63.
  10. White C, eds. The COPE Report 1999. Annual Report of the Committee on Publication Ethics. London: BMJ Books, 1999.
  11. W3C. A Little History of the World Wide Web.
    Available from http://www.w3.org/History.html (accessed 31 Mar 2003).