BVB202 Experimental Design and Quantitative Methods

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

The skills to design, carry out, analyse and interpret experiments are fundamental for scientists. This is particularly important for students of biology and environmental science since environmental variability is an inherent element of the systems that they will need to understand. This unit builds on first year knowledge of the theory of science and the scientific method developed in first year. With field trips it provides real world experience in problem assessment, formulation of testable hypotheses, and experimental design. These critical skills are used and further developed in later units.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate effective critical thinking skills to identify and assess problems commonly encountered in biological and environmental systems
2. Apply knowledge and skills to design basic experiments involving biological and environmental systems.
3. Demonstrate the appropriate analytical and statistical skills to solve biological problems
4. Effectively communicate scientific results in written form

Content

Learning Approaches

Lecture and workshop:  Alternate weeks throughout semester
Practicals: Weekly throughout semester
Working in groups and individually, you will be guided by lecturers and tutors in the use of appropriate theory and software. You will work collaboratively with peers to identify different kinds of problems, and individually and in groups, design and analyse experiments for different kinds of problems in biological and environmental systems. This will be conducted in parallel with a series of data gathering exercises that may involve field trips and other tasks. These analyses and exercises will engage you in the kinds of activities that you might undertake when employed in biological or environmental fields or when undertaking further study. You will also communicate the results of your analyses in an appropriate scientific format. Your report writing skills will be developed by individual and group work, and refined with feedback from peers, tutors and lecturers.
It is important to appreciate that the knowledge you learn will not remain static: new techniques will be developed over time that will influence the design, planning and subsequent analysis of experiments. Therefore you will be directed to online and audiovisual resources that will enable you to develop your analytical skills in the current unit and to keep abreast of new techniques as they develop into the future.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Assessment is designed to provide feedback to you progressively throughout the semester. This will involve a mix of written and oral feedback from lecturers and tutors on your weekly worksheets and the mid semester quiz. You will also receive structured written feedback from peers, and oral feedback from tutors and lecturers on your practice report, and written and oral feedback from lecturers and tutors on your final report.

Assessment

Overview

Assessment in this unit has been designed to assist you to develop an understanding of the concepts and techniques that are essential for the design, analysis and interpretation of experiments in biological and environmental settings. In most weeks you will have the opportunity to collaborate with your peers to practice recognising and analysing problems using appropriate software. You will then be asked to individually submit answers to set problems for assessment and feedback.

To assist you to develop your report writing skills you will be asked to write a short practice report that will be shared with a designated peer supporter who will provide structured feedback. Tutors and lecturers will also be available to provide feedback on this report. Towards the end of semester each individual will be asked to write a Research Plan, documenting and summarising plans and expected outcomes of a research project. Towards the end of semester each individual will be asked to write a short scientific report for assessment.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Problem Solving Task

A brief series of problems given weekly. These involve using calculations to solve exercises or designing experiments in a biological or environmental context. They require the type of problem to be identified, the correct analytical technique to be used and the results to be correctly interpreted.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Research Plan

A research plan related to a planned project or experiment, documenting and summarising plans for the project, experimental design and expected outcomes    

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: Scientific Report

This assessment item consists of a short scientific report that will be conducted using data collected during fieldwork or other classroom exercises, or is otherwise supplied.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit. You will be made aware of evacuation procedures and assembly areas in the first few lectures. In the event of a fire alarm sounding, or on a lecturer's instruction, you should leave the room and assemble in the designated area that will be indicated to you.

The unit may involve fieldwork. Risk assessments for field trips identify several low impact risks, including: travel; slips and trips; animal bites, and animal and plant stings. Safety considerations associated with field trips will be discussed in pre-trip briefings with printed notes related to safety issues being distributed where appropriate. You should be conscious of your health and safety at all times whilst on campus or in the field.