Admission requirements
Mandatory Master courses, Junior Research Project I or II.
Description
A scientific review is an academic paper that provides a critique of relevant literature published on your field of investigation. Although a review uses no new data, it still provides an academic contribution through the interpretations made and the conclusions drawn. A good review provides a comprehensive summary of that field (comprehensive but not exhaustive- it should not become a textbook chapter). It demonstrates knowledge of and insight into relevant research done in the field. As well as describing research done, the review also provides a critique- a discussion of relevant debates, contradictory results, and disputed theoretical approaches. The review should identify key and innovative research and, where relevant, weaknesses in studies. The review should, in a well-argued and substantiated manner, include the writer’s own evaluation, interpretation and conclusions.
Course objectives
Students:
write a well-structured paper, suitable for publication in a scientific journal;
communicate ideas in a logical and well-argued manner;
demonstrate understanding of and insight into the subject area;
identify and cite key contributors to the field;
recognize the current state of research in the field (frontier of science);
identify major debates e.g. conflicting theories/ contradictory findings;
demonstrate critical engagement with the subject through presenting own opinion/ interpretation using well-substantiated argumentation
Timetable
Not applicable.
Mode of instruction
Independent writing of a review with guidance and corrections by the scientific supervisor(s) and by Communication in Science tutors.
Assessment method
The Scientific review is assessed by the supervisor and an independent reviewer (90% of the grade) on the following criteria:
meets the criteria for a scientific review
understanding of the underlying scientific question(s)
use of the literature
insight into and understanding of the literature
relevance
structure
And by CIS (10% of the grade), on the following criteria:
format: review is clearly structured
use of language: clarity, readability and effectiveness
use of language: word choice, grammatical accuracy, spelling
Reading list
Registration
Registration for FOS courses, H2W, Scientific Conduct, Course on Lab Animal Sciences and CRiP takes place in lottery rounds in the beginning of July. After the lottery rounds: if you want to register for a course you are kindly asked to contact the student administration at masterbms-courses@lumc.nl.
Contact
Remarks
For students in the Research specialization this literature review (mandatory part of their master’s programme) can provide a critical discussion on a subject related to the research of their JRP-I or JRP-II. It is also allowed to write a review on a subject not related to an internship.
For students in other biomedical specialisations this literature review may be included as an elective course and can be linked to a subject related to JRP-I (or JRP-II in case of Health). A subject not related to an internship is also allowed.
The Scientific Review needs to be approved beforehand by the Master’s Internship Committee. Therefore, please send in an application form, preferable at least four weeks before the end of your internship, via Kl-app or four weeks prior to the intended starting date. For more info see guidelines and regulations on Brightspace and Kl-app. Please consult these guidelines and regulations beforehand and act accordingly.
Also check the following document on Brightspace Master BMS general info: Role of ‘Communication in Science’ (CiS) during the Master’s Biomedical Sciences.