Admission requirements
This course is for MSc students in Biology.
Description
Practicing science consists of more than doing experiments in the lab or observations in the field. The course “Skills for Scientists” trains students in the skills necessary to partake in scientific discussions in their field of research. It supports students in reaching a basic proficiency in reading scientific literature, presenting research findings and scientific writing. There will also be lectures about the practical side of science, such as publishing a paper, how research institutes function and career development. The core of the course will consist of journal clubs and skills labs, in which the student gets to develop and practice their skills in small groups of peers.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to (within their chosen field of research):
1. Quickly read scientific literature to find the most relevant information for the student’s goal, combining extensive and intensive reading techniques.
2. Explain the research question, methods, results and conclusions of scientific papers based on the structure of scientific arguments.
3. Present a critical evaluation of another researcher’s work.
4. Summarize and explain research findings to both academic peers and a general audience.
5. Formulate a position toward a scientific(-societal) issue, substantiated with scientific arguments.
6. Give and use peer-feedback to iteratively improve a piece of writing.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
Lectures, journal club meetings, skill labs.
Assessment method
Annotated bibliography (pass/fail)
Chalk talk (40%)
Popular science essay (40%)
Peer-feedback (20%)
Please note that a final grade can only be given if enough skill labs/journal club meetings have been attended (at least 80%).
Minimum grade:
Courses require a minimum, unrounded 5.5 grade to complete.
If a course has 2 or more written partial exams, the minimum grade only applies to the weighted average of the exams.
For partial grades from components other than exams (e.g. practicals, seminars, writing assignments), the bottom grade does apply to the individual components.
Please refer to the Student Charter for an overview of regulations.
Reading list
Reading materials will be distributed through Brightspace.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Coordinator: D.E. Fluks, email: AV@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.