10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Basic reading, writing and informatics skills for biomedical research Segment 1. Introduction to the course

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Mestrado/Doutorado course structure –Permaneça no Curso por um período mínimo de 12 meses, ou máximo de 36 meses para o nível Mestrado e 48 meses para o nível Doutorado –Complete um mínimo de 24 créditos, sendo 14 em disciplinas obrigatórias e 10 em disciplinas eletivas para o nível Mestrado e 7 em disciplinas obrigatórias e 17 em eletivas para o nível Doutorado –Realize atividade de pesquisa e tenha aprovada uma dissertação ou tese ou artigo na área de concentração escolhida

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates How to make your project succeed –Choose a supervisor with a good publications record –Make sure that the scientific basis for your research problem has a strong relationship with the current international literature –Write a research proposal and get it reviewed by experts in the field –Remember, research is an iterative process - experiments won’t always turn out as you expect –Don’t forget to keep an eye on the competition – it’s only new and interesting if you’re first –Review progress regularly

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Problem definition Grant proposal Experiments Seminar Conference proceedings More experiments Writing-up Publication The scientific research process Key: Experiments Reading and writing Verbal communication

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Engineers ~ 72 articles per year Physicists ~ 204 articles per year Chemists ~ 276 articles per year University medical faculty ~ 322 articles per year Source: Carol Tenopir, University of Tennessee, USA The importance of regular reading

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates The importance of regular reading

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates The importance of reading and writing Good science begins and ends in the library Good experimental design requires an awareness of the latest research trends and findings in your area together with a clear definition of the problem you are trying to solve Acceptance of your work for publication requires clear logical presentation of your results together with a clear explanation of how they advance our understanding Analysis of the literature is a constant component of a good researcher’s daily routine Research that is not published is not science

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates And informatics ? Wikipedia definition: Informatics includes the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process and communicate information. Most biomedical information is stored in databases accessible via the internet. The importance of these tools is not always matched by their ease of use And you need to know that they exist…

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates The goals of the course Show you where to find and use different sources of biomedical information Teach you how to use this information to build robust hypotheses and design strong experiments Describe the essential features of a scientific research paper Explain how the scientific publishing process works

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Summary Taking this course is important because a significant amount of research fails to get published This course is designed to develop the basic skills required for scientific research In particular, the practical exercises will address some of the most common reasons for publication failure

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Course structure The course –Normally nine modules plus nine practical exercises with feedback Methods of assessment –Attendance –Practical work and reading – Grades A, B, C and Fail Communications and course materials –Communication: –Course materials: associates.com/Education/CourseOne/10Course.htmlhttp:// associates.com/Education/CourseOne/10Course.html Other parallel activities: Writing clinics

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Practical activity 1a - Who are you ? Total duration - ca. 15 minutes. Please me the title of your project (if you already have one), else a sentence describing your main area of interest. Please also tell me the names of the five main journals you use, and where you can get access to them. If you use other sources of information regularly, such as databases, please tell me what the two most frequently used ones are. Set the list up as a small Excel spreadsheet so you can add information about these sources later on in the course Make sure to sign the so that I know who you are.

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Practical activity 1b - Introduction to how to read, write, present Total duration - ca. 45 minutes. Read the four linked documents describing how to read a scientific article (Developed by the Cain Project at Rice University), how to write a literature review (You can also find this article in Wikipedia), how not to present using Powerpoint. (Slideshare) and how to present clearly (also a Cain Project resource).how to read a scientific articlehow to write a literature reviewWikipedia how not to present using Powerpoint.how to present clearly Choose a recent review article that describes progress in an area that is outside your main field of interest. Using the advice given in the documents listed above, begin to think how you can summarise and explain subsequent progress to your colleagues. Note: This exercise is concluded in Practical 5.

10 April 2008Copyright: Ganesha Associates Practical activity 1c - Why is English so important ? Total duration - ca. 45 minutes. This course is given in English. Most of the recommended reading is taken from international journals published in English. Why ? Why not in Portuguese ? Read these two articles about the use of English in journals and online databases. Identify the main reasons why a good scientist must be able to communicate effectively in English. We shall discuss these points in the next session.journals online databases