Fish 6000 Assignment Guide

20% of your course grade is earned by participation:

  • 10% for general participation
  • 10% for engagement within in-class assignments

80% of your grade will be earned by completing the following submitted assignments:

Assignment Start in Due in Value
Goal journal Week 5 Week 12 10%
Proposal Week 2 Week 4 15%
3 Minute Thesis Week 6 Week 8 15%
Poster Week 7 Week 8 10%
Popular Article Week 9 Week 11 15%
Podcast Week 10 Week 12 15%

This document outlines the details and grading criteria for each assignment.

Goal-setting Journal

There are 104 weeks in an M.Sc program, and 208 weeks in a Ph.D. Time disappears quickly when you start doing research, and getting done on time means making progress each and every week. And staying motivated means rewarding yourself for the progress you make.

In Week 5 you will begin a goal-setting journal, which you’ll complete during meetings with your goal-setting team. Every week, you will meet with your team (i.e. 2-3 fellow students) and discuss three things:

  1. What were your goals from last week?
  2. Did you achieve those goals? Why or why not?
  3. What are your goals for the coming week?

If you wish, you are welcome to use the goal setting template available here.

Deliverable:

Using whatever medium you want (Word doc, .txt file, notebook, napkins, stone tablet) write down your answers to the above questions each week. Make SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based). You will submit the full journal in week 12, and will be given grades for completing the exercise.

Timeline

You will make your first entry in Week 4. You will have time in class each week to complete entries. Final entry in Week 12.

Value: 10% of course grade

Grading scheme:

Fill out one entry per week, for a total of 10 entries (weeks 3-12 inclusive).

Each entry is worth 1/10.

Proposal

Most research starts with a proposal, and graduate school is no different. In this assignment, you will produce a research proposal.

By default, you will follow the format required by NSERC postgraduate scholarships. For M.Sc students, follow the M.Sc instructions. For Ph.D students, please follow the Ph.D instructions.

If you are not a Canadian citizen, or already received an NSERC scholarship, I encourage you to find a small project grant or alternative scholarship and write a proposal for that. Whichever fund you apply for, it should require a proposal of a minimum of one page - although if there is a relevant fund that requires a shorter proposal, it could be considered.

Deliverable:

On page 1, answer:

  1. Am I personally eligible?
  2. Is my research eligible?
  3. What external support do I need (e.g. reference letters, $)?
  4. What are the deadlines?
  5. Will I be competitive?
  6. What are the specific formatting requirements, and how are they submitted?

Page 2 and beyond: A fully formatted, complete proposal for the funding agency of your choice.

Timeline

  1. Identify which fund you will apply for (Week 2).
  2. Begin proposal during class (Week 3).
  3. Submit draft proposal to a peer (By Wednesday of Week 3).
  4. Peer reviews your draft (Meet with peer on Thursday or Friday of Week 3 to discuss).
  5. Submit revised proposal to instructor (Week 4).

Value: 15% of course grade

Grading scheme:

  • Proposal follows instructions of funder /5
  • Appropriate language - good grammar, no typos, jargon minimized or explained /5
  • Narrative structure - does the proposal make the research goals clear? /5
  • Study is placed in context of literature on the topic /5

3 Minute Thesis Proposal

Scientists talk - a lot. But it’s important to be able to speak concisely, and in a way that communicates our work effectively in a short period of time.

You will prepare a three minute proposal talk (analogous to the 3MT competitions held around the world).

The rules are as follows:

- The talk can be no more than three minutes. Severe grading penalties will ensue above 3 minutes. A clock will be visible during your talk.
- It should clearly outline your proposed research program
- You should include at least one figure, expressing your expected results in graphical format. This is not expected to be real data

Deliverables:

  • Week 8: Present a draft talk to a small group (or, if the class is small, to the entire class).
  • Week 9: Present the final talk to the entire class.

Timeline

  1. Assignment is introduced (Week 7)
  2. Rehearsal talk conducted in small groups (Week 8).
  3. Submit completed proposal to instructor (Week 9).

Value: 15% of course grade

Grading scheme:

  • Compliance with rules, including length below 3 minutes /5
  • Comprehension and content /5
  • Engagement and communication /5

Poster

In this assignment, you will build a ‘proposal poster’ - that is, a scientific poster explaining the research you plan to conduct within your graduate research program. In Week 7, we will discuss poster design theory, as well as the fundamentals of sound scientific poster design. Here, you will have the chance to develop a poster based on these principles.

You may use a template provided as the basis for your poster, or you may design one from scratch.

Deliverables:

A complete scientific poster, which will be displayed via projector in class. You will present the poster, outlining the design you chose and why.

We will pretend to be at a science conference, with you standing by your poster. You will have up to three minutes to explain your proposed research. The audience will have the opportunity to ask 1-2 questions.

Timeline

  1. Design a draft poster in class, collect peer feedback (Week 7)
  2. Present poster to class (Week 8).

Value: 10% of course grade

Grading scheme:

  • Aesthetics: Poster follows design principles outlined in class (large text, few words, etc.) /5
  • Scientific content: Poster clearly communicates the proposed research /5
  • Presentation of poster /5

Popular Article

Your research in fisheries likely affects a great many people, most of whom will never read a scientific article. In this assignment, we will practice writing for mainstream audiences - communicating science in a way that is digestible by a non-expert on the topic.

Here, you will write an article for The Navigator Magazine, announcing the research you intend to do. The article should be no more than 650 words and ideally, a lot less.

It should cover:

  1. What is the problem or knowledge gap?
  2. Why does that gap matter?
  3. What are you planning on doing, and how will it solve the problem or fill the gap?
  4. Again, why will this solution matter?

The article should use plain language. It should be understandable to someone who works in the fishery. It should get people excited about your work.

Note that if you would prefer to write for another outlet you are welcome to do so.

Deliverables:

An article, written for The Navigator, that explains your proposed research. The article should be clear, engaging, and tailored appropriately to your target outlet.

Timeline

  1. Select an outlet for this article. Write a rough draft. Get a colleague to read it out loud back to you - note where they stumbled in reading. (Week 10)
  2. Revise your draft, pair up with a different colleague and again get them to read it out loud back to you. Again, note where they stumbled, and revise (Week 11)
  3. Submit final version (Week 12)

Value: 15% of course grade

Grading scheme:

  • Article follows the style of the targeted outlet, and “sounds like” an article that you would read in that medium /5
  • Clear, well-written, engaging /5
  • Effectively communicates the proposed research /5

Radio Intro

In this assignment, you will produce an radio introduction. Much like the popular writing assignment, you need to communicate what you’re trying to do, what you think you may find, and why it matters. But this time, you have only your voice to do it.

As with other assignments, you will start by writing a draft script in class and read it to colleagues for feedback. The following week, you will perform a revised version to them and collect further feedback. Between the 11th and 12th week, we will record your intro on a professional microphone, simulating a studio environment, and will play it in class in week 12.

The entire class will listen to the podcasts in week 12.

Deliverables:

A recording of a one-minute radio intro, and a student-lead discussion reflecting on the podcast.

Timeline

  1. Initial draft is written, performed to colleagues, and feedback collected (Week 10)
  2. Revised draft performed to colleagues, feedback collected (Week 11)
  3. Between Week 11 and Week 12: Record final intro
  4. Present intro in-class (Week 12)

Value: 15% of course grade

Grading scheme:

  • Podcast is less than 1 minute in length /3
  • Student maintains appropriate speaking speed, speaks clearly /5
  • Effective communication of scientific content /5