LSN104 ADVANCING ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
Laboratory Research Report – Grading Proforma
Student: ____________________________________________________
Mark
(20)
CONTEXT AND CONFORMITY
(presentation, abstract and introduction)
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
Critical appraisal of results (including difficulties, novelty, limitations)
Interpretation of results (significance, relation to the work of others, future directions)
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LSN104 – Laboratory Report (Weighting)
For each category, numbers on the left hand side represent marks awarded for the level of achievement attained.
CONTEXT AND CONFORMITY (PRESENTATION, ABSTRACT, INTRODUCTION)
1 Many reference errors; several inconsistent statements; poor spelling, grammar and punctuation; irregular flow and formatting. Main message and results unclear. Relevant background missing; rationale and justification unclear.
2 Few errors of reference; minor inconsistencies of statements; several errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation; easily read; consistent formatting. Main results obvious, but conclusion and significance unclear. Background adequate but not well-related to knowledge gaps or significance.
3 Few formatting, referencing, spelling and/or grammatical errors. Good summary of the results, but either conclusion or significance unclear. Informative summary of the field, but rationale and/or aims not fully defined.
4 Few formatting, referencing, spelling and/or grammatical errors. Initial pages stimulate interest by clarity of outcomes and significance. Background relevant and contemporary; rationale and aims obvious and follow logically.
MATERIALS & METHODS
1 Difficult to follow or major deficiencies in description of conditions, equipment or analytical tools. Poor methodology used without justification.
2 Well organised description. Appropriate methodologies have been used; not all controls included; statistics considered, but questionable appropriateness or application.
3 Methods are sound and controlled adequately.
4 Description could be used to repeat work without ambiguity. Approaches are best practice or justified in context & the research plan addresses all aspects of the project aims.
RESULTS
1 Results are disorganised; figures and tables do not support text; relation to aims not clear.
2 Key data highlighted, relevant to aims; figures and tables complement text.
3 Most data is noted appropriately, and relevance is clear; logical and unambiguous presentation.
4 Clear, concise tables and figures support text; attention is drawn to key data; relevance and highlights clearly and logically defined.
DISCUSSION
Critical appraisal of results (including difficulties, novelty, limitations)
1 Inconsistencies not analysed; limits on interpretation not identified
2 Trends (or lack of) not discussed; conflicts explained in a superficial way.
3 Trends (or lack of) justified or explained; unique findings highlighted; little attempt to analyse unexpected or conflicting results
4 Sound reasons and argument clarify difficulties and unusual results; limitations on significance clearly defined
Interpretation of results (significance, relation to the work of others, future directions)
1 Interpretation of results in reference to literature poor or erroneous; identification of future directions not made or unjustified.
2 Relationship of results to those of others noted but conflicts and possible resolutions not discussed; future directions not obvious.
3 Current results partly integrated into current literature; contradictions or similarities highlighted but importance not obvious; next research steps suggested, but not obviously the best.
4 All aspects of results discussed in context of up-to-date literature, and significance highlighted; major future focuses noted and potential experimental approaches suggested.
Laboratory Research Report – Guidelines for Students
Your research report should be written in the style of a paper to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. The guidelines below are meant to indicate what is expected for the research paper. They are derived from an actual scientific journal; Instructions to Authors the journal J. Biol. Chem. (http://www.jbc.org/misc/ifora.shtml).
It is emphasised that the work carried out during completion of these LSN104 practical activities is unlikely to represent entirely novel findings to the scientific or medical community or constitute sufficient work for a full paper. However, the process of designing, conducting, analysing, interpreting and reporting the physiological data undertaken in this assessment task is intended to reflect the general scientific process, necessary to create a body of work worthy of submission to a scientific or medical journal for publication.
Format: A4 size paper; 1.5 line spacing; 2.54 cm margins throughout; 12 point type; pages to be numbered from the Title Page. To be stapled or clipped top left and not spiral bound.
Length: The main body of the research paper is to be a maximum of 2,000 words. The body of the paper includes the;
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
Please note that the word limit does not apply to the Title Page, Acknowledgments, References Tables and Figures. Word count as determined by the “word count” facility of Word will be strictly adhered to and excess words result in a marking penalty.
The paper should be submitted with eight (8) sections:
Title: The title should provide the following information: title of the paper; name of author.
Abstract: Maximum of 150 words.
The Abstract must be intelligible on its own, i.e., the aims of the work, what was done, the main findings and the conclusions reached. It should be in the form of a single paragraph and should not contain any references.
Introduction: Maximum 300 words
The Introduction should give a concise background to the present study and the reasons for doing the work. It should not present an extended review. It should not anticipate results and discussion in any detail.
Materials and Methods: Maximum 450 words
This section should give sufficient information to allow others to repeat the work. It may contain sub-sections. Established methods should be very briefly described (for instance, with a reference) and novel methods given in greater detail. Where appropriate, this section should carry statements that relevant regulations regarding safety, ethics and the use of animals, and humans and human samples have been followed.
Results: Maximum 550 words (note: this limit does not include Figure Legends)
This section may have sub-sections with descriptive titles. It should describe concisely the rationale of the investigation and its outcomes. The text of the Results section should be understandable without reference to tables and figures. Tables and figures should be used to illustrate, emphasise, demonstrate and/or summarise. Overall interpretation of the data belongs in the Discussion.
Discussion: Maximum 550 words
The Discussion is not to be divided into sub-sections. It should relate your results to previous work and interpret them. It can outline hypotheses based on the work reported. It must not repeat parts of the Introduction or recapitulate the Results section.
References:
This laboratory report must contain a minimum of six (6) relevant journal articles listed on the PUB MED data base (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed). Additional sources of information which may be acceptable for inclusion in this report are;
• High quality Anatomy, Physiology or Pathology Textbooks from reputable publishers. For example, text books prescribed for tertiary level Anatomy, Physiology or Pathology units.
• Research data cited at official conferences of relevant Scientific or Medical professional organisations (e.g. poster presentations) which has been subjected to peer review.
• Data from official government sources.
References in the text should be cited by number parenthetically [1], in order of their appearance, and listed by number order at the end of the paper, after acknowledgements, and before the Appendix (see below). References should be in the form: surnames and initials of authors, year (in parentheses), title of paper, full title of journal, volume number, first and last page numbers. For example:
1. Smith, R.Y. & Weston, B.Z. (1994). New techniques for shot-gun cloning. Journal of New Knowledge 166: 1775-1784.
Note: the above four items are variations from the J Biol Chem format.
Figures and Tables:
There is no absolute maximum of figures and tables although these should be used judiciously to demonstrate and/or emphasise specific important points and to summarise large amounts of important data or to illustrate important results. The figures and tables must include legends and must be referred to in the body of the text.
Additional Information – Appendix:
In this section, the data sheets used to record the raw data must be supplied. Please note you must sign and date these raw data sheets and also have them co-signed by an LSN104 academic.
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