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SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO
Handbook for BPharm (Honours) Programme
2020
Dr Shyamal Das
BPharm (Honours) Programme Co-ordinator
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 479 4262
2
Copyright Warning Notice
This course pack may be used only for the
University’s educational purposes. It includes
extracts of copyright works copied under copyright
licenses. You may not copy or distribute any part of
this course pack to any other person. Where this
course pack is provided to you in electronic format
you may only print from it for your own use. You
may not make a further copy for any other purpose.
Failure to comply with the terms of this warning
may expose you to legal action for copyright
infringement and/or disciplinary action by the
University.
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Contents Welcome ........................................................................................................................ 4
Important contacts .......................................................................................................... 5
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6
Course Structure............................................................................................................. 7
PHCY480 Honours Research Project ............................................................................ 8
Workload expectations................................................................................................... 9
PHCY 480 lectures and workshops 2020 .................................................................... 10
Assessment and Moderation Procedures ..................................................................... 11
Course Information ...................................................................................................... 13
PHCY 485 Applied Pharmacotherapy and Patient Care for Honours ..................... 13
PHCY 410 Elective Studies A ................................................................................. 13
PHCY 420 Pharmacy Leadership and Management ................................................ 13
PHCY 431 Structured Practical Experiential Programme ....................................... 13
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................... 14
Style guide for interim reports ................................................................................. 14
Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................... 15
Style guide and assessment criteria for written Dissertations .................................. 15
Assessment criteria ................................................................................................... 18
Appendix 3 ................................................................................................................... 19
Assessment criteria ................................................................................................... 20
Appendix 4 ................................................................................................................... 21
Oral presentations ..................................................................................................... 21
Assessment criteria ................................................................................................... 21
Appendix 5 ................................................................................................................... 24
Assignment (written) on Tutorials ........................................................................... 24
Marking rubric for Assignment PHCY485 .................................................................. 25
Standard of Award of the Degree ................................................................................ 26
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Welcome Congratulations on being admitted to the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) Programme! The
Honours year represents a major challenge and will see you working independently to achieve
an exceptionally high standard of work in both your research and in your clinical practice.
In the Fourth year, BPharm(Honours) programme has two papers different from the BPharm
programme. These papers are PHCY 480 (Honours Research Project) and PHCY 485 (Applied
Pharmacotherapy and Patient Care for Honours). PHCY 480 starts during the summer period.
The primary component of the paper is the development, execution and presentation of an
independent research project (thesis) supervised by a member of the School’s staff. The paper
is designed to allow you to obtain real-world research skills. It is expected that you will conduct
a rigorous research project which will generate new knowledge to inform Pharmaceutical
science and/or practice. While this sounds a daunting task you will be very well supported by
your research supervisor(s) and the School. It is important that you build a strong working
relationship with your supervisor and view them as both a teacher and a mentor.
Starting today you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the research culture of the
School and learn from experienced researchers and fellow research students, both
undergraduate and postgraduate.
There may be some adventures along the way. Rest assured that your supervisor and myself, as
Programme coordinator, are here to support you and assist you in achieving your full potential.
Best wishes for a great year!
Dr Shyamal Das
BPharm (Honours) Programme Coordinator
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Important contacts
Honours Co-ordinator
Dr Shyamal Das
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +64 3 479 4262
Associate Dean Undergraduate
Programmes
Associate Professor Kyle Wilby
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +64 3 479 7325
Subject Librarian Thelma Fisher
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +64 3 479 7237
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Bachelor of Pharmacy with Honours (BPharm (Honours))
Introduction The BPharm (Honours) Programme comprises the standard BPharm Programme but with
additional training in advanced research design, methodologies, techniques and analysis
and a research dissertation. The main objective of the BPharm (Honours) degree is to
provide education and training in research to a small academically select group of
undergraduate pharmacy students who have achieved a high GPA and have an interest in
research careers. The BPharm (Honours) Programme would provide additional learning
opportunities to outstanding students that will be of benefit to them when applying for
competitive postgraduate positions, scholarships and funding as well as meeting the
University’s criteria for direct entry to PhD Programmes. This qualification may also
provide students with a competitive advantage when applying for intern positions for
registration as Pharmacists in New Zealand.
Outcome A graduate with a BPharm (Honours) degree will be able to:
Engage in self-directed learning and advanced study.
Demonstrate intellectual independence, analytical vigour, and the ability to understand
and evaluate new knowledge and ideas.
Demonstrate the ability to identify topics for original research, plan and conduct
research, analyse results and communicate the findings to the satisfaction of subject
experts.
This is in addition to the expected outcome for the Bachelor of Pharmacy graduate. The
Bachelor of Pharmacy, plus one year’s practical work, can lead to registration as a
pharmacist. Pharmacy includes development, manufacturing and dispensing of medicines,
and providing medicines management services.
Graduate profile The graduate profile of the BPharm (Honours) graduate will be the same as that of the
BPharm graduate except it will be strengthened in several areas noted below.
CRITICAL THINKING: greater ability to: analyse issues logically, consider different
options and viewpoints, problem solve and make informed decisions.
IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE: greater in-depth knowledge in research design and analysis,
greater in-depth knowledge in the chosen area of their research dissertation
INFORMATION LITERACY: greater skills in acquiring, organising and critically
assessing the literature
RESEARCH: greater ability to conduct research with enhanced knowledge and skills in:
critical assessment of the literature, hypothesis generation, design of experiments to test
hypotheses, skills to conduct experiments, critical assessment of data and its relationship
to the literature, presenting results of research in both written and oral form.
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Course Structure The BPharm (Honours) is a four year Programme, as is the BPharm Programme, but with
the fourth year having 144-points which includes a 36-point research component. Honours
candidates will be taking all papers in the accredited BPharm course in their First, Second
and Third Years. In the Fourth year, they will take the courses mentioned in Table 1.
Table 1: Fourth year papers for BPharm (Hons)
Paper Title Point How is this different from
BPharm Programme
PHCY 410 Elective Studies A 15 Same as BPharm
PHCY 420 Pharmacy Leadership and
Management
15 Same as BPharm
PHCY 431 Structured Practical Experiential
Programme
20 Same as BPharm
PHCY 480 Honours Research Project 36 Higher level Research
project instead of PHCY430
Elective project B
PHCY 485 Applied Pharmacotherapy and Patient
Care for Honours
58 The core material will be
the same as PHCY 432;
however, PHCY 485 will
have additional higher level
tutorials and assessments
Approximate timeline for Honours
Important Dates –
1 November 2019 Welcome and induction
21 November 2019 First summer studentship scholarship payment
19 December 2019 Second summer studentship scholarship payment
16 January 2020 Third and final summer studentship scholarship payment
02 March 2019 Interim progress report due (including NZPERF interim
reports)
21 September 2019 Final dissertation report due
1 October 2019
(this date may
change)
Honours symposium
More dates are mentioned in specific papers
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PHCY480 Honours Research Project
Paper Co-ordinator: Dr Shyamal Das
Email: [email protected] Telephone: 479 4262
Introduction PHCY 480 (Honours Research Project) is a full year, 36 points, paper required as a
fulfilment of Bachelor of Pharmacy with Honours (BPharm (Honours) degree. It includes
the development, implementation and reporting of an original individual research project,
supervised by a Dunedin-based PBRF-eligible School of Pharmacy staff member and
approved by the Dean of the School of Pharmacy.
Learning outcomes By the end of this paper, students will be able to:
Formulate research questions based on an in-depth knowledge of their chosen area
of research
Implement research including the ability to generate a hypothesis, design
experiments to test the hypothesis, and to carry out experimental work
Critically evaluate their own work and current and relevant literature pertinent to
their research project
Understand and apply knowledge of research methodologies, ethical issues and
health and safety issues pertaining to research
Communicate in-depth their research (information, arguments and analyses)
Course outline The core component of this paper is the development, implementation, evaluation and
reporting of an original individual research project as a 15 000 word dissertation
(maximum, excluding references). Learning in this paper is driven by the student; with the
supervisor guiding the student through the process. This paper will start in the summer,
prior to the start of the 4th year, and will continue until the end of semester 2.
Teaching/ delivery method
PHCY480 Honours Research Project will involve each honours student conducting an
individual research project under the supervision of a PBRF-eligible staff member who
will also mentor the student. Supervisors will be responsible for teaching students the
research techniques and methodologies. Students will be required to meet regularly with
their supervisor and to maintain clear records of their research, which will be reviewed
regularly.
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Workload expectations PHCY 480 - 36 points = 450 hours*
Contact hours Activities Hours Expected deadline
Meetings with
supervisor(s)
10
Lectures 8 6 in Semester 1 and 2 in
Semester 2
Workshop 1.5 Semester 1
Oral presentations 2.5 Semester 2
Sub-total 22
Non-contact
hours
Literature review 30 Prior to Semester 1 and in final
year
Research 318 Prior to Semester 1 and in final
year
Preparation
(Dissertation)
65
Preparation
(Presentation)
10 Semester 2
Preparation (Test) 5 Semester 2
Sub-total 428
Total time 450
Approximate timeline for PHCY480 Projects
You should use the following as a guide to ensure that you work consistently over the
year.
1-10 November 2019 You should organize a meeting with your supervisor to
agree on the timeline you will be working during summer
1 November 2019– 21
February 2019
Summer break before semester 1: You should work for
10 weeks on your project
22 November 2019 Meet your co-ordinator
24 February 2020 Meet your co-ordinator
2 March 2020 Interim progress report due (See appendix 1)
Mar (date TBA) Interim Presentation
Semester 2: Your supervisor may set dates with you for submitting
drafts.
21 September 2020 (2 pm) Thesis submission date
21 September 2020 Abstract submission
1 October 2020 (this date
may change) Honours Symposium
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PHCY 480 lectures and workshops 2020
5th November 2-
4pm Database searching Thelma Fischer Health science
library 6th November 3-
4pm Research methods Carlo Marra room 713
13th November –
9:30am-12pm Health and Safety inductions Nicky Jones room 713
Data analysis/statistics N Medlicott
Presenting/interpreting
data
N Medlicott
With PHCY430 Ethics/Maori consultation M Brunton
With PHCY430 Writing up research Carlo Marra
Preparing presentation
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Assessment and Moderation Procedures
The research project will be presented as a dissertation. The dissertation will contribute
70% to the final grade. Supervisors will also assess candidates on their research skills
against standard criteria. This will contribute 10% to the final grade. Candidates will also
be assessed on an oral research presentation (15%) given at a School research symposium
and through a research methods test (5%).
Type of Task Percent
contribution to
Final Grade
Further Instructions
Dissertation
70% Please upload a pdf file of your Dissertation to
Blackboard. Please do not submit a hard copy. More
information about formatting and assessment criteria are
in appendix 2. Two examiners (not your supervisor) will
examine the Dissertation independently. PHCY480
Dissertations are very diverse, so the criteria for marking
are necessarily very general.
Supervisor
Assessment
15% Please see appendix 3
Oral
presentations
in the
Symposium
15% You need to present your project to your classmates and
members of staff. The presentations will be around 10
minutes in length, depending on the number of
presentations being held, with around 2 minutes for
questions. You will be marked by a panel of examiners.
Further about oral presentations and assessment criteria
are available in appendix 4
Abstract Submission (September)
Before presenting at conferences, you need to submit an
abstract. Submitting an abstract for your PHCY480
project is a chance to practice writing an abstract. An
abstract template is available on Blackboard, and your
abstract must be submitted via Blackboard.
Editorial assistance
As a draft of section of your Dissertation is completed, it should be given to your
supervisor for comment. Your supervisor will make suggestions regarding structure,
grammar and details of the methods and data presentation, but not detailed proof-reading.
When the whole Dissertation is completed, the editing will concentrate on the logic and
content of the scientific story, the writing style and how the different sections link together.
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Literature Searching
Following the lecture from the library staff, tutorials are available for each group tailored
to your topic. This can be arranged via your supervisor.
Photocopying
If you need to do any photocopying, please see Reception on the 7th floor.
Purchasing
There is a very small amount of funding available to support your project. DO NOT buy
anything without checking with your supervisor first. If you are authorised to buy
something, ensure you get a GST receipt. No GST receipt; no reimbursement.
Ethics Approval As rule of thumb, if you are conducting any sort of survey or questionnaire, or interviewing
anyone, or looking at records relating to individual people (e.g. patient records), then you
will need ethics approval for your project.
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Course Information
PHCY 485 Applied Pharmacotherapy and Patient Care for Honours
Follow BPharm Handbook
The core material will be the same as PHCY 432; however, PHCY 485 will have 6 additional higher level tutorials. You will have an additional MCQ test and you need to submit an assignment on those tutorials.
You will have additional questions in your Internals
Final questions are same. (more information will be communicated at the beginning of the 1st semester).
PHCY 410 Elective Studies A
Follow BPharm Handbook
PHCY 420 Pharmacy Leadership and Management
Follow BPharm Handbook
PHCY 431 Structured Practical Experiential Programme
Follow BPharm Handbook
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Appendix 1
Style guide for interim reports The interim report is due on the first day of 1st semester. The objective of this report is to
monitor the progress. This report will not be assessed. Students will write according to the
one shown below:
BPHARM (HONS) PHCY480 RESEARCH PROJECT INTERIM REPORT
Name:
Supervisor:
Title of research project:
Objectives:
Outcomes achieved (interim):
Future work target and timeline:
Do you foresee any potential challenges in completing the project?
Signed:
__________________________________ _______________________________
Student Supervisor
Date:
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Appendix 2
Style guide and assessment criteria for written Dissertations Final Dissertation: Written Dissertations should be uploaded in Blackboard in pdf format by the date and time
mentioned. Also, email a copy to the Research Administrator. Before sending the final
Dissertation, make sure you check all graphs are in the format you want.
Formatting Suggestions This advice is suggestion only. Specifics should be agreed with your supervisor.
Cover page. The title page should be a separate sheet. Give title of project, your names
and the following statement: "A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements of the Degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy with Honours at the University of
Otago." You may also include the university’s logo, or an appropriate picture. The title
page should also include “Department of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New
Zealand.” The month and year of submission should also be stated.
Acknowledgements. Number this page "ii". This is where you thank anyone you wish to,
and who has helped you in the execution and completion of your project.
Abstract. Number this page "iii". This is a summary of your research. The abstract should
not exceed 250 words. Your supervisor may prefer your abstract to have subject headings.
It is important that this section is clear and comprehensible in its own right. The Abstract
should be in the form of a single paragraph. References should not be cited and any
abbreviations used must be defined.
Table of Contents. Number this page "iv". The Table of Contents lists all section and
subsection headings with their corresponding page numbers.
Main Text. This section and all subsequent pages are numbered using Arabic numerals
commencing with page "1". Your supervisor will have a good idea of what length is
appropriate, but it is likely to be least 12000-15000 words (20-30 double spaced pages,
excluding references and appendices) and possibly more. The main text would normally
be divided into four sections as follows:
Introduction: Literature review; statement of aims/hypotheses. The Introduction should
give a concise background to the present study. Relevant articles, books and up-to-date
review articles should be cited to support every statement of fact. You then include your
aims/hypothesies. This section should not present material intended for the Results or
Discussion.
Method: This section should give sufficient information to allow others to repeat the work.
It may contain subsections. Established methods should be very briefly described (for
instance, with a reference) and novel methods given in greater detail. The suppliers of
chemicals, biological materials and equipment should be indicated if this might affect the
results. Suppliers' addresses should not be given unless this is considered essential for a
particular reason.
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Results: This section should describe concisely the rationale of the investigation and its
outcomes, possibly including tables, graphs/figures, and statistical analysis. Overall
interpretation of the data belongs in the Discussion. The Results section should be divided
into subsections with concise descriptive titles.
Discussion/Conclusion: Evaluate the status of your hypotheses; discuss the implications
of your hypotheses being falsified or confirmed; suggestions for further research. This
section should relate results to previous work and interpret them. It must not repeat parts
of the Introduction or recapitulate the Results section. The Discussion section may also be
divided into subsections with concise descriptive titles, it may include future directions
for further development of the work.
For section headings, follow the heading formatting commonly used in journal articles in
your research area. New sections do not usually require a new page.
References. List all publications cited in the text. This should be formatted in line with a
standard referencing system (e.g., APA, Harvard, Endnoting). Your supervisor or the
usual style in your area of research may dictate selection of a referencing system. No word
limit: Permission must be secured for all personal communications that are cited in the
text.
Appendices. If appropriate, you should include additional materials in appendices. Each
appendix should be cited in the text in the form "Appendix A, Appendix B..." etc. Skilful
use of Appendices will make the Dissertation more informative and the main text easier
to read.
Remember you are marked on what is written in your Dissertation, not that final
time consuming experiment that you performed prior to writing up. The project
should be written up in the form of a scientific paper. You should write in as concise
a style as possible. Adhere strictly to word limits specified for each Dissertation - this
will be considered during marking.
Tables: These should be employed selectively and be generally comprehensible without
reference to the text. Each Table should have a concise title; additional material should be
given as footnotes to the table, but these are to be brief and should not contain experimental
detail that could be included in the text. Table pages should be placed immediately after
the page upon which the table is first quoted.
Figures: These must be employed selectively to demonstrate important specific points.
They must be designed for clarity. Legends must not repeat the Methods section. Parts of
a single figure should be designated “A”, “B” etc. and labelled as such on the figure.
Figures should be on a page by themselves with a legend either below the figure or on the
facing page. All figures should be of a suitable quality to show all information relevant to
the Dissertation. Figure pages should be placed immediately after the page upon which
the figure is first quoted.
General style: All text must be on one side of the paper only, have wide margins (at least
2 cm) and be at least 1.5 spaced throughout, including Methods and Reference sections,
figure legends and tables. The font size used should be 12 point.
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English: Pay close attention to the technical aspects of writing this Dissertation, i.e.
grammar, abbreviations, bibliographies and presentation style. The past tense should be
used throughout in describing new results, and the present tense in referring to previously
established and generally accepted results. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (Oxford
University Press) should be used as the standard for spelling and the CBE manual
Scientific Style and Format (6th edn, Cambridge University Press) as an editorial guide.
Students are encouraged to use their own style of writing provided that it is concise and
conforms to normal English usage. Each major section e.g. Title page, Abstract,
Introduction etc. should start on a new page.
Dishonest conduct: Your Dissertation will be submitted to SafeAssign, but dishonest
conduct may also be picked up by your supervisor or examiner. In the context of a research
project, dishonest conduct might include:
Poor paraphrasing (i.e. text that should be “in quotes” but is not).
Failure to attribute/reference material appropriately.
Referencing material that you haven’t been able to find. In this case, you should use
secondary citation.
Making up or altering data.
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Assessment criteria
Your examiners will be looking for the following:
1. Introduction
use of references
critical evaluation of literature
identification and formulation of hypothesis/research problems/aims /100
2. Methods
adaption of existing techniques or innovation
appropriateness
validation of techniques and appropriateness of experimental design (if used)
/100
3. Results
quality of data (bias, reliability, validity, precision, controls, other)
quantity of data (was it sufficient for the conclusions drawn)
statistical analysis (relevance) /100
4. Discussion/Conclusions
interpretation, setting in relation to field
appreciation of limitations, if any, suggestions for future work
conclusions (appropriate from work carried out) /100
5. Overall
abstract (reasonable summary of project)
overall appearance of document
grammar, punctuation, spelling
clarity and organization of text and figures
referencing and citations
use of tables/figures/photographs/other visual aids /100
Recommended overall mark: /100
Feedback for students:
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Appendix 3
Supervisor’s assessment
Relationship with supervisor(s)
Students are reminded that responsibility for the research project is shared between them
and their supervisor. Both parties need to communicate regularly and the student must
contribute a share of the scientific ideas. It is recommended that the student and the
supervisor meet at the start of the project to establish work habits and expectations, and to
schedule meetings to discuss the project.
Laboratory Notebooks
Purpose of a laboratory notebook: Keeping a good laboratory record is an essential part
of all laboratory work. The main purposes of laboratory records are to:
Provide a record of your experimental protocols, data, and interpretations.
Allow yourself, your supervisor, and other laboratory members to quickly and easily find
protocols or data. Allow yourself or others to readily reproduce experiments.
Rules for keeping the laboratory notebook: Laboratory notebooks must be hardbound
books with printed page numbers and the entries in the notebook are always in ink, not
pencil. Advantages of using a hardbound notebook are (1) it is difficult to lose pages and
(2) pages cannot be inserted or removed (an essential feature if it ever becomes necessary
to ascertain the true date and/or order of experiments). If you make a mistake in recording
a result, cross it out with a single pen stroke, so that the underlying incorrect data can still
be read. If you make a fundamental mistake requiring rewriting the whole page, rule a
single line diagonally across the page from one corner to the other. Do not tear out the
page. For similar reasons, ink must be used instead of pencil in all situations, as there must
be no possibility of the raw data having been altered subsequent to the experiment having
been conducted.
The laboratory notebook should contain the following elements:
Dating records: Record the date every time you make an entry in a laboratory record.
Dates will allow you to determine when various experiments were performed (important
if it is necessary to repeat an experiment in exactly the same way as the most recent
experiment). In addition, dating is essential in situations involving work related to patents,
as any legal challenge to a patent will hinge on who discovered what fact first.
Aims: It is very useful to write a sentence stating the aims of each experiment. It is
surprisingly easy to look back at an experiment a few years after you performed it and not
to be able to remember why! It will also make your notebook much more easily followed
by examiners.
Experimental procedure: Your record of the experimental procedure undertaken must be
sufficiently detailed to allow the experiment to be duplicated by another scientist. This
doesn't mean that you have to copy all the standard methods you will use into your
laboratory notebook, but you do need to note which method you used and reference that
method. If you have modified the standard method in any way, you need to record that
information. Be very careful to record how you label your different isolates, samples, tests
etc so that when you come to read the results you know exactly which experiment that
particular tube, bottle or plate was set up for. In some instances you must record even the
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smallest detail. If using commercially obtained reagents, it is important to record catalogue
numbers and lot numbers. This information may turn out to be critical for reproducing
data.
Results: Be sure to include all relevant data either in your laboratory notebook or in a
linked data file! Whether you can physically incorporate data in your notebook depends
on the nature of the data. For example, images of DNA gels, protein gels, autoradiograms,
or Western blots can be glued or taped into relevant locations in the notebook. Data too
large or complex to include in the notebook (e.g. multiple microscopy images, long DNA
or protein sequence alignments) should be linked to relevant points in the notebook. For
example, if you perform an experiment labelling cells for immunofluorescence
microscopy, a CD with microscopy images should be included with the notebook, so that
your examiners can examine the data. Write the folder or filenames of each data set or file
in an appropriate place in your notebook, and label the accompanying CD so that it is easy
to trace the data to the appropriate experiment. (Keep in mind that in addition to this CD
given to examiners, you should have another copy of the data on at least one other CD in
a safe place in the laboratory, in order to avoid any possibility of results getting lost).
Linking data on different pages: It is helpful to assign experiment numbers to each
experiment, as this helps you organize your notebook in a logical fashion. Don't forget
you will often be in the situation of having set up several experiments on one day and then
reading the results of those experiments on a different day. Thus, the results recorded in
your notebook might be on a page quite separate from the details of how you set the
experiment up and giving each experiment a separate number is an easy way to cross
reference the two separate entries.
Conclusions: A brief note of the outcome of your experiment will aid you (and your
auditors or examiners) considerably in following the flow of your project from one
experiment to another.
Inspection of laboratory notebooks by supervisors: It is essential that your supervisor
and other researchers in the laboratory be able to find and understand your experimental
protocols and results. For this reason, supervisors will read a student’s laboratory
notebooks regularly. The supervisor’s signature (accompanied by the date) will constitute
proof of inspection. This inspection process allows the supervisor to ensure that record
keeping is satisfactory.
Your supervisor will be looking for:
Careful and detailed recording of experimental procedures and results.
Evidence of a logical developmental sequence to your experiments.
A logical organization and structure to your notebook.
A clear, unambiguous and accurate presentation of the data.
Evidence of logical reasoning and a critical evaluation of the data.
Assessment criteria Criteria considered by your supervisor may include:
Ability to search and retrieve relevant literature
Ability to understand and critically review a paper
Ability to plan and conduct research
Problem solving ability and initiative
Accurate recording of research and literature searching process
Ability to interpret experimental results
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Time and effort invested in project
Ability to work co-operatively within the team
Ability to work independently
Ability to share and apply knowledge and skills
Writing skills
Appendix 4
Oral presentations For a career in science the effective oral presentation of ideas is essential. The most
common error in oral presentations is to include too much detail. If there is one
fundamental criterion for an effective oral presentation it is: keep it simple – do not
include slides from every single experiment – remember you are telling (and illustrating)
a story. If something seems slightly confusing to you, it will profoundly confuse the
audience. Remember most of the audience will know very little about your subject.
Format: As for a written presentation you should include an introduction, methods,
results, discussion, and conclusions in your talk. However, the boundaries between
methods, results and discussion may be somewhat blurred compared to a written
Dissertation. Make sure that the presentation has an obvious endpoint, a ‘take home
message’ often works well. Briefly acknowledging key people who have contributed to
your work is important.
Hints on how to present: Your presentation should be orderly and relaxed. Wear
comfortable but tidy attire. Try to avoid fidgeting, tapping, and jerky movements. This
is your time to showcase the great work you have done. You set the tone, if you are not
enthusiastic about your topic, nobody else will be.
Speak very clearly, evenly and slowly (slower than you perceive as being
adequate).
Practise difficult pronunciations.
Avoid slang and jargon.
Avoid umms and ahhs - a pause is better.
Slides: Power Point slides can help clarify material e.g. a flow diagram may be an
excellent way of simplifying a method. Keep the delivery rate to about one slide for each
minute. Use large fonts, remember most of your audience suffers from presbyopia (this
means the image appears smaller to them than to you!). Dark text on a light background
gives the greatest contrast (so why do people persist on using yellow/white letters on a
blue background?).
Question time: Listen, Think, and then Answer. Do not be rushed into answering
without considering the question in the context of your data and the background
literature. Don’t bullshit if you don’t know the answer, this is pretty easy for the audience
to spot! Eminent scientists presenting at international conferences often admit they do
not know the answer to a question.
Assessment criteria Your examiners will be looking for:
Comprehension of topic and field
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A Excellent comprehension of core concepts and information relating to topic and
creative/insightful links to more general knowledge of the field of study
B Sound comprehension of core concepts and information relating to topic and
location of the topic within the field of study
C Basic comprehension of core concepts relating to the topic and limited location of
the topic within more general knowledge of the field of study
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Methods and techniques (where applicable)
A Clear and comprehensive description of the research methods and collection of
excellent data
B Good description the research methods and collection of good data
C Satisfactory description of the research methods and collection of adequate data,
possibly with some technical or quality issues
Analysis of data (where applicable)
A Systematic and effective analysis of data
B Sound and effective but less systematic analysis of the data
C Basic analysis of the data
Interpretation and conclusions
A Insightful interpretations, clearly linked to the field of study; sound conclusions
B Appropriate interpretations, linked to the field of study; appropriate conclusions
C Basic interpretations, not well linked to the field of study; basic conclusions.
Oral presentation and communication of ideas
A Clear, understandable explanations; excellent organisation of material; visual aids
clear and relevant; humour (if used) makes relevant contribution
B Good explanations; good organisation of material; visual aids generally good;
humour (if used) adds rather than detracts
C Mostly understandable; limited organisation of material; poor visual aids (cluttered,
distracting)
Grading expectations:
15 Mostly strong A’s
14 Mostly A’s
13 A’s and B’s
12 More B’s than A’s
11 Mostly B’s
10 B’s, some C’s
9 More C’s than B’s
8 Mostly C’s
7 Weak C’s
24
Appendix 5
Assignment (written) on Tutorials
Objectives
Understand an advanced contemporary research methods and communicate how
they can be applied to pharmacy research
Critically evaluate relevant literature utilizing these research methods
Formatting:
Write your name and ID number on the cover page. Include your ID number on
the header of each page
Typing should be single-spaced in Times New Roman 12-point font
The word limit 800. Include a word count
Referencing:
Correct referencing is an important aspect of assignment writing. Marks will be
deducted for incorrect referencing
Use the Vancouver referencing style (chronological numbering)
Include 10-20 references
Submission:
Hand in your combined hard copy to the Undergraduate administrator (room 619)
by 2pm Monday 24th August.
Submit on Blackboard under the Assignments tab by 2pm Monday 24th August.
Penalties
Not including/exceeding word count, 5-10%
Late submission see penalties in the BPharm handbook
Plagiarism from other students or from references will not be tolerated and if
detected will be investigated using the University of Otago plagiarism policy
Marking
This assignment accounts for 5% of the final mark for PHCY 485.
25
Marking rubric for Assignment PHCY485
Unacceptable
Poor
Average
Good
Excellent
Understand
an advanced
contemporary
research
methods
20
Demonstrate
no
understanding
of
contemporary
research
method
Marks: 0-9
points
Demonstrate
poor
understanding
of
contemporary
research
method
Marks: 10-12
points
Demonstrate
average
understanding
of
contemporary
research
method
Marks: 13-15
points
Demonstrate
good
understanding
of
contemporary
research
method
Marks: 16-17
points
Demonstrate
excellent
understanding
of
contemporary
research
method
Marks: 18-20
points
Linking to
application to
pharmacy
research
30
No or almost
no relevant
links to
application in
pharmacy.
Marks: 0-14
points
Few relevant
links to
application in
pharmacy.
Marks: 15-18
points
Identified
most of the
relevant links
to application
in pharmacy,
but not
clearly
described.
Marks: 18-23
points
Identified
most of the
relevant links
to application
in pharmacy,
clearly
described.
Marks: 24-26
points
Identified all
relevant links
to application
in pharmacy
and described
clearly with
due
importance.
Marks: 27-30
points
Finding most
relevant
literature
20
Few or no
relevant
references
Marks: 0-9
points
Not all
references
were relevant
and the
number of
references
were more
than 20
Marks: 10-12
points
<10 key
references
were relevant
although the
number of
references
were 10-20
Marks: 13-15
points
Included all
key relevant
references
and the
number of
references
were <10 or
>20
Marks: 16-17
points
Included all
key relevant
references
and the
number of
references
were between
10 and 20
Marks: 18-20
points
Critically
evaluate
relevant
literature
utilizing
these
research
methods
30
Little or no
critical
evaluation of
relevant
literature
utilizing these
research
methods
Marks: 0-14
points
Weak critical
evaluation of
relevant
literature
utilizing these
research
methods
Marks: 15-18
points
Some critical
evaluation of
relevant
literature
utilizing these
research
methods
Marks: 18-23
points
Good critical
evaluation of
relevant
literature
utilizing these
research
methods
Marks: 24-26
points
Excellent
critical
evaluation of
relevant
literature
utilizing these
research
methods
Marks: 27-30
points
Points may be deducted for:
Excessive length (up to 20 points)
Poor organisation (up to 10 points)
Writing errors that interfere with comprehension (up to 10 points)
26
Standard of Award of the Degree
BPharm (Hons) Principles
The degree may be awarded with First Class Honours, Second Class Honours (Division
1), Second Class Honours (Division II), or with Third Class Honours. The class of
Honours shall be approved by the Board of Studies based on the performance of the
candidate in PHCY410, PHCY420, PHCY431, PHCY 480 and PHCY485.
The following key shall be used for translating the marks into letter grades:
Final Result Marks
First class Honours 80% and above
Second class Honours (Division I) 70%-79%
Second class Honours (Division II) 60%-69%
Third class Honours 50%-59%
A candidate who fails to obtain Honours may, on the recommendation of the Dean of the
School of Pharmacy, be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy.
A candidate for Honours who is required to sit a special examination in the Fourth Year
as a result of failing a paper will not be awarded an Honours degree, but shall, if successful
in passing the special examination, be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy.