Field Methods B (3 ECTS)

Semesters: 1st and 2nd

Code: 14331082

Lab Methods B (3 ECTS)

Semesters: 1st and 2nd

Code: 14331084

Field Methods A (2 ECTS)

Semesters: 1st and 2nd

Code: 14331081

Lab Methods A (2 ECTS)

Semesters: 1st and 2nd

Code: 14331083

Coordinator: João Varela (jvarela@ualg.pt)

Field & Lab Methods is not one curricular unit, but actually four, namely Field Methods A, Field Methods B, Lab Methods A and Lab Methods B. The letters A and B represent whether the elective has a 2- or 3-ECTS workload, respectively.

Students will acquire practical experience in field (FM) or laboratory (LM) methods in Marine Biology by direct participation in ongoing research projects. Thus, unlike the curricular unit Internship, the main goal of this unit is for the student to learn a method rather than to obtain results.

Supervisors must have a PhD degree or recognized merit in the scientific area of the MSc programme. If the researcher does not have a PhD degree, it will be mandatory for the main supervisor to hold such a degree.

The student to be evaluated must deliver a written report.

Report

Workload

42 h of supervised work + 42 h of independent work for a 3-ECTS workload.

28 h of supervised work + 28 h of independent work for a 2-ECTS workload.

The student will use the time assigned as "independent work" to research relevant literature and write one individual report.

Registration

The registration of every lab or field method is mandatory. Please fill in the following Google Form:

Registration

NOTE - Students can only register one lab method and / or one field method. Registration of multiple projects of lab / field methods is not allowed. However, one method can be replaced by another if this change is conveyed to the coordinator. If accepted, this change must be registered once again by the student with the apropriate form. Learning such methods outside of UALG (and anywhere in the world) is allowed as long as the main supervisor has a PhD degree and the student secures a professor / researcher @ UALG as his/her internal supervisor.

Evaluation

The evaluation will be carried out by the supervisor using specific criteria, which include the response of the intern during the supervised work and the written report in a proportion of 50% and 50% of the final grade, respectively.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The written report should be sent to the supervisor and the coordinator of the internship by email to be evaluated.

To know the deadlines for the submission of the report, please go to the Report section below.

Although the project may include collaborative supervision of several researchers, only the designated supervisor will be responsible for proposing the final grades of the student to the MSc coordinator at the University of Algarve.

Report

Structure of the Report:

The student's report should include:

  • title
  • student name
  • supervisors names and affiliations
  • institution where the work was performed
  • a table containing the days and hours of practical work
  • description of the activities performed to learn the proposed method
  • overview of the general objectives and applications of the practical approaches learned, including summary of the relevant literature.

The entire report should not exceed approximately five A4 pages, font “times new roman” or equivalent, size 12, but figures and tables do not count for the 5-page maximum limit.

Deadlines for report submission:

1st Semester: Last Friday of January

2nd Semester: Last Friday of June