301280 SE Research proposal in the field of Neuroscience (2024W)

Lecturers

• Manuel Zimmer
• Thomas Hummel

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Dear Neuroscience students,

you have signed up for the SE Research proposal in the field of Neuroscience, with which you can compete the obligatory module VII. Students who have not signed up yet: you can still do it by sending an email to Benjamin Steiner (benjamin.steiner@univie.ac.at), he will then take care of it.

The seminar will be held online via zoom to account for the possibility that you might be scattered around in different places of the world! I will send you a zoom link soon.

This semester we will have three sessions:

Tuesday 14.01.2025 15:00 - 16:30
Tuesday 21.01.2025 15:00 - 16:30
Tuesday 28.01.2025 15:00 - 16:30

It is required that you are present at all sessions.

The learning goal of this module is to be able to prepare a research proposal in written form and to discuss it via a short presentation.

Ideally, the subject of this proposal is your Master thesis research, or alternatively any of the research in your scientific practices. You will be much better at it if you have worked in a lab already for a few months. So I don’t recommend to take this seminar too prematurely.

This seminar does not aim at evaluating or approving the scientific content of your project. You will be graded by your scientific writing skills, your ability to outline a scientific project in a clear and logical manner, your presentation skills and your ability to critically discuss and defend the science of the described project.

Any presented research ideas and results most likely are still unpublished and intellectual property of your supervisor’s lab; therefore, any content of this seminar is strictly confidential and it will not be recorded or disseminated. You are responsible to discuss any issues ahead with your supervisor.

Written proposal (to be submitted one week before your allocated slot via email to Benjamin Steiner: benjamin.steiner@univie.ac.at).

With the written proposal you should demonstrate your expert knowledge in the respective research field and your ability to clearly describe and discuss your research approach in a critical manner. It should be understandable to a broad audience of neuroscientists, not just to the experts in your field. You are not graded by how many or how important results you might already have. The proposal could have the character of a short grant application.

The written proposal should be maximum three A4 pages (11pt font size), including figures, excluding bibliography. Don’t send us simply copies of your Master thesis!!!

Figures need a brief caption, concisely explaining the type of graphs / data displayed and statistical methods applied.

The structure should be as follows:

Abstract (max 120 words):

Brief summary of the proposal.

Introduction

A survey of the literature relevant to the project, highlighting also the open questions in the particular research filed that will be addressed in your proposal.

Objectives

A brief statement of the major aims of the proposed project.

Approach / Methods

A description of the methods applied, including any statistics. Outline the experimental design and justify how this will enable you to achieve your aims.

If you have any preliminary research results that support your proposal, you can describe them here; but focus on the most important crucial results only. Note that it is not required to have any results. If you are already very progressed with your master thesis research, you can propose the future directions and follow-up projects.

Discussion

Following a brief summary, critically evaluate your approach. Discuss possible pitfalls and a brief contingency plan. Describe why the work is important, and if successful, which impact it will have in the field and which gaps in our current knowledge will be filled.
Discuss possible future directions that go beyond the proposed work.

Bibliography

Cited literature

Presentation

Prepare a presentation of max. 12 min. There will be +3 minutes discussion afterwards.

You

• Tuesday 07.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 4.1, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 4.125, Ebene 4
• N Tuesday 14.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 4.1, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 4.125, Ebene 4
• Tuesday 21.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 4.1, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 4.125, Ebene 4
• Tuesday 28.01. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 4.1, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 4.125, Ebene 4