Marine Geology - Geology 130
Final Exam
150 points of written portion
50 points for oral presentation
Final Project Papers must be uploaded to Final Project section of
www.turnitin.com and to WebCT Assignment Folder
Oral Presentation - Monday, May 21 1215-1430
Paper Due at WebCT - Tuesday May 22 at 10 am
.
In this assignment, you are the professional marine geologist/geosphysicist proposing to
lead this scientific research project!
You may work with a partner but NO MORE THAN TWO students ON A PROJECT.
You have completed all of the hard word, now it is time to use your imagination, apply what
you have learned over the past 15 weeks, and write a very short paper.
Project Scenario
The Don Reed Trust for Ocean Science is giving out a total of $10 million in awards to
support scientific research of the ocean and coastlines. The average level of funding per
award is usually between $150,000 and $1,500,000. The maximum project length is three
years. All principal investigators proposing to conduct studies must be the lead scientists(s)
on the project and be fully responsible for supervising the effort. You are the scientists
who are proposing and conducting the project!
Please note the format and page number specifications given later in this handout!
Project Objective
The purpose of the final project is to engage students in the process of the scientific
thinking as practiced by contemporary ocean.
Science is based on discrete, well-defined tests of ideas…..the idea itself is called a
hypothesis…the results of many tests, repeatable tests, are combined into a theory.
You have already learned about science by participating as scientists, which is one of the
reasons we joined the expeditions on the San Francisco bay, inside underwater volcanoes,
and the Ocean Drilling Program.
In other words, you have participated in several critical steps in the scientific method….now
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we will undertake one of the most fundamental steps in science -- designing a scientific
study to address a focused question and writing a research grant proposal to undertake this
study.
This project is about developing a clear, concise scientific test dealing with a question about
the geology of the oceans!
Thus, we will approach the final examination as if we are solving a mystery or puzzle with
the individual students, or teams of students, acting as detectives who combine:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
the pursuit of the unknown,
imagination and insight,
organization (clarity of thought),
respect for accurate scientific data, which are reproducible and consistent, and
the ability to separate out the trivial from the critical in addressing a specific
question that can be addressed by science.
This project matches the actual roles of scientists by emphasizing the excitement of
discovery, rather than solely the memorization of material.
Scientific Methods
Marine scientists direct their efforts towards addressing thought-provoking questions
(often small, simple questions) by testing ideas (hypotheses), which are formed from
currently available information. Each answer leads to many more questions -- indeed our
answers, more often than not, show the extent of our initial ignorance.
So your charge on this assignment is to help show us a way to learn about the ocean!
Science is about testing ideas or providing a means to answer questions, which are many
times at odds to our original thinking. In many cases, “no” or “false” answers are more
interesting, and equally important, as a “yes” or “true” answer to our original questions.
In order to formulate testable models, scientists frequently make simplifying assumptions,
many of which place significant limitations on our findings. Consequently, scientists put a
large amount of effort into recognizing both the limitations of their studies and the
potential of their findings.
Plan
Students will develop an interesting idea and design a logical, well-considered method of
assessing whether or not this idea fully accounts for our observations of the physical world.
Ocean science often requires the efforts of many people to accomplish a project,
consequently each student may be a member of a team -- you can work as individuals or with
a partner -- it is up to you (no more than 2 members in a team).
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Students will design a project to test a hypothesis (or answer a question), of their own
design, dealing with one of the top-ranked problems about the oceans as determined by the
class.
Each member of the group will undertake the role of a particular scientist who is
participating in the study. In other words you are the scientists!
I am not asking you to conduct the research project or acquire the data, but you will design
the project, identify its potential results and importance, and explain why your project
should receive funding!
To this end, each and every team member will be responsible for writing a type-written
description of the research project in the form of a grant proposal -- if all members of your
group approve, the proposals submitted may be identical, except for the exchange of names
in the appropriate places (like principal investigator).
Conversely, students may not agree with their team members and wish to improve upon the
team proposal by writing their own (sometimes these are the best proposals).
Proposals will follow the format provided in this document and contain the following:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
a definition of the problem and its importance to society,
a clearly stated question to be addressed,
description of the project (experiment) for testing the hypothesis,
discussion of the validity of using the selected method in yielding the
potential findings of the project,
discussion of the implications and importance of the project’s potential
findings.
Put special effort into accurately describing your project and discussing its potential
findings and importance – this section represents most of points on project!!!
Each proposal will include a very simple timetable for the project.
Use of figures and illustrations is mandatory; a minimum of three figures is required.
You may use figures from websites and hard copy publications as long as the source is
cited both in the figure caption and the bibliography.
Bibliography with a minimum of four references is mandatory.
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VI. Ten Mistakes to Avoid on Final
1. Avoid formulating a question or hypothesis that is so vague or general that could never be
subjected to a test or experiment that would give definitive answers. The best projects
have a clear, well-defined and focused hypothesis to be tested or question to be
addressed. Often the simplest, most precise, questions are the easiest projects to
understand and have the best potential for obtaining clear results.
2. Avoid simply duplicating a study that has been done is currently being done by science.
Remember science is all about adding knowledge to our understanding of the physical
world. You can build on the results of other projects, but change some critical aspect of
the previous work to produce a new project
3. Avoid a project that lacks a clear focus on doing science on a problem dealing with the
ocean. Some projects in the past do not a clear, direct connection to the ocean –
remember that this is an oceanography class, so make sure that your project deals
directly with some aspect of the ocean. Ask yourself “is this science?” Remember that you
are a scientist and do not get involved in public policy or regulations since that is the
responsibility of lawmakers and government officials. Keep your focus on doing the
science.
4. Avoid designing a study that is so broad that it would take decades to complete at a cost
of billions of dollars or it is a project that would not come up with definitive answers.
5. Lack of a detailed, well-conceived project plan. It is simply mot clear that types of data
will be collected. Remember the project description is the most important part of the
final. You must have clear descriptions of the what, who, where, how, and when of
collecting the data that will be used to assess your scientific question or hypothesis.
6. Avoid designing a project in which you are not the lead scientist or in which you do not
participate in all phases of the project, including acquisition and analysis of the data. You
are the scientist who is responsible for leading this effort. Do not say that you will hire
someone else to do the work. You may have collaborators and assistants, but you are
involved and leading all phases of the project.
7. Avoid a project that lacks a section on data analysis. One mistake is describe how data
are collected, but there is no clear methodology of how the data will be applied to a test
of the hypothesis or answer to the scientific question. The methods of data analysis do
not have to be sophisticated, just make it clear how the acquired data will be applied to
the hypothesis or question in order to obtain answers.
8. The stated implications are over-reaching. “Rome was not built in a day.” We are not
solving world hunger here. Make sure that the results of your project are realistic and
obtainable. I will repeat this one again …. remember that you are a scientist and do not
get involved in public policy or regulations since that is the responsibility of lawmakers.
Keep your focus on doing the science.
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9. Internal discrepancies and inconsistencies within paper. The rationale, design, and
description of project must be internally consistent. The idea, tasks, and methods should
follow a logical progression and pop up out of nowhere.
10. Poor organization and writing quality. I cannot assess the scientific quality of your
project if I can’t understand your ideas. The most important aspect of all proposals is the
ability to communicate the idea in a clear, simple, well-organized manner.
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Format of Research Proposal
Parts II through VI May Not Exceed Four Pages
Excluding Figures
(less than 3 pages of narrative is too short,
more than 4 pages of narrative is too long)
Double line spacing
(Page 1)
I. Title Page
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Title
Principal Investigator (your name)
Co-Principal Investigators (names of other group members)
Beginning and End Dates of Project
Summary (1 Paragraph - 100 word limit) – this describes your proposed project
(not the general problem)
(Page 2)
II. Statement of Problem (Suggested length 1/2 to 3/4 page)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Define problem
Discuss nature and importance of problem
Mention uncertainties in knowledge on topic
Give several reasons for addressing problem
Specific Statement of Hypothesis or Question to be Addressed, Underline
hypothesis!!!!
Introduce Your Project (2-3 sentences) by briefly mentioning how your project
will address hypothesis (or question)
III. Statement of Current Knowledge (will extend onto top of page 4) (suggested
length 1/2 page)
1. Briefly describe current knowledge on your specific question
Provide Detailed information, including what we do not know , i.e. the limitations of
our knowledge
(Page 3)
Figure 1. - Include 1-2 sentence written description
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(Page 4)
Finish (III. Statement of Current Knowledge)
IV. Project Description (suggested length 1 Page or slightly more - Most of Page 4
and onto page 6)
Put most of your effort here! - Most Important Part of Proposal
1. Detailed Description of Experiment or Project - “who, what, where, and how you will
2.
acquire data”
Description of Data Acquisition or Description of Model
(Page 5)
Figure 2. Related to Project Description
Include 1-2 Sentence Written Description
(Page 6)
Finish (IV. Project Description)
V. Methods of Data Analysis (suggested length 3/4 page - end of page 6 and portion
of page 8)
This section is very important!
1. You have collected the data or produced a model, now describe how the data will
be analyzed, which will result in potential interpretations.
(Page 7)
Figure 3. - Include 1-2 sentence written description
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(Page 8)
Finish (V. Data Analysis Section)
VI. Implications and Importance of Results (suggested length 1/2 page)
1. Describe the potential of your results
2. Describe the possible findings and their significance
I.
(Page 9)
Bibliography (Minimum 4 references)
Sample format – printed publications
Author name (Last, first), Year published, Title, Name of Publication. Volume
number, pages.
For web sites:
Title of Web Page, Date of Web Page, Person or Party Responsible for Web
Page, Web Address
(Page 10)
VIII. Simple Project Timetable
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IX. Evaluation of Final Project
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
Is paper well-written?
Is paper organized?
Is paper concise and easy to understand?
Are figures or graphics comprehensible and meaningful?
Is the idea based in science? Is the test scientific?
Is the idea realizable, i.e. can it be carried to its conclusion?
Is the project focused?
Will project provide compelling results?
Does the project show personal insight of the individual or group?
Is there a detailed project description on what type of data will be
collected and why, where the data will be collected (specific locations –
stations); how the data will be collected, how often data will be collected,
and how one type of acquired data relates to another type of acquired
data.
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Grading Criteria For Proposal Paper
(150 points total, 100 points for content, 50 points for writing quality)
Score
150-135
134-120
119-105
105-0
Exceptional work beyond the
expectations of the assignment;
significant personal insight and
original scientific thought; very
clear description of project and
potential results; proposed
project can produce significant
results; goals of project can be
accomplished; clear separation
of facts and speculations; would
receive funding
Meets criteria of assignment;
precise work indicating full
understanding of subject; clear
statement of hypothesis and
goals of project; very good
scientific idea and project
design; some problems with
carrying out project; may receive
funding
General conceptual
understanding, although some
errors in understanding subject;
problems with project design and
definition of goals; would not
receive funding
Many errors in general
conceptual understanding; poor
project definition; sloppy
organization; idea rejected
Well organized presentation; very few, if any,
spelling or writing errors; seamless integration
of information from multiple sources
A few writing and spelling errors; generally well
organized
Minor writing errors and/or spelling error,
organization needs to improve, careless effort,
needs spell check
Poor writing; sloppy organization, many errors
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