Biology 423: Independent Project
It’s getting to the time in the semester when you need to be thinking about what you will do for your
independent project. You may work by yourself on this project, or you may work with up to two
other people. The project is independent in that you (as an individual or a group) will come up with
the question you are addressing, the methodology for answering your question, and the analysis and
presentation of your results. If you work with other people, I will expect a more complex final
product, as two or three people should be able to do more work than one person. Generally, people
do better when they work with others, but only if they choose their partners wisely.
The framework for this project has been developing over the course of the semester. We have done
several projects in this class – each of which required somewhat different skills, and also presented its
own suite of problems. Each of these projects was chosen because it would be relatively easy to
develop into more interesting projects that you could use for your independent project (if you choose
to do so). A real research program is a series of related experiments, each of which builds upon
previous experiments.
However, I don’t want to curb anybody’s creativity or passion, so you are free to work on anything
you’d like, so long as it falls within the domain of ecology. I will try to help you find the appropriate
materials, but my budget is limited. Certainly if the Biology Department owns the materials or
supplies, you are welcome to use them.
I prefer that your project be done outside, but you are welcome to do a project that has a laboratory
and field component.
I’m going to engage you in a step-by-step process of doing this work, so that it doesn’t all fall down
on you in one fell swoop. Instead, it wall all fall down on you gradually.
The plan is as follows:
Due Monday, April 4 – A very brief report (hard copy) with the following information:
A. the question you are posing
B. a hypothesis related to your question
C. a one paragraph methodology that describes how you would test this hypothesis
D. your dependent and independent variables
E. a hand drawn graph that shows the type of relationship you might find between your
dependent and independent variables
F. the type of statistical analysis you would use to analyze your results – be explicit.
Tuesday April 5 – You will meet with me to discuss your plans. I will pass around a signup sheet
when the time gets closer.
Thursday April 7: Independent Project lab 1: you do a pilot project based on our initial discussion to
see if your lab is going to work, and to improve/refine your methods.
Friday, April 8, or Monday April 11: meet with me again to discuss your project.
Thursday, April 14, 2PM – your formal research proposal is due. The research proposal is worth 30
points. You will then have the rest of the afternoon free to collect data.
Here are some general guidelines for writing up a research proposal:
There are four parts to your proposal:
a) Cover sheet – title of project and names and email addresses of experimenters
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b) Introduction - In this section you describe briefly and clearly what question you are asking, and
what hypothesis(es) you are testing. When stating hypotheses, make sure that you include
predictions of your hypotheses. In addition, you should provide the following background in your
introduction: (a) what organisms you are using, and what are some interesting features of these
organisms (particularly in relation to the question that you are asking), (b) what have other
researchers found that relates to the question(s) that you’re asking and hypotheses that you’re testing.
If you’re doing a follow-up to some research we did in lab, you will present the relevant data for that
question from the lab we did. If you’re doing a follow-up of some research that you did in the past,
please provide relevant data, and make sure to acknowledge the source of your idea/information.
Whether you’re doing a lab-follow-up or using a novel (to you) system, you will also discuss research
done by other ecologists that relate to your question. Realize that these researchers may have worked
on other organisms, but on similar questions. For example you may be interested in studying some
aspect of biological diversity in a stream. Depending on what question you are asking, it would be
perfectly fine to talk about some studies of biological diversity in different species of birds or
mammals or insects, or you might talk about different abiotic factors that might influence stream
diversity, or you might talk specifically about other studies of biological diversity in streams, lakes,
estuaries, etc.
c) Methods - In this section you describe precisely what your experimental design will be. You
should describe the experiment in enough detail so that I could carry out your wishes by reading your
methods, and doing what you tell me to do. For a research proposal, the methods section should be
written in the future tense, because your are describing your research plans. Make sure your proposal
identifies your dependent and independent variables, and the statistical tests you will be using for
your analyses.
d) Literature Cited – You will list the literature that you cite in your introduction and methods
section. You can use the journal “Ecology” to help you with formatting the Literature Cited section.
I’m requiring a minimum of three references for the proposal, including one reference from a journal
(see appendix)
Thursday April 14, and April 21: You are on your own for the rest of the semester to collect data
Literature Review Instructions
Your literature review is due on Wednesday, April 20th at 5PM (hard copy). The idea behind
doing a literature review is for you to learn enough about your research question and the organisms
that you will be working on, so that you do a really great job on your project. This is also an
important opportunity for you to dig deeply into the primary literature. So happy shoveling.
Here is a specific protocol for you to follow for the literature review.
First paragraph: Discuss the question or questions you will be addressing in your research project. In
particular, state the hypothesis or hypotheses that you will be investigating, and the predictions that
are generated by the hypothesis(es).
Next paragraph or two: Explain to the reader why the question you are addressing is important and
interesting.
Next section: Explain to the reader what is known about your question and the system (including the
organisms) that you are working on. How does your project relate to what is already known?
Your review should include a discussion of both the species you are working on, and also the
question you are asking. For example, if your topic is "distribution and abundance of mallard ducks
on the New River", your review should include some background information on mallards, and also
some discussion on the topic of distribution and abundance of waterfowl. I am requiring a minimum
of 6 references for an individual working alone, and 9 references for people working in pairs and 12
references for groups of 3. Of course, the more references you provide, the more impressed I will be
with your review, particularly if you effectively integrate the literature into the body of the review. If
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you’re working alone, a minimum of 5 references must be books or journals (at least 3 of which must
be journals), if working with one other person, a minimum of 8 references must be books or journals
(at least 5 of which must be journal articles), if working in a group of 3, a minimum of 11 references
must be books or journals (with a minimum of 7 journal articles).
You may not use encyclopedias or dictionaries as references. You may use the Internet as a
reference, and should cite it as follows:
Name of Author (or webmaster), date website was last amended. Title of Website. URL (address).
Sometimes, it will be impossible to find an author for a website. In that case, the format should be as
follows: Title of Website. date website was last amended. URL.
Remember to cite the papers you discuss correctly in the body of the paper, as well as at the end, in a
literature cited section. See the joutnal “Ecology” for some examples of how to do citations in the
body of the paper. When you refer to a website in the body of the paper, the reference should be
either (Author’s last name, date) or if you don’t have an author it should be (First three words of title,
date)
This literature review is worth 30 points.
Oral Presentations (April 28th)
Each group will present their research to the class orally.
This presentation will be a formal research report of your findings. The presentation should be
excellent. Here are some specific guidelines:
I’d recommend that you divide your report into four unequal sections. I’m giving approximate
amounts of time (in %) for each section, but I recognize that each report will differ.
Section 1 (15%): Introduction - includes the following: Title of your report and names of the
researchers (1 slide). Also includes the following: questions or hypotheses, any predictions generated
by the hypotheses, and why your question is of interest (maybe 2-4 slides).
Section 2 (15–25%): Methods – includes the following: detailed description of what you did to
answer your question or test your hypotheses. Includes pictures, diagrams and descriptions of your
research design, research organisms and study sites.
Section 3 (35-55%) Results. This is the heart of your presentation. Here you present your data in the
forms of tables and graphs. This will include presenting the appropriate test statistics and p-values
(include these somewhere in your tables or graphs).
Section 4 (15-25%) Discussion. Here you should include the following: How did your results relate
to your original question or hypothesis and predictions? How did your results relate to what other
researchers have discovered in similar studies? How could you improve you design to more
effectively address your question? What would you do next if you were to continue this research?
Also include a slide acknowledging anybody who helped you with your research.
Dos and Don’ts for a presentation
1. Know your material well, and practice it (preferably before an audience) before you present it.
2. You are welcome to use pictures/images from other sources.
3. If you’re working with other people, you should integrate your material well, so that there is a
smooth flow from one speaker to the other (and all in a group should make approximately equal
contributions to the presentation).
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4. Don’t work with someone with a history of slackness (unless you too are slack, in which case you
might complement each other).
5. You don’t need to worry about dressing up, but don’t chew gum, and do remove your hat.
The oral presentation is worth 40 points.
Final Project Report Instructions
The final project report is due on April 29th at 5PM. Please follow all the guidelines in "How to
write research reports." Groups of three people should generate at least 14 references (minimum of
12 books or journals, with a minimum of nine being from journals); groups of two people should
generate at least 12 references (minimum of 10 books or journals, with a minimum of seven being
from journals); a person working by him/herself will be expected to include at least 10 references (at
least eight from books or journals, with at least five of those being from journals). Many of these you
can take from your literature review. Your final project report is worth 75 points.
Final note on Literature Cited section
You only include the literature you discuss in your paper - please don’t include literature you have
not cited. Have fun!
Appendix: Good journals for ecological questions
American Journal of Botany
American Midland Naturalist
American Naturalist
Animal Behaviour
American Scientist
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
Behaviour
Behavioral Ecology
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Bioscience
Conservation Biology
Ecology
Ecological Applications
Ecological Monographs
Environment
Environmental Microbiology
Environmental Toxicology and Water Quality
Evolution
Frontiers in Ecology
Functional Ecology
Oecologia
Oikos
Journal of Animal Ecology
Journal of Applied Ecology
Journal of Ecology
Journal of the Linnaean Society
Landscape Ecology
Limnology and Oceanography
Nature
Plant Ecology
Quarterly Review of Biology
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
Restoration Ecology
Science
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Wetlands
Wetlands Ecology and Management
Wetlands Law and Regulation Report
Wildlife Monographs
And there are many more…
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