lectures

Topics:
We have provided you with a list of potential projects. You are not limited to this list, but projects should address a question with clear relevance to our understanding of avian ecology, evolution, development, physiology, morphology, conservation, or management. If you would like to do a project not on this list, please follow the format of our suggested topics in formulating your own ideas. Graduate students are required to formulate their own project idea. Project topics are due by 25 Jan 07. Any modifications to topics must be finalilzed by 1 Feb 07.

Outlines are due by 8 Feb 07. This is what I expect from your outline:
1) Headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Literature Cited, Tables and Figures.
2) Bulleted paragraph topics for at least intro and methods, plus any other sections you have material to add at this stage.
3) Literature you have found so far that you will refer to in the text under Literature Cited. The majority of the literature you consult should be from the PRIMARY literature (i.e., articles in scientific journals, NOT textbooks, websites, popular articles).
4) The introduction should start with the broad and progressively narrow to your specific question. It should clearly articulate why the topic is of interest to a broad ornithological community, and what major question your specific question sheds light on. By the end of the introduction, the reader should clearly understand the question you are tackling and have an idea of the way you are going to tackle it.
5) Be sure to indicate to me somewhere any problems you have encountered and uncertainties about how to proceed.
6) Read some papers! Pay attention to the structure of a well-written introduction. Pay attention to what kind of material is appropriate for each of the different section.

Here is a very useful primer on writing a scientific paper. Even if you have written many term papers before, I recommend reading this series of webpages carefully.

A few words about style:
1) Use active voice (e.g., "I compared males and females..." instead of "Males and females were compared...")
2) Write in the first person.
3) Be concise. Use words sparingly. Avoid long sentences.
4) Format your papers according to the guidelines provided by the Auk.

Here is the handout (8 March) with detailed guidelines of what I expect in your drafts.

Presentations
Each student will give a 4 min talk using powerpoint with 1 min for questions and change-over. Time slots were allocated using a random number function. You should email me your slides by the NIGHT BEFORE you are to give your presentation. If I do not recieve your slides by then, you will not be giving a presentation because I'm going to compile them into a single file to minimize futzing between students. Students who don't have powerpoint on their personal computers can use computers in the university computing labs. Here is a map of computer labs on campus--the OSCR help desk can direct you to those machine that have powerpoint installed.

Four minutes is a very short time and I will be strict in cutting people off in consideration to other students. Therefore, you must make VERY GOOD use of your time. Practising your talk is critical to making the most of your 4 minutes. Allocate no more than 1 slide to methods! They are really the least interesting part of a project even though they take up so much of your time. Your talk should mirror your paper. Try 2 slides for an intro, 1 methods slide, 1-2 results slides and 1 discussion slide. Use a high-contrast color scheme and avoid red font on a blue background.

We will evaluate your talks by asking ourselve the following questions:
a) Is it concise, well organized, and follow a logical structure?
b) Is it well-delivered (practised), on time, and information-rich?
c) Is it visually appealing with pictures & graphics that enhance understanding?
d) Is the science well thought out? well conducted? well communicated?
e) Is there appropriate attention to the big-picture questions and relevance of the study?

In addition to our evaluations, each student will provide brief feedback on each and every other student. Giving supportive criticism is an important skill for all scientists to devlop. You will be asked to state 1 thing you thought was done particularly well in each talk, and 1 thing you thought could use improvement in the future. Your feedback will be anonymous, but that doesn't mean you should be cruel. There are always supportive ways of suggesting ways to improve and you should work on finding those supportive ways. Likewise, just saying "it was GREAT!" helps no one. There are ALWAYS ways to make a talk more effective.

1) Face the audience, not the screen.
2) Stand near the screen, not 20 meters away, and interact with your slides.
3) Thou shalt not put too much text on one slide. (And thou shalt not use less than 20-pt font.)
4) Prepare large graphics, using figures rather than tables whenever possible. Never show huge tables of numbers.
5) Keep the pointer steady, resting it on the area you want to point out. Thou shalt not wave the pointer wildly about in circles.
6) Never pass things to your audience during your talk. (Avoid show-and-tell: they will only focus on the "show" part.)
7) Be sure to explain the broad biological context in the introduction before jumping into specifics.
8) Give an "hourglass" talk: go from cosmic to general to specific to general to cosmic.
9) Finish on time. This will require that you practice out loud several times and time yourself.
10) Thou shalt never read your talk. It should sound like a spontaneous explanation of your work. This will also come with advance practice.