Study Skills :A Student Surviva lGuide
Kathryn L . Allen
Preface
xiForeword by Clare Isacke
xiiiIntroduction by Kathryn Allen
xvList of contributors
xvi i
SECTION ONE : PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
I
Chapter 1 Effective Organisation and Time Management
3by Professor Steve Webb and Professor Bob Ot tIntroduction
3
Organising your work
4
Maintaining a good lab book
4
Keeping your computer files in order
6
Handling reference papers
7
Why keep a diary?
8Organising your time
9
An overview of the planning phases
9
Daily planning
1 0
Planning experiments
1 1Project planning
1 2
Long-term planning
1 4
A general project plan
1 4
Stress and the work/life balance
1 6Checklist
1 7Finding out more
1 7
Chapter 2 Personal and Interpersonal Skills
1 9by Mr Neil WatfordIntroduction
1 9
Self-awareness
1 9Assertiveness
2 1
Using self-talk to develop assertiveness
2 2
Effective listening
2 3
Giving and receiving feedback
2 4Giving feedback
2 4Receiving feedback
2 5Relationships and team working
2 5Peers and colleagues
2 5Getting the most out of team meetings
2 6
Your relationship with your supervisor
2 7
Networking
29
Teaching small groups
30Teaching skills
30Group dynamics - how the group works
32Checklist
32
Finding out more
3 2
SECTION TWO : FINDING AND USING INFORMATION
35
Chapter 3 Information Retrieval
3 7by Barry JenkinsIntroduction
3 7
Information sources
3 7Primary and secondary sources
3 7Textbooks and e-books
3 8Journals and e -journals
3 9Open access journals
4 0Journal quality
4 1Copyright
4 1Unpublished ( ` grey') material
4 2
Bibliographic databases
4 3How to search bibliographic databases effectively
4 8
Current awareness services
4 9.The Internet
5 0The invisible web
5 1Discussion lists and newsgroups
5 1Evaluating information on the Internet
52
Managing your references
52
Bibliographic management software
52Checklist
5 3
Chapter 4 Critical Reading
5 5Dr Stan VenittIntroduction
5 5Peer-review
5 5What is critical reading?
5 6Why is critical reading important?
5 7The structure/organisation of a paper
5 8Variations on the organisation of a paper
5 9How to read critically
5 9Abstract
6 0Introduction
6 0Results
6 0Discussion
6 1Materials and methods/Experimental
61
Authors and acknowledgments
6 1Bibliography
6 2
Evaluating your own work
62
Reading techniques
6 3Checklist
64
Finding out more
64
SECTION THREE: COMMUNICATION SKILLS
6 5
Chapter 5 Oral and Poster Presentations
67
by Dr Maggie FlowerIntroduction
67
Giving a research seminar
67
Preparing your seminar
67
Know your audience
6 8
Content
6 8
Use of maths and equations
6 9
Length
6 9
Two common questions
7 0
Visual aids
7 0Practising your presentation
7 2
Presenting your seminar
7 4Controlling nerves
7 4Before and during your presentation
7 4Delivering your presentation
7 6Answering questions at the end of your presentation
7 7
Preparing a poster presentation
7 8Preparation
7 8Structure and design
7 8
Checklist
8 1
Finding out more
8 1
Chapter 6 Writing a Paper
83
by DrJeff Bamber
Introduction
8 3
What is a scientific paper?
8 3
Impact of the web
8 4
Getting started
8 5
Organisation
8 5
Know your audience
8 5
Background reading
8 5
Standard format of a paper
8 6
How long should a paper be?
8 6
Giving your paper a title
87
Listing the authors and their addresses
8 7Citing the literature
8 8Preparing the abstract
8 8Writing the introduction
8 9Aims and objectives
8 9Method of investigation and the main findings
90Writing the materials and methods/experimental section
90Presenting the results
9 1Use of tables and figures
9 1Use of statistics
92Writing the discussion
93Writing the conclusion
93What to do if the writing stalls
94Style and formatting conventions
94Using language
94Choosing a journal to publish your paper in
96The peer-review process
97
Scientific fraud
9 7
Dedicated organisations to tackle fraud
9 8
Avoiding `innocent ' fraud
9 8
Checklist
9 9Finding out more
9 9
Chapter 7 Writing and Defending Your Thesis
10 1by Dr Stan Venit tIntroduction
10 1What is a thesis?
10 1The purpose Of a thesis
10 2Have a plan
10 2Getting started
10 3Liaising with your supervisor
10 3Use of statistics
10 4Know your audience
104Background reading
104The structure of your thesis
105Length
105The order of writing
10 6Writing your thesis
10 6Statistics packages and image file formats
10 9Graphics Interchange Format ( .GIF)
10 9Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG, JPEG)
10 9Portable Network Graphics ( .PNG)
11 0Tag Image File Format (.TIFF, .TIF)
11 0Windows Bitmap ( .BMP)
110
Written style
110Formal language
11 1Spelling and grammar
11 1Active versus passive voice
11 1The oral examination
112Preparation
11 2What to expect
113The outcome
11 3Checklist
114A quick guide to writing annual progress reports
11 5Finding out more
11 6
Index
119