Dr. Jeffery B. Cannon
@JefferyBCannon
Jeffery.Cannon@jonesctr.org
This course is designed to give students hands-on experience conducting ecological research related to forest ecology, restoration, and/or remote sensing techniques. The program is designed for one-semester program, but in some cases, projects may be continued to be expanded in a second semester. The course emphasizes reading primary scientific literature, data processing, analysis and written and oral presentation of research.
In this course, students will
- start and complete an independent research project related to forest restoration ecology,
- gain experience with data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation,
- gain experience and reading and critically reviewing peer-reviewed scientific literature,
- present results through a short scientific paper and poster.
The aim of the course is to give students experience and practice applying the scientific method to ecological concepts, provide students with an introduction to methods for collecting and interpreting ecological data, and prepare students for future research endeavors in graduate professional school or career in natural resources.
| Week | Discussion topic | Assignment (due 24-hours before class-time) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Course overview/Assigned readings | Review course materials (syllabus, assigned readings) |
| 2 | Reading feedback/Research questions | Annotated bibliography (half of readings) |
| 3 | Reading feedback/Introductions | Annotated bibliography (all readings) |
| 4 | Outline feedback/Introductions | Introduction outline |
| 5 | Introduction feedback/Data analysis | Developing an Introduction |
| 6 | Data preparation and analysis | |
| 7 | Data preparation and analysis | All project data collected and processed |
| 8 | Creating figures and tables | “Lies, damned lies, and statistics” |
| 9 | Results feedback/Methods | Analyzing and presenting data |
| 10 | Methods feedback/Results | Developing a methods section |
| 11 | Results feedback/Discussion | Developing a results section |
| 12 | Discussion feedback | Developing a discussion section |
| 13 | TBA or make-up | |
| 14 | Draft feedback/How to develop a poster | Completing an original research paper (ungraded draft) |
| 15 | Presenting a poster | Developing a research poster |
| 16 | Poster presentation (final) | Poster presentation Completing an original research paper |
In accordance with a 3-credit hour course , students will be expected to spend approximately 9 hours each week, totaling 135 total hours for each enrolled semester (15 weeks). For a 2-credit course, the expectation is approximately 6 hours per week, totaling 90 hours. These hours include time spent in individual or group meetings; conducting research, data collection, and analysis; guided reading and writing; and working on reports or presentations. Please keep track of your hours in a spreadsheet. Hours are logged by students and checked periodically by the instructor to ensure goals and objectives can be met in the time available. Logging progress is helpful to ensure that projects are completed in an appropriate timeframe.
To receive credit for this course, students must satisfactorily
- complete independent project (described below), research paper, and poster presentation,
- complete and track all required hours as described above, and
- adhere to the project timeline and assignment due dates.
Given the variability in individual student projects, some portions of this timeline can be adjusted with permission from the instructor. The final grade in this course is calculated using a traditional A–F scale based on the number of points earned for assignments including an annotated bibliography, components of research article, in-class activities, and development and presentation of a research poster.
| Assignment | Points |
|---|---|
| Annotated bibliography | 25 |
| Developing an introduction | 20 |
| "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" | 5 |
| Analyzing and presenting data | 20 |
| Developing a methods section | 20 |
| Developing a results section | 20 |
| Developing a discussion | 20 |
| Completing an original research paper | 60 |
| Developing a research poster | 50 |
| Poster presentation (in-class) | 20 |
| Total points | 260 |
| Points earned | Grade |
|---|---|
| 260 – 233 | A |
| 232 – 207 | B |
| 206 – 181 | C |
| 180 – 155 | D |
| < 154 | F |