Prerequisites

Physics IA

Learning Outcomes and Assessment

By the end of this course students will have:

• developed their ability to assess and review scientific writing;
• attained a common level of scientific writing skills, as necessary for Part II and Part III study and as an essential grounding for their future careers within or outside physics research;
• learnt and demonstrated essential team working skills;
• acquired a good understanding and practical working knowledge of presentation skills in scientific communication.

Synopsis

A career in Physics research requires the ability to understand and target open questions in the field, to address these questions through a period of research (often working as part of a team) and then to communicate the results to ones peers, the wider physics community and often to a non-scientific audience.

The Physics Research Skills course incorporates taught and practical elements to allow students to develop essential  skills in: reading; writing and critically assessing scientific literature; team-working; and in presenting scientific material.

IB students will work independently and in teams to: write a scientific paper style article on one of their IB practicals; present scientific material to their peers both through a group presentation explaining their Extended Investigation from IB practicals and in a group poster on either: a focused topic which has been covered in lectures so far or any of the in-lab IB practicals taken. (NB: A or B only students will not do the presentation and Physics B only students will not do the poster. All will have access to the lecture materials and office hours).