Introduction to research

Code:

FIS4048

Acronym:

FIS4048

Level:

400

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Physics

Instance: 2024/2025 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Physics and Astronomy
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Physics

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
M:F	7	Official Study Plan	2	-	12	20	324

Teaching language

Portuguese and english
Obs.: suitable for English speaking students

Objectives

To develop, under tutorial supervision, studies and preliminary work in preparation for the subsequent course unit "Thesis/Project/Internship", which takes place in the second semester. This preparatory work is collected in a written Report, and presented during an oral Presentation and discussion session.

Learning outcomes and competences

Develop the ability to design an independent plan for research in Physics, either in the form of a dissertation, an internship or a project.

Competence in conducting a thorough literature search to get the state of the art in the chosen research topic.

Competence in identifying open questions and  assess the viability of the work plan.

Competence in structuring, scheduling and delivering the research plan, including a risk assessment of its strengths and weaknesses.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Definition of the research project to be carried out in during the second semester in the dissertation/internship/project course unit.

Bibliographic search.

Characterization and critical assessment of the state-of-the art related to the topic of research.

Preliminary or preparatory work, familiarization with approaches and techniques, reproduction of existing results, etc.

Structuring and scheduling of the various stages of execution of the work plan.

Mandatory literature

David Evans, Paul Gruba, Justin Zobel; How to Write a Better Thesis (3rd edition), Springer, 2014. ISBN: 978-3-319-04286-2 (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-04286-2)

Complementary Bibliography

William Strunk; The elements of style. ISBN: 0-205-30902-X

Comments from the literature

The bibliography is defined by the specific research theme and the literature search carried out by each student in that particular area. (The books listed above are recommended when preparing the written report.)

Teaching methods and learning activities

This course unit comprises the study of the state-of-the art in the theme chosen for the dissertation/internship/project, the definition of the objective(s) and the scheduling of the tasks expected to lead to the desired results.

The theme of the work is proposed by a teacher/advisor who guides the student in a tutorial style during its progress (optionally accompanied by a co-advisor).

The approach and teaching methodology is defined by each advisor considering the specificities of the work theme.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	30,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Participação presencial	20,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	304,00
Frequência das aulas	20,00
Total:	324,00

Eligibility for exams

Participation in more than 75% of tutorial classes with the advisor.

Calculation formula of final grade

The evaluation is based on a final report (50%), an oral presentation (30%) and the supervisor's assessment (20%) throughout the tutorial interactions and during the semester. The report should cover an introduction and motivation of the topic, state of the art, the objectives of the work and a timetable proposal. Both the report and the presentation should be made in English.

The final grade is computed as:

FG = 0.5×R + 0.3×P + 0.2×S

FG - final grade
R - report
P - oral presentation
S - supervisor evaluation

Classification improvement

Acording to the FCUP rules.

Observations

The jury for this course unit comprises the members of the Scientific Comittee for the MSc in Physics.