103-0377-10L Basics of RE&IS
| Semester | Autumn Semester 2022 |
| Lecturers | J. Van Wezemael, K. W. Axhausen, F. Corman, C. Sailer |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Comment | Only for Spatial Development and Infrastructure Systems MSc. |
| Abstract | The course Basics of RE&IS provides essential knowledge for the Master's degree program in Spatial Development & Infrastructure Systems. It teaches the basics of technical-scientific work, such as scientific writing, literature review, and effective presentation and communication of results. |
| Learning objective | -Students will be able to identify, name, and define the content taught and understand the necessity, significance, and application of the standards in scientific work. -Students will be able to apply the content, implement it in different examples and use it to solve the exercises and the semester assignment. -Students develop a common understanding with regard to their methodological knowledge and can henceforth work scientifically at an appropriate level. -With the techniques learned in the course, students will be able to •analyze and differentiate scientific sources and apply them in their work in a structured way •systematically compare and present their results in an argumentative manner •develop, formulate, and design a scientific report •produce results in collaboration with their group •present results in an engaging presentation with their group using attractive and formally correct visualizations, maps, or diagrams •discuss and give critical feedback in the form of peer-assessments of other students |
| Content | Students will learn the basics of scientific work and practice their skills within the framework of three separate exercises (formative) as well as an ungraded semester performance, which consists of two parts and will be worked out in groups of two to three students. In the first half of the semester, students will learn the theoretical basics and apply and understand these in the context of the exercises. In the second half of the semester, the students will work on a written scientific report applying the methods learnt in the first half of the semester. The results of the report should be communicated in an effective and clear oral presentation taped on video. The final videos, as well as the exercises in the first part of the course will be discussed and evaluated among the students in class (peer-assessment). - Exercise 1: Literature search & referencing - Exercise 2: Scientific writing – report structure, paragraph structure, language style - Exercise 3: Maps, Graphs & Visualizations - Ungraded semester performance: consists of (1) written report on topic of interest and (2) oral presentation on video Students will be supervised by the course instructors throughout the course. Furthermore, feedback and discussion opportunities will be given by other students by the principle of peer assessment. The main course lead changes periodically between the following RE&IS chairs: Infrastructure Management (IM), Transportation Systems (TS), Traffic Engineering (SVT), Transport Planning (VPL), Spatial Development and Urban Policy (SPUR), Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS) and Spatial Transformation Laboratories (STL). |
| Lecture notes | All documents relevant for the course (slides, literature, further links, etc.) are provided centrally via the Moodle platform. |
| Literature | American Psychological Association (APA) (2010) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, APA, Washington, D.C. Axhausen, K.W. (2016) Style Guide for Student Dissertations, IVT, ETH Zürich, Zürich (available as download under learning materials) Backhaus, N. and R. Tuor (2008): Leitfaden für wissenschaftliches Arbeiten, 7. überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage. Schriftenreihe Humangeographie 18, Geographisches Institut der Universität Zürich, Zürich. ZürichChapman, M. and C. Wykes (1996) Plain Figures, HM Stationary Office, London. ETH (2017) Citation etiquette: How to handle the intellectual property of others, ETH, ETH Zürich, Zürich (last retrieved 29.11.2017) Modern Language Association of America (MLA) (2016) MLA Handbook, 8th edition, MLA, New York. Monmonier, M. (1991) How to lie with maps, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Tufte, E. R. (2001) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Graphics Press USA Wilkinson, L. (1999) The Grammar of Graphics, Springer, Berlin. |