Research Design and Analysis; molecular and cell

FaculteitFaculty of Science

NiveauBachelor

Studiejaar2026-2027

Beschrijving

Course goals

Learning objectives
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
• compare critically the advantages and limitations of different techniques, specific to an experimental project
• design an experiment to answer a self-formulated research question
• process raw data into clear tables and figures supported with quantitative considerations
• formulate new insights and hypotheses by interpreting data
• apply the best practices to uphold scientific integrity in your work
• communicate clearly your research and its context to fellow scientists and the general public, both orally and in writing
• provide constructive feedback to peers on their design, research results and manuscript
• improve your own work by critically implementing feedback

Skills	Part of the course	Explicitely assessed?
Writing	v	v
Oral presentation	v	v
Dealing with data	v	v
Practical research skills
Research skills	v	v
Group work	v	v
Critical thinking	v	v
Carrier orientation
Interdisciplinarity

Content

Entry requirements
For the Biology bachelor: the "Molecular Genetic Research Techniques" (MGOT) and "The Cell" courses are mandatory. The courses "Metabolism and Biochemistry" and "Cells and Tissues" (level 3) are recommended.
For the MBLS bachelor: the "Molecular Biology & Biochemical Techniques" (MBBT) course is mandatory. The course "Genomes, Cells & Tissues" is recommended.
The course is open to ‘advanced’ second year students, but students in their third year will have priority.

Study area of interest
The Research Design and Analysis course (B-B3RDA21) fits the Cell Biology and Neurobiology study area and is a fully-fledged theoretical alternative to Molecular Cell Research.

Language
Depending on the teacher and supervisor, this course will be largely or even entirely taught in English. The assessment of this course will also be in English.

Content
The Research Design and Analysis (B-B3RDA21) course has a molecular and cellular focus and is a fully-fledged theoretical alternative to Molecular Cell Research.
In this course, students go through the research cycle with special attention to setting up and justifying experiments, processing research results and providing feedback. Projects and (raw) data are offered from various molecular and cellular research disciplines, as they are also available in an open research culture (open science). The students are introduced to the usefulness and importance of an open research culture.
At the beginning of the course, students receive a case. Inspired by this case, students work in small groups (4-5 students) to formulate a problem statement, research question and hypothesis and draw up a detailed research plan. The research plan is provided with (peer) feedback and after the research plan has been approved, students are given access to the raw data of an experiment that (partially) corresponds to the experiments described in the research plan. The students will process and interpret the raw data themselves and translate it into clear tables, figures and conclusions. The results are presented to the researcher and fellow students and reported in the form of a scientific article. Just as in an open research culture, in this course it is important to organize and translate the results so that they are accessible and understandable to the public.

Forms of education
The course consists of the online learning environment (Brightspace) in addition to the weekly progress meetings (with the project supervisor) and the joint group meetings (whole class, with the coordinator), and some seminars and thematic workshops (whole class, interactive). Attendance is compulsory to all meetings, seminars and workshops unless properly justified.

Assessment
The final grade is calculated as following:
• Participation, collaboration and commitment (25%, individual assessment)
• Individual presentation throughout the course (15%, individual assessment)
• Written scientific report (50%, group assessment)
• Final group presentation (10%, group assessment)
For each component, grades are evaluated according to pre-determined rubrics.
The course is considered completed satisfactorily if the final grade is sufficient (5.5 or higher). As each component is mandatory, failing one or more components causes failing the course.

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