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One of the most fascinating processes in biology concerns how a single cell develops into a multicellular embryo with complex body structure and function. Each of us started our individual lives as a single fertilised egg and each generation needs to go through the same fascinating process again. As a first step, the fertilised egg needs to break the inherent symmetry it has as a single cell. It is still not entirely clear how human embryos acquire this all-important early asymmetry, but studies in a variety of animal models give us some idea how this can be achieved. Once an initial asymmetry is established in the one-cell embryo, cell proliferation produces the multicellular embryo. Molecular mechanisms mediating cell signalling and gene regulation are able to build upon the initial asymmetry in the one-cell embryo to pattern this multicellular embryo, in order to create differences between cells at different locations in the embryo and thereby establish the layout of the body. For instance the different germ layers are induced, which ensure that the outside and the inside of the developing embryo become different, and the embryonic axes are established to make the head different from the tail and the belly different from the back. This organisational framework is later used to place the organs and the different tissues in their proper place within the embryo. Obviously, defects in these early crucial stages of embryo development have devastating consequences and lead to serious malformations; and in humans to miscarriages and stillborn babies. The molecular mechanisms discovered in the early embryo turn out to be used again at later stages during organ development but are also important in the adult to regulate regeneration and stem cell biology (which will be covered in future courses).
Course Co-ordinator: Prof. Stefan Hoppler (s.p.hoppler@abdn.ac.uk ; Tel.: 437383)
Students will:
1.Discuss the biological strategies evolved by fertilised eggs in diverse organisms to create initial asymmetry in the embryo to initiate organisation of the embryonic body plan.
2.Describe the initial organisational features established in early embryos, such as germ layers and embryonic axes, which provide the basic framework on which to build later the functional organs of the body.
3.Depict how cellular processes such as cell proliferation, cell adhesion and cell motility contribute to the shaping of the embryo during cleavage stages, gastrulation and cell migration.
4.Illustrate how fundamental molecular mechanisms mediating cell signalling and gene regulation are used in the early embryo to bring about tissue organisation and cell differentiation.
5.Explain the molecular methods and experimental approaches used to gain understanding of developmental processes in the early embryo.
6.Gain an appreciation that the tools and approaches developed while studying the early embryo and the molecular mechanisms discovered in early embryos are more generally relevant for developmental biology, regeneration and stem cell research.
Lecture Synopsis
1.Introduction to Patterning the Embryo (SH)
This lecture will provide an introduction to the course and will introduce some of the key concepts used to describe the early patterning of the embryo, such as the embryonic axes and the germ layers; and how these end up in the correct positions through the process of gastrulation (SH).
2.Patterning of the Drosophila embryo I (SH)
The embryo of the invertebrate model system Drosophila acquires its initial organisation directly from its mother. A seminal genetic screen provided invaluable insight into the molecular mechanisms of patterning early embryogenesis. The initial regional specification of the early Drosophila embryo is determined by gene products deposited by maternal nurse cells in different parts of the egg (maternal genes). The anterior system encoded by a gradient of bicoid, the posterior system, encoded by nanos and the terminal system activated by Torso will be discussed in the context of anterior-posterior patterning of the Drosophila embryo. The role of the Toll receptor and the NFB related molecule dorsal in dorsoventral patterning will be described.
3.Patterning of the Drosophila embryo II (SH)
The gene products encoded by the cell nuclei of the embryo itself are needed during the next stage of development (zygotic genes). The organisation of the anterior-posterior axis is elaborated on to create the metameric (or repeated) segmental organisation typical of Drosophila and other insects; but also reflected in our brains and our backbone. The role of the gap genes, the pair-rule genes and the segment polarity genes will be explained.
4.Patterning of the Drosophila embryo III (SH)
Another group of genes called homeotic genes has come to fame and prominence because they determine the identity of the different segmental units in the Drosophila embryo, for instance they determine where the wings form, where the legs form and where so-called antenna form on the Drosophila head. Mutations in these genes have very dramatic consequences, since they can cause development of mutant Drosophila flies with too many wings and with legs instead of antenna growing from their heads. The other fascinating aspect of homeotic genes concerns the evolutionary conservation of their genetic organisation but also of their function in development between invertebrates and vertebrates.
5. Transcription factor families for Development (AMacK)
Investigations of early embryogenesis, such as the genetic screens in Drosophila described in the previous lectures, emphasised the important roles in embryonic development of transcriptional regulation and of DNA-binding transcription factors in particular. This lecture will review the different types and families of transcription factors and their remarkable roles in embryonic development, such as the Zinc-finger transcription factors (including the nuclear hormone receptors); the homeodomain transcription factors (including the LIM-homeoproteins); the bHLH transcription factors (including the important master regulatory genes Pax6 for eye development and MyoD for muscle development); the winged-helix proteins (including Drosophila Forkhead and vertebrate Fox genes); the Tbox transcription factors (which are important for mesoderm induction); and the HMG DNA-binding factors (including the TCFs, which are important for Wnt signalling and the Sox genes, among which SRY determines male development in humans and other mammals.
6/7. Early development in C. elegans I and II (JP)
C. elegans is unusual among the animals chosen as model organisms to study development as it has a fixed number of somatic cells. Moreover each cell behaves in a stereotypical fashion, such that a given cell behaves the same from in each individual embryo. This has lead to the idea that the mechanisms that pattern the early C. elegans embryo were distinct from those that operate in other animals. These two lectures will address the evidence for this assertion and show that C. elegans embryos use the same developmental principles conserved throughout animal evolution.
8. Early vertebrate development I (SH)
The early Xenopus embryo is the best-understood vertebrate early embryo. The inherent asymmetry between the oocyte nucleus and the mitochondrial cloud is used to target maternal mRNA transcripts to one pole, which becomes the vegetal pole. This defines the animal-vegetal axis of the early vertebrate embryo. This animal-vegetal axis is translated by maternal determinants deposited at the vegetal pole into the induction of the three germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm).
9. Early vertebrate development II (SH)
Vertebrate embryos do also have a clear organisation along the dorso-ventral axis. The vertebrate embryo employs a symmetry-breaking process to establish the dorsal axis. The sperm entry point induces construction of a polarised cytoskeletal network on which a maternal dorsal determinant is transported from the vegetal pole to the future dorsal side.
10. Early vertebrate development III (SH)
This dorsal determinant is or regulates a component of the conserved Wnt signalling pathway, which induces dorsal gene expression and eventually dorsal mesoderm development. Patterning along the animal-vegetal axis and the dorso-ventral axis are integrated at the transcriptional level to induce expression of genes regulating the Spemann organiser in the dorsal mes-endoderm.
11. Early vertebrate development IV (AMR)
The dorsal mesoderm in vertebrate embryos contains a signalling centre, which co-ordinates the organisation of the whole embryo. One of the most dramatic events governed by the dorsal mesoderm organiser is the induction of the vertebrate nervous system and its anterior to posterior organisation. There are beautiful classical embryonic experiments and recent molecular discoveries that show that patterning of the Central Nervous System is a two-step process.
12. Cell Signalling Mechanisms in Development (SH)
Investigation of early embryogenesis in vertebrate embryos, such as Xenopus described in the previous lectures, emphasise the importance of cell-to-cell signalling mechanisms in embryonic development. This lecture will review the important cell signalling mechanisms and their remarkable roles in embryonic development, such as FGF signalling (as an important example of several Receptor Tyrosine Kinase-mediated signalling systems); the two branches of TGF signalling (nodal/activin/vg1 signalling on the one hand and BMP signalling on the other hand); the Wnt signalling pathway and hedgehog signalling; and the Notch-Delta signalling system, which is so important for neurons to differentiate.
13. Early mammalian development I (JMC)
The mouse has served as prime model system to study the early development of mammalian embryos, which develop inside the mother organism and therefore have evolved special adaptations, such as extra-embryonic tissues. This lecture will describe early mouse development from fertilisation, through blastocyst formation to the formation of the primitive streak, which is where gastrulation happens in mammalian embryos. The developmental origins of the extraembryonic tissue will be explained. Some biotechnology implications of early mammalian development for processes such as human IVF will be described, as well as possible developmental events leading to disease.
14. Early mammalian development II (JMC)
Postimplantation mammalian development gives rise to the more familiar organisation of an embryo, with germ layers and embryonic axes. This lecture will describe the process of left-right axis formation, then go on to describe some features of mammalian development that impact on development. These include the regulative ability of early embryos to recover from manipulation or injury, also the processes of gene 'imprinting' and X-inactivation. We will look at the relationship between the Inner Cell Mass, embryonic stem cells, embryonic carcinoma cells (EC cells), and the formation of teratomas.
15. Mechanisms of morphogenesis (JP)
Animals are not simply bags of differentiated cells, but must organise the different cells types into tissues, organs and organ systems. The cell adhesion between cells and the cytoskeleton providing physical strength and dynamics need to be closely regulated during morphogenetic movements. Tissues and cells need to establish polarity organisation to give morphogenetic movements the correct orientation and direction in the embryo. This is achieved by the coordinated behaviour of individual cells, which alter their cell adhesive, migratory and polarity in response to their neighbours. This lecture will examine the conserved mechanisms that are deployed to achieve tissue morphogenesis during development.
16. Gastrulation (JP)
A conserved feature of the early development of all animal embryos involves the extensive reorganisation of embryonic tissues to create the three characteristic germ layers: ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. The mechanisms by which this is achieved show remarkable diversity between different animal embryos, but also show some common features, which suggest that gastrulation was an ancient event that evolved in the last common ancestor of the animal kingdom.
Laboratory Work
The course contains practical experiments to be carried out and documented on four whole days (see course timetable for details). It involves experiments on Xenopus embryos with small molecule compounds, which modulate important signalling pathways, such as Wnt signalling, to study their role in organising the vertebrate embryo. Since these experiments involve bioactive small molecules, it is essential that you should wear appropriate protective clothing, such as examination gloves and laboratory coats. You must also keep an accurate protocol and records of all experiments performed, including numerical analysis of the experimental results and imaging of the morphology of experimental and control embryos. Following the practical, you will each prepare an individual report which should be word processed in the form of a short scientific paper. This report will form an important component of the continuous assessment.
The practical work required in this course might present difficulties to students with special educational needs. For such students, alternative arrangements will be made. Any student with special needs should make these known to the Course Co-ordinator when registering for the class, and should then also discuss their needs with the School Disabilities Co-ordinator, to ensure that they have the best possible outcome.
There is a regular programme of seminars given throughout the academic year by invited specialists from within the broad field of biomedical research.
Developmental Biology students are required to attend research seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology (usually Friday afternoons at 4pm) to reinforce and complement the material covered in lectures and practical laboratory work.
As you are studying within research-driven disciplines, we strongly feel that you should attend these whenever possible, with a view to broadening your appreciation of medical sciences. You will also be directed to attend any other relevant seminars when they arise.
General Reading List
Recommended Reading
Essential Developmental Biology by JMW Slack (Blackwells, 3rd Edition, 2012) will be the main textbook used for the course.
The following textbooks will also be useful textbooks for some aspects of the course:
Principles of Development by Lewis Wolpert and Tickle (Oxford University Press, 4th Edition, 2011).
Developmental Biology by Scott F. Gilbert (Sinauer Associates Inc. 9th Edition, 2010)
The University has strict regulations on plagiarism. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism read the University guide on plagiarism at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/writing
Copying or plagiarising another persons work, either from other students or published material in books or papers and submitted as your own for assessment is considered a form of cheating. This is considered by the University to be a serious offence and will be penalised according to the extent involved and whether it is decided there was an attempt at deliberate deception, or whether bad practice was involved. If you do use information or ideas obtained from textbooks or other published material you must give a precise reference to the source both at the appropriate point in your narrative and in a list of references at the end of your work. Direct quotations from published material should be indicated by quotation marks and referenced in the text as above.
Assessment and Examinations
Students are expected to attend all lectures, laboratory classes, and tutorials, and to complete all class exercises by stated deadlines. The minimum performance acceptable is attendance at 75% of the lectures, seminars, practical classes, and presentation of all set course work, written and oral.
Students can self-certify absences of up to six days from compulsory classes by completing the downloadable form at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sms/documents/absenceform.doc
Assessment is derived from course work (30%) and a written examination (70%).
Written Examination: 70% of the total assessment is based on one 90 minute written paper. The student has to answer two questions of equal weighting selected from a list of four.
Continuous assessment: 30% of the total assessment consists of an extended laboratory report/write-up.
Lab report Deadline Date: 4.00pm, Friday 3rd May, 2013
NB: Students must submit report in a word-processed format.
NB: Students must not paste on-line lecture notes into their essays.
Common assessment scale (CAS) grade: The overall performance of the student is expressed as a grade awarded on the common spine marking scale.
The degree examination is held in May, with the re-sit examination in August.
Dr Martin Collinson
Prof Stefan Hoppler
Dr Alasdair MacKenzie
Dr Jonathan Pettitt
Dr Ann Rajnicek
If students have difficulties with any part of the course that they cannot cope with alone they should notify someone immediately. If the problem relates to the subject matter you may be best advised to contact the member of staff who is teaching that part of the course. Students with registered disabilities should contact either the IMS based School Office (Miss Stephanie Sweeney ssweeney@abdn.ac.uk) or the Old Aberdeen office associated with the teaching laboratories (Mrs S.Jones s.jones@abdn.ac.uk ) to ensure that the appropriate facilities have been made available. Otherwise, you are strongly encouraged to contact any of the following as you see appropriate:
Course student representatives.
Course co-ordinator (Prof. Stefan Hoppler)
Convenor of the Biomedical Sciences Staff/Student Liaison Committee (Dr Gordon McEwan).
Adviser of studies.
Disabilities Co-ordinator (Dr Derryck Shewan).
Staff are based at Foresterhill (IMS Building) and we strongly encourage the use of email or telephone the SMS office. You may be wasting your time to travel to Foresterhill only to find staff unavailable.
Support Available to Students
The University is keen to help you successfully complete your studies. If at any time you feel you need assistance, there is a range of support services available to help you. These include support to assist with unexpected and/or exceptional financial difficulty, support for disabled students and academic learning support through the Student Learning Service. Further details about all these services area available at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/studenthelpguide/.
We value students’ opinions in regard to enhancing the quality of teaching and its delivery; therefore in conjunction with the Students’ Association we support the operation of a Class Representative system.
The students within each course, year, or programme elect representatives by the end of the fourth week of teaching within each half-session. In this school we operate a system of course representatives. Any student registered within a course that wishes to represent a given group of students can stand for election as a class representative. You will be informed when the elections for class representative will take place.
What will it involve?
It will involve speaking to your fellow students about the course you represent. This can include any comments that they may have. You will attend a Staff-Student Liaison Committee and you should represent the views and concerns of the students within this meeting. As a representative you will also be able to contribute to the agenda. You will then feedback to the students after this meeting with any actions that are being taken.
Training
Training for class representatives will be run by the Students Association. Training will take place in the fourth or fifth week of teaching each half-session. For more information about the Class representative system visit www.ausa.org.uk or email the VP Education & Employability vped@abdn.ac.uk. Class representatives are also eligible to undertake the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award, further information about the co-curricular award is available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/careers.
The University operates a system for monitoring students' progress to identify students who may be experiencing difficulties in a particular course. If the Course Co-ordinator has concerns about your attendance and/or performance, the Registry will be informed. The Registry will then write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to ask you to contact the Senate Office in the first instance. Depending on your reason for absence the Senate Office will either deal directly with your case or will refer you to your Adviser of Studies or a relevant support service. This system is operated to provide support for students who may be experiencing difficulties with their studies. Students are required to attend such meetings with their Adviser of Studies in accordance with General Regulation 8.
Set criteria are used to determine when a student should be reported in the monitoring system. You will be asked to meet your Adviser if any of the following criteria apply for this course:-
either (i) if you are absent for a continuous period of two weeks or 25% of the course (whichever is less) without good cause being reported;
or (ii) if you are absent from two small group teaching sessions e.g. (laboratory/tutorial classes) without good cause;
or (iii) if you fail to submit a piece of summative or a substantial piece of formative in-course assessment by the stated deadline
If you fail to respond within the prescribed timescale (as set out in the e-mail or letter) you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course concerned and will accordingly be ineligible to take the end of course assessment or to enter for the resit. The Registry will write to you (by e-mail in term-time) to inform you of this decision. If you wish consideration to be given to reinstating you in the course you will be required to meet the Convener of the Students' Progress Committee.
Students who attend and complete the work required for a course are considered to have been awarded a ‘Class Certificate’. Being in possession of a valid Class Certificate for a course entitles a student to sit degree examinations for that course. From 2010/11 class certificates will be valid for two years and permit a total of three attempts at the required assessment within that two year period i.e. the first attempt plus up to two resits.
You will receive a University e-mail account when you register with the University Computing Centre. The University will normally use e-mail to communicate with you during term-time. These e-mails will be sent to your University e-mail account, which you can access using Eudora or SquirrelMail.
It is your responsibility to check your e-mail on a regular (at least weekly) basis and to tidy the contents of your e-mail inbox to ensure that it does not go over quota (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/email/mailquota.hti for guidance on managing your e-mail quota). It is recommended that you use your University e-mail account to read and respond to University communications. If you already have a non-University e-mail account that you use for personal correspondence, it is possible to set up automatic forwarding of messages from your University e-mail account to your personal e-mail address (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/local/mail.forward/) but, should you do so, it is your responsibility to ensure that this is done correctly. The University takes no responsibility for delivery of e-mails to non-University accounts.
You should note that failure to check your e-mail or failure to receive e-mail due to being over quota or due to non-delivery of an e-mail forwarded to a non-University e-mail account would not be accepted as a ground for appeal (for further information on appeals procedures, please refer to http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x17.hti).
TurnitinUK
TurnitinUK is an online service which compares student assignments with online sources including web pages, databases of reference material, and content previously submitted by other users across the UK. The software makes no decision as to whether plagiarism has occurred; it is simply a tool which highlights sections of text that have been found in other sources thereby helping academic staff decide whether plagiarism has occurred.
As of Academic Year 2011/12, TurnitinUK will be accessed directly through MyAberdeen. Advice about avoiding plagiarism, the University’s Definition of Plagiarism, a Checklist for Students, Referencing and Citing guidance, and instructions for TurnitinUK, can be found in the following area of the Student Learning Service website www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism/.
Absence from Classes on Medical Grounds
Candidates who wish to establish that their academic performance has been adversely affected by their health are required to secure medical certificates relating to the relevant periods of ill health (see General Regulation 17.3).
The University’s policy on requiring certification for absence on medical grounds or other good cause can be accessed at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x5.pdf
You are strongly advised to make yourself fully aware of your responsibilities if you are absent due to illness or other good cause. In particular, you are asked to note that self-certification of absence for periods of absence up to and including eleven weekdays is permissible. However, where absence has prevented attendance at an examination or where it may have affected your performance in an element of assessment or where you have been unable to attend a specified teaching session, you are strongly advised to provide medical certification (see section 3 of the Policy on Certification of Absence for Medical Reasons or Other Good Cause).
Feedback Framework
Feedback on assessment:
The University recognises that the provision of timely and appropriate feedback on assessment plays a key part in students learning and teaching. The guiding principles for the provision of feedback within the University are detailed in the Institutional Framework for the Provision of Feedback on Assessment available at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x8.pdf
Enhancing Feedback:
The University recognises both the importance of providing timely and appropriate feedback on assessments to students, and of enabling students to voice views on their learning experience through channels such as Student Course Evaluation Forms and Class Representatives. FAQs, guidance and resources about feedback can be found on the University’s ‘Enhancing Feedback’ website at: www.abdn.ac.uk/clt/feedback
Appeals and Complaints
The University’s appeals and complaints procedures provide students with a framework through which to formalise their concerns about aspects of their academic experience or to complain when they feel that standards of non-academic service have fallen short of that which they expected.
The process has been designed to make the appeals and complaints process as accessible and simple as possible and to provide a robust, fair mechanism through which to ensure that all appeals and complaints are considered in the appropriate way at the appropriate level.
A major feature of the process is the emphasis it places on early or informal resolution. All students should note that there is an expectation that they will take responsibility for seeking resolution of their academic or non-academic concerns by raising and discussing them at the earliest possible stage with the relevant individuals in an academic School or administrative Service.
Further details of the processes for making an appeal or complaint, including where to find further help and support in the process, is given at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/appeals
Transcripts at Graduation
It is anticipated that students who commenced their studies in, or after, 2009/10, will receive a more detailed transcript of their studies on graduation. The increased details will include a record of all examination results attained. For students graduating in 2012/13 transcripts will show details of all CAS marks awarded, including marks which are fails. Where a resit has been required as a result of medical circumstances or other good cause (MC/GC) this will not be shown, but all other circumstances (i.e. No Paper ‘NP’) will be included.
My Aberdeen (the University of Aberdeen’s Virtual Learning Environment)
MyAberdeen replaces WebCT as students’ virtual learning environment. This is where you will find learning materials and resources associated with the courses you are studying.
MyAberdeen also provides direct access to TurnitinUK, the online originality checking service, through which you may be asked to submit completed assignments.
You can log in to MyAberdeen by going to www.abdn.ac.uk/myaberdeen and entering your University username and password (which you use to access the University network).
Further information on MyAberdeen including Quick Guides and video tutorials, along with information about TurnitinUK, can be found at: www.abdn.ac.uk/students/myaberdeen.php.
Information about academic writing and how to avoid plagiarism can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/sls/plagiarism.
Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Graduate Attributes are a wide-ranging set of qualities which students will develop during their time at Aberdeen in preparation for employment, further study and citizenship.
There are four main areas of the Graduate Attributes:
• Academic excellence
• Critical thinking and communication
• Learning and personal development
• Active citizenship
Students have many opportunities to develop and achieve these attributes. These include learning experiences on credit-bearing courses and co-curricular activities such as work placements, study abroad and volunteering. In accordance with the University’s commitment to Equality and Diversity, students can request support with any aspect of the Graduate Attributes framework.
The ACHIEVE website offers resources that enable students to assess and reflect upon their present skills and development needs. The website also contains resources to help students to improve their skills and links to a range of university services such as the Careers Service and the Student Learning Service. Students can access ACHIEVE from their MyAberdeen site in the ‘My Organisations’ section. More information about Aberdeen Graduate Attributes and ACHIEVE can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/graduateattributes.
The Co-curriculum
The co-curriculum enhances a student’s employability and provides opportunities to develop and achieve Aberdeen Graduate Attributes. Co-curricular activities complement a student’s degree programme and include: work placements, study abroad, enterprise and entrepreneurship activities, the BP Student Tutoring Scheme, career mentoring and the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) Award initiative. Below are examples of credit-bearing co-curricular activities. It is anticipated that these types of activity will be included on an enhanced transcript for students graduating in, or after, 2012/13
ERASMUS is an exchange programme funded by the European Commission which enables students to study or work in another European country as part of their degree programme. Eligible students will receive a grant to help with extra costs while abroad and a number of our partner institutions teach through English. For more information, visit www.abdn.ac.uk/erasmus/. The University also has opportunities for students to study in a non-European country as part of their degree through the International Exchange Programme. International partners include universities and colleges in North America, Hong Kong and Japan (www.abdn.ac.uk/undergraduate/international-exchange.php). The University aims to ensure full academic recognition for study periods abroad, therefore the credits gained from study abroad will count towards the Aberdeen degree programme for students participating in both ERASMUS and the International Exchange Programme.
Work placements can also form an integral part of a degree programme and attract academic credit. Placements are available locally, nationally and internationally, lasting from a few weeks to a full year and are generally paid. Visit the Careers Service website for further placement information and to find available work placements.
Further information about the co-curriculum is available at: www.abdn.ac.uk/careers
School of Medical Sciences - Guide to Citing and Referencing
This guide should be used to assist you when completing any work for disciplines in the School of Medical Sciences. All work should include citations at appropriate places in the text, with a complete reference list at the end of the assignment. If diagrams/ graphs/ tables are copied or adapted from other publications/ websites, the sources must also be cited in the legend for that item, and included in your reference list.
Good citing and referencing not only improves the quality of your work, but it gives credit to the authors of original work, and makes it less likely that you can be accused of plagiarism. Further guidance on writing and plagiarism may be found at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/writing/ . When you submit work for marking, you are declaring that YOU are the author, that you have not copied it or plagiarised any material from other sources, AND that all sources of information have been acknowledged in your text. Students may be penalised by the University if found guilty of plagiarism.
Students are warned to be careful if using websites as sources of information. These may be inaccurate and are often not peer-reviewed. You are strongly encouraged to use advanced textbooks, peer-reviewed papers or reviews as the sources of your information in your work. Students are also advised to avoid quoting chunks of text in their work. Just because you put quotation marks around some text does not mean that you have not plagiarised it. Try and explain ideas and concepts in your own words.
The referencing style used here is Harvard, similar to that recommended by the University Library (see their factsheet for further information on referencing). Students must use this style of citing and referencing for all work. Other styles are not acceptable. Marks may be deducted if students do not cite or reference properly (see specific marking schemes for details).
Citing references within the text
You must provide citations in the text at the appropriate places by putting the author’s surname and year of publication in round brackets immediately after the relevant text (author, date method).
Author, date method
Jones et al. (1999) has argued that….
Studies have produced conflicting results…..(Bloggs, 2000; MacDuff et al., 1993)
Smith stated (1990)…..and then later work confirmed this (2003)…..
Bloggs (2001) investigated…..
One author (Bloggs, 2000)
Two authors (Smith & Jones, 1982)
Three or more authors (Chesterfield et al., 1995)
If the same author(s) wrote two or more papers in the same year Thwaites et al. stated (1990a)…..and then provided further evidence (1990b)…..
N.B. “et al.” should be in italics, as should all other Latin words/phrases in your text (e.g. in vitro). There is also a full stop after “et al.”, since it is an abbreviation of “et alia” (“and others”).
Listing your references at the end of your work
Your list of references must place the surnames of the first authors in alphabetical order. List all authors of a piece of work unless there are a large number.
Format of references at the end of your work
Book - whole Rang, H.P., Dale, M.M., Ritter, J.M. & Flower, R.J. (2007) Pharmacology. 6th Ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Book – article or chapter within Johnson, D. & Smart, J.S. (1983) Advanced techniques in measuring athletic performance. In: S. Roberts, ed., Sports Science in the Laboratory. London: Macmillan, pp. 3-28.
Journal – article within Furchgott, R.F., Zawadzki, J.V. (1980) The obligatory role of endothelial cells in the relaxation of arterial smooth muscle by acetylcholine. Nature. 288(5789), 373-6.
Website Department for Education and Employment (2000). Student loans: guidance on terms and conditions from April 2000. [online]. Available from: http://www.dfee.gov.uk/loan2000/index.html [Accessed 23rd March 2006]
