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This course is concerned with the pharmacology of receptors and drug discovery. It deals with the criteria that should be used to characterize and classify drugs and receptors. Receptor effector systems are also examined in depth. Theory is supplemented throughout by practical exercises involving data handling and interpretation and the presentation of information by students.
Course Co-ordinator: Dr Ruth A. Ross (r.ross@abdn.ac.uk), and Dr Rod Scott (rod.scott@abdn.ac.uk), IMS, Foresterhill.
The purpose of this course is to cover in depth areas of molecular pharmacology that are particularly relevant to the discovery and characterization of receptors and their ligands. Theory is supplemented throughout by practical exercises both to improve understanding of the material covered and to develop important transferable skills.
The detailed course objectives are:
1. To consider the criteria that must be satisfied to establish the existence of a new receptor or transmitter.
2. To consider strategies for discovering new drugs
3. To consider strategies for characterizing pharmacological receptors
4. To gain a detailed understanding of receptor signal transduction processes.
5. To gain expertise in the use of computer software packages for the handling of the kind of data by which drugs or receptors are classified and in the interpretation of these data.
6. To gain expertise in selective reading and in the objective and critical interpretation of data and in the oral and written presentation of a hypothesis and its underlying evidence.
Course Synopsis
Introduction to PA4005 & Essay Allocation (Dr Ross)
Course manual and timetable will be handed out. Brief description of the course. Question and answer session about the course. Essay titles will be handed out.
Molecular Pharmacology Basics (Dr Ross)
Refresher lecture on the types of analyses and terminology used by molecular pharmacologists.
G-Protein Coupled Receptors (Dr Ross)
GPCRs are the target of a large proportion of drug therapies. This lecture will introduce the major classes of GPCR and cover the mechanisms of GPCR signal transduction.
Discovery Technologies 1 & 2 (Dr Ross)
These lectures introduce the techniques use in the discovery of small molecules that specifically target receptors and ion channels that are of therapeutic interest. These include radioligand binding, GTP turnover assay, reporter gene assays and fluorescent-based assays.
Small GTPase Signalling (Dr Coxon)
Small GTPases such as Ras are important molecular switches that regulate a wide variety of intracellular signalling pathways and cell processes, and mutations in Ras are common in a wide range of human tumours. Because of this, small GTPases are attractive molecular targets and a variety of drugs have been developed (some surrepticiously) that interfere with the normal function of these proteins.
Allosteric Moulation (Dr Ross)
Many receptors and ion channels contain allosteric binding sites. These are important drug targets. This lecture will introduce the concept and mechanisms of allosteric modulation.
Marine Natural Products Lecture (Dr Scott)
The application of Marine natural products to electrophysiological techniques and to the understanding of receptor processes, characterization and drug discovery.
Discovery Strategies 1 (Dr Ross)
Types of bioassay; types of receptor ligand; affinity- and efficacy-driven agonists; pure antagonists; inverse agonists; application of classical pharmacological techniques to the processes of receptor characterization and drug discovery; Schild analysis; parallel bioassays - their use in the search for multiple receptors;
Discovery Strategies 2 (Dr Ross)
Evidence for cannabinoid receptors; cannabinoid receptor classification, effector mechanisms, distribution pattern; endogenous cannabinoid receptor ligands; cannabinoid receptor agonists, partial agonists, antagonists and inverse agonists; cannabinoid receptor ligand bioassays; therapeutic potential of cannabinoids; possible pharmacological strategies for exploiting this potential.
1,4-Dihydropyridines (Dr Scott)
The classification, structure and pharmacological and therapeutic properties of 1, 4-dihydropyridines. These compounds include both agonists and antagonists which have been used to characterise L-type voltage-activated calcium channels. 1,4-dihydropyridines bind to and alter the properties of a wide variety of tissues. These actions have been exploited therapeutically, for example in the treatment of angina, hypertension and neuro-vascular disease.
Introduction to Bioinformatics & Pharmacogenomics (Dr McKenzie)
It is becoming clear that the genomic basis of many disease states does not reside in the components of the genome that make proteins; known as genes, but in the much lesser understood parts of the genome that control gene expression. In many cases these components of the genome do not encode RNA or proteins but interact with proteins called transcription factors that help to relay information, in the form of activated signal transduction systems, to the core transcriptional apparatus that carries out the process of transcription. It is now believed that differences in the regulation of genes may be responsible for the differences in disease susceptibility obvious in the human population. Building on 2nd year lectures this lecture will briefly summarise what is known about transcriptional regulation and will describe modern high throughput genomic techniques for identifing and characterising the components of the genome that control gene expression.
Genetic variation, in the form of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), deletions, translocations and copy number variants are known to have important consequences for health and are often responsible for disease. What is less well known is that genetic variation is also responsible for the huge differences in drug responses and side effects observed between patients. This lecture will examine what is known about the effects of the non-coding genome on drug response and will describe state of the art pharmacogenomic techniques to define the regions responsible.
Diabetes and Insulin Resistance: current therapies (Dr Delibegovic)
This set of lectures will cover the aetiology of diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2 DM), with particular emphasis on causes and consequences of T2DM, insulin action and defects in post-insulin receptor signalling pathway. The lectures will address insulin’s effects on regulation of whole body glucose homeostasis, 2 phases of insulin secretion, central and peripheral actions on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. In depth analysis of up-to-date mouse genetic research as well as translational aspects/drug therapies will be covered. Finally changes in insulin sensitivity will be put into context in relation to aetiology of other diseases such as cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease.”
General Anaesthetics (Dr Scott)
The mechanisms of action of volatile general anaesthetics are poorly understood but the use of molecular techniques to produce distinct chimeras has shed light on some specific interactions with channels, which may give rise to general anaesthesia.
Thalidomide (Dr Vargusson)
These lectures will over and introduction to the history of Thalidomide, teratogenesis and type of defects, current uses/trials and a review of recent research into the mechanism of teratogenesis.
Gastrointestinal Pharmacology (Dr D Scott)
This lecture will introduce the various targets for therapeutic molecules in the gastrointestinal tract. We will focus specifically on drugs used to treat peptic/duodenal ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease. The development of new drugs to treat these conditions has evolved immensely over the past 50 years, and they have generated large amounts of revenue for pharmaceutical companies. The classes of drugs summarised briefly will include: antacids, H2 antagonists, proton pump inhibitors, ulcer triple therapy, laxatives, antidiarrhoeal agents, corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and aminosalicylates. Students will be issued with a case study on this topic, which they will revise in their own time. Their answers will be presented at the second session.
Student Tutorials
Students will be divided into two groups (numbered 1 & 2). Each student will be given material in advance of tutorials. They must study this material as instructed before attending the tutorials. The purpose of these is to improve expertise in the interpretation of scientific data relating to the discovery and characterization of pharmacological receptors and their ligands.
Course Essay
You are required to write one essay throughout the course, which will contribute 20% towards your final written examination mark. Use the references given as starter material and follow up references cited in these papers to develop your essay.
Your essay should include a list of references cited and these should be cited at appropriate places in the text. Aim for around 2000 – 3000 words. Essay deadline – Friday 4th November at 5.00pm.
PowerPoint Presentations
Each student will be allocated a short scientific paper related to molecular pharmacology. Each student will be required to present their paper to the assembled class using MS PowerPoint presentation software. Each presentation will be of 10 minutes duration and will be followed by a 5 minute discussion period. Papers will be selected at random and instruction will be provided on the basic construction of a PowerPoint presentation. Individual presentations will be assessed for delivery and content and this will contribute towards the continuous assessment.
Each presentation should:
• Set the background to the work described in the paper
• Identify the aims of the paper
• Outline the methodological approach adopted
• Describe the main results presented
• Discuss the physiological relevance of the main results
• Assess whether the aims of the paper have been achieved
• Assess the scientific quality of the paper.
Presentations will contribute 10% towards your final exam mark.
There is a regular programme of seminars given throughout the academic year by invited specialists from within the broad field of biomedical research.
These are usually held on Thursdays from 12noon -1pm in the IMS Building at Foresterhill (check the School or IMS websites for specific locations of seminars).
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.
Please see individual lecturers for appropriate references.
For the case studies with Dr Derek Scott, the following websites/publications may assist you. Please note that some of these resources may have very little information on IBD or ulcer disease, whilst others have a vast amount. These websites have been peer-reviewed and can be trusted.
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) produces therapeutic guidelines developed using a systematic, evidence-based approach.
http://www.sign.ac.uk/
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) produces guidance for the use of drugs and other interventions.
http://www.nice.org.uk/
British National Formulary
www.bnf.org (you may need to create an account), or you can use the paper version. One is available for signing out of the School Office if there are none in the library.
National Library for Health
http://www.library.nhs.uk/Default.aspx
Large repository of valuable material and searches various resources for you.
Clinical Knowledge Summaries (formerly known as PRODIGY)
http://cks.library.nhs.uk/
Has various guidelines for treatment of various conditions.
British Society of Gastroenterology
http://www.bsg.org.uk/
Can search here for downloadable, free guidelines on how to treat IBD and other GI conditions. Links to guidelines are on main page.
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.
(a) Continuous assessment 30% of the total assessment will be based on the presentations and essays submitted during the course
(b) Examination. This will take place in the summer diet, May/June. It will take the form of an essay-based examination, which will comprise 70% of the assessment for PA4005. The format will be a two-hour paper with a choice of 2 questions from a total of at least 5. All components of the course including the content of tutorials, essays and presentations are examinable. All assessments (continuous and examined) will be made using the University Common Assessment Scale (copy attached).
(c) Satisfactory performance - Students are expected to attend all elements of the course and to complete all class exercises. The minimum performance acceptable for the granting of a class certificate is attendance at 75% of the course and presentation of all course work.
Dr Alasdair MacKenzie
Prof Graeme Nixon
Prof Ruth Ross
Dr Roderick Scott
Dr Neil Vargesson
Dr D Scott (DS), Medical Sciences Dr Fraser Coxon (FPC), Medicine & Dentistry Dr Mirela Delibegovic (MD), Medical Sciences
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 Lyndsay McEwan l.mcewan@abdn.ac.uk) or the Old Aberdeen office associated with the teaching laboratories (Mrs Sheila 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. Dr Ruth Ross
Convenor of the departmental student-staff liaison committee. Dr Gordon McEwan
Adviser of studies.
Disabilities Co-ordinator. Dr Derryck Shewan
Staff are based at Foresterhill and we strongly encourage the use of email or telephone the School 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 and who may be at risk of losing their class certificate. 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 their office in the first instance. Depending on your reason for absence the Registry 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/.
Requirements for the Award of an Honours Degree
All students who are admitted to an Honours programme, in or after 2004/05, will be required to achieve 480 credit points, including at least 180 at levels 3 and 4, of which at least 90 must be at level 4. This change to the requirements for the award of an Honours Degree was made by the Senate to ensure that Honours degrees are awarded in compliance with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). This is a common national Framework for all awards in Scotland. Further information is available at www.scqf.org.uk.
Accordingly, students failing to meet this credit requirement at the first attempt will require to make up this credit shortfall before graduating. General Regulation 21, as outlined below, sets out the procedures available to enable students to make up this credit shortfall.
In the case of a candidate who has failed to complete satisfactorily an element of Honours degree assessment at the time prescribed by Regulation 9.3, then the appropriate procedure from (a) to (e) below shall apply:
a) If, but only if, the failure is on account of illness or other good causes, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, and shall be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.
b) If the failure is the result of absence or non-submission of any other cause, the candidate shall be awarded zero for the assessment concerned and shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification.
c) For courses at level 4 and above only, if the candidate has completed the assessment but been awarded a mark on the Common Assessment Scale between 6 and 8 inclusive, they shall be awarded the same amount of unnamed specific credit, not exceeding 30 credit points in total, at level 1.
d) If the candidate has completed the assessment, but the course is at level 3, or the course is at level 4 or above and the mark awarded on the Common Assessment Scale is less than 6, the candidate shall be required to submit themselves for assessment at the next available opportunity, but shall not be permitted to count the result of that assessment towards Honours classification. Alternatively, for courses at level 4 and above only, such candidates may elect to attend and submit themselves for assessment in another course of equivalent credit value, which may be at any level.
e) If any options (a), (b) or (d) above would normally apply, but medical advice indicates that it would be unreasonable to require a candidate to appear for assessment on a subsequent occasion, and if the candidate’s past record provides sufficient evidence that they would have obtained Honours, the examiners may recommend the award of an Aegrotat degree, but only after obtaining the consent of the candidate. The award of an Aegrotat degree will debar candidates from counting towards Honours degree assessment any result achieved thereafter.
Notes (i) For courses at level 4 and above, the timing and format of the assessment required under any of sub-sections (a), (b) or (d) above shall be determined by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School.
(ii) The options to achieve or be awarded credit under (b), (c) and (d) above shall be available to candidates who have accumulated less than 90 credit points at level 4 or who have failed to complete satisfactorily the assessment for a course which, on the recommendation of the Head of the relevant School, has been prescribed by the Academic Standards Committee (Undergraduate) as compulsory for the award of a degree with Honours. Such candidates will be able to qualify for a non-Honours degree only.
Further guidance is also available in the Guidance Note for Students who either Fail, or who Fail to Attend or Complete, and Element of Prescribed Degree Assessment which can be accessed at:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x6.pdf
Honours Degree Classification (Grade Spectrum)
All Honours Degrees are classified using the University’s Grade Spectrum which is available at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x4.pdf. The Grade Spectrum, an extract of which is outlined below, is used to determine degree classification on the basis of the CAS mark awarded for each element of Honours Degree Assessment.
First: Marks at 18 or better in elements constituting half the total elements
and
Marks at 15 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements
and
Normally marks at 12 or better in all elements
2i: Marks at 15 or better in elements constituting half the total elements
and
Marks at 12 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements
and
Normally marks at 9 or better in all elements
2ii: Marks at 12 or better in elements constituting half the total elements
and
Marks at 9 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements
Third:Marks at 9 or better in elements constituting three quarters of the total elements.
The Grade Spectrum defines the threshold standards against which the different classes of honours degree are awarded. The Examiners, however, have discretion (in the circumstances defined in Note 4 of the Grade Spectrum) to depart from this and may choose to award a higher degree than that indicated by the Grade Spectrum.
Transition into level 4 and beyond
As students progress through their degree programme, they will notice a change in the style and approach of teaching and the expectations upon them as learners. Expectations again change as students progress into Honours year, where they are expected to become more independent and self-directed in their learning. To help with this transition, a variety of activities will be planned to address any new challenges faced by students at level 4. The level 4 retention co-ordinator - Dr Steve Tucker (s.j.tucker@abdn.ac.uk; 01224 437491) will organise such events and is a point of contact for any level 4 SMS students facing any kind of difficulty. Regular activities and workshops will be designed around key issues faced by Honours students much in the same way as it was at level 3. In addition, Dr Tucker will hold regular, advertised drop-in surgeries for students to raise any issues face to face and all level 4 SMS students will have access to a MyAberdeen site that will offer information, feedback, guidance and discussion forums designed to ease students through to the completion of their degree.
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.
MyAberdeen (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]
