I have colleagues who have 'bench and pipette' labs, who search out individual-sport athletes willing to work long hours and compete to be the best. I search out the opposite: I want team players that can work in a field camp together. As a member of my lab, I expect you to sacrifice your own time to help other members of our team, and you should expect the same of others.

At the same time, science can be a lonely pursuit, and much time is spent alone writing, thinking, reading. I realize the need for team players to spend time being alone is mentally hard on people. Search out time to spend with other people. Get out; don't work alone all the time. And feel free to talk to me when you are struggling. There are counselling services available on campus, and I have found that it is very helpful to talk with another person about issues I am dealing with. Participate in one sport and one hobby, to develop the body alongside the mind, and to deal with loneliness and keep a sound mind. It is incredible what a difference physical activity makes, even though we often don't recognize it at the time.

In terms of time investment, I believe that we should 'work hard and play hard'. Work 40 hours per week. Take weekends, and statutory holidays plus three weeks of holidays per year. Then come to 'work' and turn email off, Facebook off, Youtube off, and concentrate for 40 hours per week. In the end, grad school is goal driven, and I don't care how long or where you work, as long as you deliver. There will be times in the field or in 'crunch' times (such as leading up to your comprehensive exam, or before your thesis due date) where you work longer hours and on weekends, but those times should be relatively rare. I wrote my Master's thesis in two weeks on a beach in Costa Rica, after spending three months frittering time away in Winnipeg. Read widely. Think broadly. Spend time meditating. And then focus on making as much as possible out of your time in front of a computer.

It is your responsibility to complete the basic requirements of your degree. Much like an Honours student, I am here to advise on the research side, and I can provide some advice about other things. However, it is up to you to make sure that the 'process' side of things is completed on time: seminars, courses, exams, thesis chapters, annual progress tracking meetings.

You will need to take seminars, including an intro seminar where you produce a proposal and a final ('exit') seminar where you report on some of the amazing things you found out during your thesis. The topical seminars in between vary. You don't have to be finished to do the final seminar. The seminars are worthwhile as you are exposed to subjects outside your area of comfort; as a grad student, you should be learning broadly, not just about your narrow area of interest. You will also get a chance to improve your oral presentation skills. Stay engaged, and they will be fun; tune out, and they will be painful. Regardless, they are requirements, and I plan to have them finished 1-2 semesters before your expected completion date. The seminars (usually 1.5 hours each Thursday) typically start mid-September/January and end mid-December/April. Attendance is mandatory (unless you have a good excuse that I am willing to support), so you need to plan to be here for that period of time for each semester that you will have seminar.

M.Sc. Typically, you must take two courses plus attend three seminars. If you are taking the NEO or another option, then there are other requirements. One course must be a stats course and is typically Quantitative Methods in Ecology (ENVB 506, held here at Mac campus). There are courses available across McGill and four universities in Montreal. Feel free to take any. I've heard good things about BIOL680 (currently run as a stats course at Concordia) and BIO6077 (Analyse quantitative des donnees biologiques, given in French by Pierre Legendre who literally wrote the textbook on stats in ecology). The courses must be approved by me, but should be selected after a discussion between us about what courses would best serve your development.

Thesis format. Plan to have two data chapters, on top of an Introductory and Synthesis chapter. You should write the thesis as a 'sandwich' style thesis, with the two chapters planned for publication in particular journals. The overall thesis must come together as a single theme and be a significant body of work on a particular topic. As such, the Introduction (10 pages) and Synthesis chapter (5 pages) (and bridging statements between chapters) play a strong role in weaving everything together.

A typical timeline would look something like (starting in September; to start in January, postpone things by 1 semester):

Year 1 Fall. Develop a 5 page proposal (must include a timeline, including when you will take your courses & seminars) and a 10 page draft Literature Review (will be Chapter 1 of your thesis); both due December 15. The proposal should be: 1 page of general background, and then 2 pages for each of 2 chapters with chapter-specific background (enough to motivate hypotheses), hypotheses, predictions and methods. Determine who will be on your supervisory committee by October 15.

Year 1 Winter. Plan for field work and finish the Literature Review. Have your first supervisory committee meeting before January 31.

Year 1 Summer. Field work. Draft of methods for Chapter 2 (first data chapter).

Year 2 Fall. Methods & Results of Chapter 2 (first data chapter) due November 30. Complete draft of complete Chapter 2 due January 15. Year 2 Winter. Have your second supervisory committee meeting before January 31. Draft of Methods & Results for Chapter 3 (second data chapter) due March 31. Draft of complete Chapter 3 and identification of an external examiner due April 30. Final draft (Chapter 1: Literature Review, Chapter 2: first data chapter, Chapter 3: second data chapter, Chapter 4: synthesis) due July 1, and sent to an external examiner.

Ph.D. Typically, you must attend four seminars but there is no coursework. If you are taking the NEO or other option, then there are other requirements.

What the dissertation should look like. A PhD dissertation should plan to have five data chapters, on top of an Introductory and Synthesis chapter. You should write the thesis as a 'sandwich' style thesis, with the five chapters planned for publication in particular journals. The overall thesis must come together as a single theme and be a significant body of work on a particular topic. As such, the Introduction (15 pages) and Synthesis chapter (5 pages) (and bridging statements between chapters) play a strong role in weaving everything together.

Usual timeline would look something like (starting in September; to start in January, postpone things by 1 semester):

Year 1 Fall. Develop a 5 page proposal (must include a timeline, including when you will take your seminars) due December 15. The proposal should be: 1 page of general background, and then 1 pages for each of 4 chapters (assuming you will develop the 5th chapter later) with background (enough to motivate hypotheses), hypotheses, predictions and methods. Determine who will be on your supervisory committee by October 15.

Year 1 Winter. Plan for field work and write a Literature Review (will be your Chapter 1). May-August. Field work. Have your first supervisory committee meeting before January 31.

Year 2 Fall. Your comprehensive exam (with a 10 page proposal) must be held this term. In September, together we should, together, identify three topics that you will be examined upon and then come up with exam committee members.

Year 2 Winter. Plan for field work and write a Literature Review (will be your Chapter 1). May-August. Field work. Publish Chapter 2 (first data chapter). Have your second supervisory committee meeting before January 31.

Year 3. Publish Chapter 3 (second data chapter). Have your third supervisory committee meeting before January 31. Start looking for postdocs or employment towards the end of your third year. It takes planning for someone to hire you.

Year 4. Publish Chapters 4 (third data chapter). Complete your dissertation (Intro, Chapters 2-6, Synthesis). Have your fourth supervisory committee meeting before January 31. Identify an external for your thesis, and exam committee members.

8. Committees. We need to choose a supervisory committee together. I will then contact the committee members or ask you to do so while CCing me. A MSc supervisory committee (in my opinion; McGill will allow MSc 'committees' of one) consists of at least three people: myself, and two other persons (who can be anyone in the world who has a PhD; we will need to discuss who will be most helpful to you); one of whom might be your co-supervisor. There is no MSc defense at McGill. Rather, you must send your written thesis to an external examiner who will assess it. It is worth considering from fairly early on who that examiner should be (the examiner cannot be on your supervisory committee). A PhD supervisory committee (in my opinion; McGill will allow PhD committees of two) consists of at least three people: myself, and two other persons (who can be anyone in the world who has a PhD; we will need to discuss who will be most helpful to you). I suggest that four people is optimal: myself (your supervisor) and three other people, one of whom might be your co-supervisor (a maximum of one co-supervisor is permitted). While the supervisory committee is there to support you, the comprehensive and final examination committee are there to challenge you. Thus, although your supervisor (and co-supervisor if present) is on your comprehensive and final exam committees, no other member of your supervisory committee is permitted. You need an internal member (within NRS) and an external member to the comps and final exam committee (the makeup of those two committee can be different) [there is also a Chair-designate and, for the final exam, a Pro-Dean, but those are assigned by the university]. Again, it is worth thinking about who those might be from quite early on in your thesis progression, and may influence who you wish to select for your supervisory committee.

All details are outlined here. They are the official word on the subject:

https://www.mcgill.ca/gps/thesis/thesis-guidelines/examination/thesis-examiners

https://www.mcgill.ca/nrs/graduates/guidelines

My expectation is that your thesis will be published as a peer-reviewed journal article. Whether you want to be a scientist, teacher, doctor, vet, librarian, consultant, whatever, having a published journal article will impress future employers and be a very marketable product. To date, most (3 out of 4) my undergraduate students have published their projects as first authors on peer-reviewed papers.

You typically have the choice to do a 12 credit Honours, 6 credit Honours or a 6 credit research course. I encourage you to do the former, as it will take many hours of work to create a publishable paper from Honours research; I am investing in you, and I hope you are willing to invest in the research.

I expect undergraduate students to work 400 hours (200 hours per semester) for a 12 credit Honours course and 200 hours (100 hours per semester) for a 6 credit Honours/research project and 100 hours for a 3 credit Honours/research project. Those numbers are roughly equivalent to seven hours per week for the full term (including exams), and is equivalent to the expectations for weekly workload (labs + lectures + independent study + assignments) in other courses. That doesn't include hours on Facebook or email. The course instructor will have their own requirements beyond my expectations; make sure you meet them. My own expectations can be moved around to meet the course expectations (I have students doing Honours theses with me in Life Science, Environmental Biology, MSE, etc.; all with different expectations and timelines). As an approximation: If you start in September, you should have your Literature Review done by October 15, and first progress report done by November 15. Results should be finished by January 31. Choose a journal style (if not prescribed by the course outline). Methods and Results should be complete by February 28. First draft of complete report should be submitted by March 20. I will want to see at least three drafts of that final version so I can provide comments before you submit your final report. Your final report (a paper you would be willing to submit for publication) will be due April 15 so that I can give you a mark on time. Finally, submit your paper for publication!

Why do an undergraduate research project? 1. To publish science, both because it is intrinsically valuable to contribute to society and because a publication can help you in your career. 2. So I can write you a stellar letter of reference (if you do a stellar job, I will give you a stellar letter). Regardless of whether you want to go to vet/law/med/grad school or into the work force, having a personalized letter of reference, where I can speak in detail about your work, will be helpful. 3. Most importantly, to get some experience with research. McGill is Canada's top research university, and a huge benefit of being an undergrad here is that you can participate in leading edge research. An essential part of a science degree should be seeing how science is actually done and how knowledge is actually generated. You will see that science is not as black and white as shown in a textbook, but involves many false tries and uncertainties. As Newton said of Descartes "If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." Hopefully, you will see a little farther as you stand on the shoulders of other scientists; and others after you will work on your shoulders. To that end, get involved. Spend time with graduate students to discover what their lives are like. Challenge them. Challenge me. Go beyond.

Of course, science never works out exactly how you think it should, so the best laid proposal will be completely remade once field work begins! So, this is how things 'should' work, but the reality is often much messier.

There is a helpful list of 'things one should do in the first 100 days of grad school' here:

1. Lab meetings (September to April) are mandatory for graduate students (lab meetings continue over the summer, but are no longer mandatory as we migrate elsewhere for field work). Email me if you cannot make it--no questions asked. But if you do not show up, on time, to lab meetings, then I will be wondering what is happening. Lab meetings are optional (no need to email if you can't make it) for undergraduate students, although they are a great opportunity to meet other students, get feedback and learn about research. Lab meetings typically take 2 hours, and feel free to leave after those 2 hours are up. Be engaged. Try and ask at least one question or make one comment on someone else's work. We all have something to contribute, especially if we are from a completely different subject area. The lab meetings usually start with everyone reporting for 2-3 minutes on what they did in the last week. You should report on research progress. I don't care if you were busy TAing, volunteering or had a coursework. We all have other commitments, and yet as researchers, we need to make research progress each and every week. If you were sick with chickenpox, tell me how the documentary you watched in bed made you think of a new idea. If you took a roadtrip to a friend's wedding, tell me how the novel you read influenced your angle on something. Better yet, tell me about the paper you read in bed or on the road. So, have something to say, be engaged--otherwise, lab meetings will be the longest 2 hours of the week. I am very much an introvert, and if I can force myself to say something, you can too. We're a team, and we need to support each other once per week.

2. Guest seminars (we currently have an 'environmental biology' seminar series with 4-5 speakers per term) are also mandatory, especially if they are outside of your area. The seminars only work if everyone makes a strong effort to attend. Try and ask a question at least once per semester. I also suggest being on the listserv for the seminar series for the biology department at downtown McGill, Concordia, UQAM and UdM. Montreal is a fantastic city for science with four universities and frequent fascinating great speakers. Visiting other departments will give you new perspectives and increase your network. I require that PhD students go to one of the other seminars (outside Mac) twice per year (and tell me which ones you're going to, so I can join, too!)

2. Reading. Reading widely is the bedrock of sound science. I have Nature as my homepage so I am continually reminded of science news stories. I expect undergrad and grad students to read one peer-reviewed paper per week. Block off a fixed time each week when that happens. In the first year of a PhD or six months of a MSc, that should be one paper per day. I like to start with the Results and the first thing I do is look at the graphs and come to my own conclusions, so I am not biased by the writer's interpretation, then I read the Abstract, Methods and Discussion. I can get the gist of most papers in about 30 minutes. A theoretical paper might take several hours.

3. Writing. The greatest science is the world is meaningless if nobody hears about it. Make sure to put time aside each and every day to write. Turn off your email, Facebook, etc. for 4 hours of each day and simply write. Make reasonable goals, and make sure to meet them. The first draft will be very poor, or even only in point form. McGill offers many writing workshops; take advantage of them. Group support can be very helpful, and can be useful to book time to work together in the lab.

5. Weekly one-on-one meetings. I expect to meet undergrad and Master's students in their first year weekly. We should set a time, and then meet each week to keep updated on progress. I suggest the same for PhD students, although there is more independence at the PhD level. Regardless, my door is always open and you are welcome to suggest a meeting anytime.

6. Conferences. Conferences are an important part of science. They are where you 'network': that is, meet other researchers and find out about the coolest new ideas. However, they are costly in money and time (a conference might only take 3 days, but it often costs 3 weeks in lost work). All students are encouraged to attend the annual SQEBC (the provincial behaviour & ecology conference) and QCBS conferences when they can. They are cheap and close (so not very time-intensive). I will typically support a MSc student to go to one conference (other than SQEBC/QCBS) over the course of their degree (usually in Year 2) and a PhD student go to 3 conferences (usually Years 2-4). I will only support your travel to the conference if you present something (an oral or poster presentation); it is important to communicate what you are doing to others so that they have a point of reference for discussions and of course conference presentations are important for your resume. Such presentations are really important to develop your scientific ideas. I budget $1000 per conference per student, assuming that travel awards will make up the difference, and you should budget accordingly. Conferences typically cost $2000-3000 in North America/Europe; more if they are farther away. I expect you to apply for travel awards (GREAT awards through the department or QCBS; most conferences have student travel awards). I am much more likely to support your travel if you show some initiative in trying to find funding. Conferences are a good opportunity to travel, so feel free to piggyback personal travel (perhaps with friends or family) on conferences. Definitely sign up for the banquet (I am happy to pay for that), and field trips (you have to pay for those, though), to make sure you get to spend time 'networking' with others. Some of my best science ideas have come after drinks at the bar or tobogganing down a slope at midnight. I require that you write me a one paragraph summary email once you are finished the conference describing (i) the coolest thing you learned; (ii) what's happening in the field based on the conference; and (iii) what you did right or could do better next time you're at a conference. What did you learn? What do I need to know about that field? Who did you meet? Why did they blow your mind? Mostly, I want you to think about what you got out of the conference, and what made it worthwhile. Lastly, I strongly urge PhD students to organize a conference session at least once during their degree. Calls for sessions or symposia are usually sent out 6-12 months ahead of time. Target a conference you like, then propose a session that focuses on your favourite topic or where the title develops a thesis about an entire field "How can birds sustain the highest metabolic rates in nature?" or "Why are all the coolest profs at McGill ornithologists?". Then invite a few experts in that particular area. It's a great way to stroke peoples ego, get to know the people you admire in that field, and be able to prove 'scientific leadership' in postdoc applications.

I find the topic of finances to be a difficult one to talk about, yet finances are critically important. Here are some thoughts below.

Grad school, like all education, is a statement that the future 'you' is more valuable than the current 'you'. Work hard, do well, because $10k/year difference in your future salary is worth $300 000 over a 30 year career, and that is way more important than current differences in salary between you and other grad students. I lived under a tarp in my undergrad and ate at the food bank at the start of my MSc, but I'm now doing pretty well :)... I know students with large scholarships during grad school that ended up unemployed, and students with nothing that ended up making $300k/year... Finances during grad school have little bearing on your future salary.

1. Each student has their own financial situation. There is no departmental minimum and so some students are paid little, whereas other students have substantial scholarships, so some students are doing better financially than others. While I wish I could pay each student what they deserve, I only have a fixed amount of money, and so often cannot. In many cases, my funding is tied to a particular project, and so I can pay one student more than another student because they work on a project where the funding rate is higher; there is not much I can do about that. In my experience, there is very little correlation between what one is paid in grad school, what one deserves, and how much money someone eventually makes.

2. Students are paid the amount agreed to, in writing, at the time they join the lab. If they get an external scholarship, then their pay will usually go up, but I will reduce what I pay as a stipend (which then frees up funds for their research or for their lab mates), so you will get a pay increase, but it won't be a double stipend.

3. I won't know if you aren't being paid. I don't get to see what you are being paid, or by whom, unless I am directly paying you from a research fund that I control. So, if you aren't being paid, LET ME KNOW. Usually, I can direct you to the person responsible for arranging payment.

4. There are usually TAships available, especially if you are willing to go outside of the Wildlife Biology courses. They pay about $1000-2500 per term and take 1-2.5 weeks of work (40-80 hours of work) spread out over the term. The distribution of TAships is done by the department as per the collective bargaining agreement. Unless otherwise agreed upon, the TAships are a 'top up' on your stipend, and so you can increase your stipend significantly by TAing. Many universities waive tuition in exchange for acting as a TA; at McGill you can certainly pay your entire tuition by TAing (and usually for fewer hours than at other universities).

5. Remember to pay tuition & fees on time. Otherwise you will get charged an extra fee. You can ask to delay your fee payment, which can be particularly important early on, as fees are due at the start and yet your stipend is only paid monthly after you are here.

I realize that stipends are small and travel (and other) costs can be high, so wherever possible the lab should be fronting the bill. You should never have to pay interest on a credit card bill due to our research (unless you've simply forgotten to pay it on time...). Nonetheless, where possible, the easiest way to pay for research costs is for you to buy the item or pay for the cost and submit an expense claim (KEEP ALL RECEIPTS!). Usually, liquor and similar items cannot be claimed. Ask me for the Fund number, and then claim the expense under Minerva -> Student (or Employee) -> Finance (if asked) -> Expense Report Menu (or Advances and Expense Reports Menu) -> Submit an Expense Report -> Submit an Expense Report for Yourself. Fill it out, submit it, print it, sign it, then bring it to me to be signed. Paying with your personal credit card has advantages, such as so that you can try and claim the expense if you lose the receipt (that doesn't work in many cases as they need to have proof of what you bought, so better to just not lose the receipt). If you are unable to pay up front, then that is no problem at all--I will pay and reimburse myself. For travel, you can also get an advance. The current McGill policy on reimbursements (in 2017) is: https://www.mcgill.ca/financialservices/policies/reimburse. It's worth reading ahead of time.

Keep all receipts. We get reimbursed for GST/QST (universities are partly tax exempt, so we pay 5% GST/QST instead of 13.5%). At the end of the year, this amounts to thousands of dollars that the lab gets back which helps keep the research going. So, if you claim mileage instead of providing gas receipts, or if you claim per diem instead of restaurant receipts, then we cannot get reimbursed. If it is outside of Canada, then it doesn't matter as we are not reimbursed. "Per diem" is a fixed rate which is paid out for meals. Generally, I do not pay per diem but instead require restaurant receipts.

McGill requires that all expenses are claimed within 30 days. It is critical that you submit your expenses within the 30 day window. I am currently managing finances for 17 people across 10 different funds, which I can barely keep track of, and if you wait too long, I am apt to spend out a particular fund thinking that all expenses have been claimed.

Here is the official McGill policy on reimbursements. It's worth reading prior to making a claim. Every time we get funding from a research grant, the funding has allowable expenses. When you submit your claim, someone at finance (who knows nothing about birds, or bats, or science) will check if your expense is allowable. They do this primarily by checking the category you are claiming under. Make sure you clearly explain what happened. "As part of my MSc thesis supervised by Dr. Elliott, I traveled for research to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Other expenses (flight and hotel) were reimbursed separately by Uzbeki University." Key points being that you had the words 'research' and 'travel' and 'student', and the bean counter will check that those items are allowed: Yes, the Fund allows travel for students for research. You are also explaining why other expenses were not included (they will always ask about flights, meals and accommodations for travel if you are missing one of those three, as expense claims should claim all expenses for each travel).

You should be aware that using your car for work may void the insurance, so you should make sure that your insurance is OK with you using it for work. The university has a mileage policy, which means that it is possible to be reimbursed for driving your vehicle at a fixed rate per kilometers. However, I do not typically reimburse myself full mileage ($0.57 per km at current rates) because it is unrealistic. Last week, I drove to Quebec City and back, which would be about $350 if I paid myself full mileage. In contrast, renting a car (which includes maintenance and profit for the company) and paying gas would have been $100. The university has a fixed rate return to Quebec City (about $150). I typically only claim half the distance traveled (which works out to $0.29/km) that compensates for gas, mileage on the car, oil changes, etc (but do keep gas receipts so I can get the tax back). It is a bit negotiable, especially as mileage is an easy way to reimburse for other items or lost receipts. There is also a NRS vehicle pool with a rate of $0.25 per km plus $4 per hour (which includes gas). In many cases, and because mileage rates are so high, renting a car makes the most sense.

Research funds are limited, and I do my best to minimize costs. At conferences, I often stay at Airbnb or nearby hotels to save costs (conference hotels are expensive!), and I always sign up to share rooms where possible (most conferences have a room share board). In many cases, you can volunteer at the conference to reduce registration costs. Most conferences also have an abundance of food, and I do not claim per diem when I am eating conference food. That being said, networking is one of the most important aspects of conferences, and it is worth paying for the banquet or to be close to the conference hotel (to allow late night partying), or to go out for a lunch or dinner with a colleague.

Once per year, typically in January, you must have a progress meeting. It is your job to schedule the meeting with all supervisory committee members, to book a room, and to bring the progress tracking report (the report can be found here: https://www.mcgill.ca/gps/files/gps/gps_graduate_student_research_progress_tracking_report_2016.pdf ... if the link becomes broken, then Google 'progress tracking report McGill'). Fill out your name, student number, date, etc., but leave the free-form parts blank so that we can fill them out together. At the start of each meeting, you should provide a 10-15 minute PPT presentation showing your progress over the past year and highlighting any concerns or questions that you wish the committee to address. The presentation should also highlight your overall degree timeline, what has been done so far, and what is planned for the future. The meeting usually takes 1 hour. We will then fill out the progress tracking report. Should you receive an 'unsatisfactory' on your progress report, you will need to have a second progress meeting within 4 months. Should you receive a second 'unsatisfactory', then you will be asked to leave the program.

For the comprehensive exam, we need to first decide, together, on three topic areas that you should be tested on. I believe these should be relatively broad fields, such as what you might find as a chapter in a textbook. "Arctic ecology" not "Arctic seabirds" or "movement ecology" not "accelerometers". Next, you need to assemble a committee (see Point 8) and agree upon a date. Once a date is decided, inform the graduate program director (email Simone) who will find a room and a Chair-designate. Two weeks before the data, you need to provide a 10 page (double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman with 1" margins) written proposal to Simone, who will distribute it to the committee. There is a required format that is available from Simone. The outline would generally be: 3-4 pages of general background, and then 1-2 pages for each of 5 chapters with, for each chapter, background (enough to motivate hypotheses), hypotheses, predictions and methods. Some committee members believe you should not talk to them about the exam, while others are happy to talk (I am one of the latter). The day of the exam, arrive early and make sure you are set up. If one of the committee members is Skyping in, make sure that you arrange Skype ahead of time. You will give a 15 minute presentation. Then, each committee member will have 10 minutes to ask you questions about the proposal (the first round) followed by a second round of 5 minutes of questions about broader topics. You will then be asked to leave, and the committee will decide to either pass or fail you. If you fail, you have another chance in six months to try again. While the comprehensive exam can be stressful, think of it as a 2 hour conversation about your research. You are unlikely to have so many people as interested in your research again in your life. Ultimately, a McGill PhD is our only currency and the basis of our reputation as a university, yet we have very few steps where we actually make sure that you are a credible scientist and not someone who has simply paid someone else to write your dissertation; as a future PhD holder, you presumably don't want us to take that task lightly. At the same time, when it unrolls as it should, the exam should be a conversation about your research similar to that which you might have at a bar with fellow researchers that challenge you and ask you to convince them of your perspective--and should prepare you for similar conversations with colleagues in future.

In September of each year after your first year, I ask that you fill out a Performance Review (as if this was a job; see linked file) so we can figure out how to optimize our time for the next year.

Accessing books and journal articles? McGill has a pretty fantastic library, which you can log into from anywhere with your username and password. You can get downtown books transferred to the library on campus. You can also order pretty much anything (obscure theses, books, journal articles, etc.) through interlibrary loan (called Colombo). Take advantage of it. We have a reference librarian that is here to help you search for a topic. Use her to optimize your reference searches.

How to get dry ice? Dry ice can be picked up at Chem Stores downtown using a FOAPAL. Otherwise, dry ice can be delivered by Praxair using a credit card or through McGill Marketplace.

How to mail a letter? Put NRS on the top corner and place in office mail (if it is school related). How to mail a parcel? Bring to the post office Laird Hall (which has limited hours) and mail it off. Courier?

How to send samples and keep them cold? The easiest way is usually to line a cooler with frozen freezer packs (two levels of packs below, above and on the side of the samples). Then put the samples in. Then put the whole thing (the cooler) in the freezer for 24 hours. Then ship it off. It should last frozen for 48 hours. Make sure to courier overnight on a Monday or Tuesday, so it doesn't get caught up in the weekend. The other option is to use dry ice (you can google how long dry ice lasts). There is a limit of 5 kg to easily send a package. The package cannot be sealed (has to have some small holes so that gas can leave), and has to be labelled.

How to receive a parcel? Parcels are delivered at the Welcome Centre, which is on your left as you come through the doors from the library into Macdonald Stewart. If there is no name on the parcel, it will be returned. MAKE SURE MY NAME APPEARS ON ANY PARCEL. Once a parcel arrives, I get an email, but you are always welcome to go down and pick it up. Make sure to sign for it. As I live on campus, sometimes parcels go to my personal address, so if something is 'lost', I can check there. Also, it often takes 1-3 extra days for parcels to make it from delivery to the Welcome Centre, so plan on extra time for delivery.

How to get a key? There is a $10 deposit for keys, which you get back when you return the key. I must email Ann Gossage requesting that she give you a key. Then, you can go pick it up from Ann (in the administrative hub on the 3rd floor of Raymond).

Getting your student card? Go to Laird Hall and get your student card as soon as you arrive. They will take a photograph and give you the card.

Taking the shuttle? There is a free shuttle (with limited hours) on weekdays between Mac campus and downtown. Google 'McGill intercampus shuttle' for times. It takes about 40 minutes when there is no traffic, but can be 1.5 hours in a blizzard at rush hour. Also, there are long lineups for particular buses. It is good to be strategic when to take the shuttle. It is free if you are student and I am told you can get a guest pass if you have a short-term visitor (or just borrow someone else's student card). You need to get a sticker (free) to be able to use it. Employees have to buy tickets for $1.75 and that take 24 h to arrive. I can get you one if needed.

Booking a room? At the bottom of the NRS web page (Google "NRS McGill") is a link to 'vehicle reservations' (I know that makes no sense). The username and password is "nrs". You can book the CINE board room or MS3-041 there. Put both my name and your name down in the form, so that others can contact me if there is a problem. If you want to book a room other than those two, then you need to send an email to the department administration (Abida) and cc me, and request the room with a date, start and end time, number of people expected and any other relevant details.

Reserving a NRS vehicle? You must have a valid driver's license and have passed a small test with Ian Ritchie. So, first, you need to email Ian and set up a time to meet and go over how to use the vehicle. To reserve. At the bottom of the NRS web page (Google "NRS McGill") is a link to 'vehicle reservations'. The username and password is above under "Booking a room". You can then book a vehicle. Get my permission first. The cost is $0.25/km plus $4/h (which includes gas, as gas must be paid from the credit card supplied with the vehicle), which is billed to my FOAPAL. You will need to contact me and get my FOAPAL. A rental car is often cheaper.

Equipment loan? As a lab, we have the following equipment: 2 telescopes and 5 binoculars (they're to teach ornithology, but sometimes can be used for other things); plate reader (useful for many kits); nitrogen shipper; two fridges (with a freezer on top), three freezers (a minus 80), an isotope analyzer (for DLW assays, not nitrogen and carbon isotopes); a portable physiological analyzer (a Vetscan, google it if you're interested); some point-of-care devices, such as cardiochek and a few ketone/glucose analyzers. Various biologger gear. Pipettes. A balance. Various centrifuges. You are welcome to borrow gear, but please make sure to sign it out.

​Ordering supplies? For most gear, I must go through McGill Marketplace. To order something, take a look at the price on MMP and then email me the supplier and the product number.

Saving money (!!). McGill has deals with many organizations. Ask around and find out who gives a preferred rate to McGill. Likewise, many companies, especially those selling kits or equipment, will give you a deal if you ask for one (and it will usually be cheaper than online). Always call up and ask for a deal. Sometimes they'll give you some nice swag as well (T-shirt, cup, etc.)

McGill has a discount code with Via Rail here (you will be asked for your McGill ID when you board): ​http://www.viarail.ca/en/fares-and-packages/business-travel/corporate-fares/mcgill-business

Each thesis chapter should be aimed at eventual publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. However, thesis chapters are also an educational exercise in making you a better scientist. I expect you to use the principles of strong inference and, wherever possible, to develop multiple hypotheses. That is, each chapter should have one (or preferably more than one) hypothesis for a given phenomenon. A hypothesis is a general description or model for nature, and is not verifiable. Something like "There is a force (gravity) that attracts mass together, and it is proportional to the product of the masses divided by the square of their distances." or "Density-dependence via intraspecific competition controls seabird populations, and it is proportional to population size and inversely proportional to population size squared". One then generates an experiment that tests a prediction of the hypothesis (and preferably there are multiple predictions associated with multiple hypotheses). The prediction should be as strong a test as possible to refute the hypothesis. You are trying to tear down the hypothesis, not build it up. For instance, one can make predictions about the orbits of planets around each other, based on their masses and distances, and use those predictions to test the gravity hypothesis (and any hypothesis is just a model, a simplification of nature--eventually something will come along and a more nuanced model will be needed). Or one can make predictions about that agonistic interactions and per capita population growth rates will vary linearly with population size to test the competition hypothesis, and that may be sufficient or a more nuanced model may be needed.

Demonstrate that you have a strong command of the literature. You should cite papers on fish, reptiles, insects, mammals in the Introduction... not just birds. Make sure to cite 3-4 seminal papers from your field, and 3-4 papers that were published in the past five years. In the Results, make a case that you have done A LOT of work. Start with a line or two telling us what you did. "Based on 220 hours of video footage" or "Using 320 GPS tracks" or something like that. In the Discussion, avoid statements such as "I need more data". We always need more data; examine your results, and interpret them.