Sri Lanka Scientific Service Exam study plan
Sri Lanka Scientific Service Exam · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Discipline-Specific Scientific Subject Knowledge & General Scientific Knowledge and Aptitude
Map your discipline syllabus against the published exam outline and list every subtopic you cannot yet explain from memory
Derive and re-derive the ten core formulas or definitions most likely to be tested in your subject, writing each from a blank page
Solve 20 discipline-level numerical or structured problems under a 90-second-per-item limit and log every error by cause
Skim one current review article in your field and summarise its main claim and limitation in five sentences
Your checkpoint
A one-page gap register listing at least 15 weak subtopics ranked by exam weight, plus a scored 20-item problem set with an error log
Discipline-Specific Scientific Subject Knowledge & General Scientific Knowledge and Aptitude
Close the top five gaps from week 1 by studying each until you can teach it aloud without notes
Build a 40-item spaced-repetition deck covering discipline definitions, units, constants and standard values
Practise 15 general-science aptitude items spanning physical, biological and earth sciences, timing each set
Explain three everyday scientific phenomena in writing using correct terminology and causal chains
Your checkpoint
A completed 40-card deck with at least 90% recall on a self-test, and a written set of three phenomenon explanations of 100 words each
Discipline-Specific Scientific Subject Knowledge & General Scientific Knowledge and Aptitude
Work through two past-paper-style discipline sections end to end under full time pressure and mark them strictly
Convert every wrong answer into a one-line rule you can apply next time
Revise general aptitude by drilling unit conversion, ratio, percentage and graph-interpretation items in timed blocks
Draft a half-page formula sheet in your own words for final-week revision
Your checkpoint
Two completed timed discipline papers with scores recorded and a consolidated rule sheet of at least 25 correction rules
Scientific Research Methodology and Data Analysis & Discipline-Specific Scientific Subject Knowledge
Distinguish experimental, observational, cross-sectional and longitudinal designs and state when each is appropriate
Formulate five testable research questions and matching null and alternative hypotheses for your field
Select the correct statistical test for ten described scenarios and justify each choice in two lines
Compute and interpret mean, standard deviation, standard error and confidence intervals by hand for one small dataset
Your checkpoint
A test-selection decision table covering at least ten scenarios with justification, plus hand-worked descriptive statistics for a 10-value dataset
Scientific Research Methodology and Data Analysis & Discipline-Specific Scientific Subject Knowledge
Perform and interpret a t-test, chi-square test and one-way ANOVA on a supplied dataset, reporting effect size alongside p-values
Explain Type I and Type II error, statistical power and sample-size determination in plain language
Critique two short published abstracts for sampling bias, confounding and overgeneralisation
Draft a methods section of 300 words for a small study you design yourself
Your checkpoint
A 300-word methods section plus a written critique of two abstracts identifying at least three methodological weaknesses each
Scientific Research Methodology and Data Analysis & Scientific Administration, Policy and Ethics
Design a data-collection instrument and pilot it on five respondents, then revise two flawed items
Apply the principles of informed consent, confidentiality and minimal risk to three short ethical scenarios
Outline the structure of a research proposal including objectives, methodology, timeline and budget justification
Interpret a results table and write a 150-word discussion paragraph that separates finding from inference
Your checkpoint
A complete two-page research proposal outline with a piloted questionnaire and a written ethics response to three scenarios
Scientific Administration, Policy and Ethics & General Scientific Knowledge and Aptitude
Summarise the main provisions of the national science, technology and innovation policy framework and how they affect public-sector scientists
Describe the mandate and functions of the institutions governing scientific research and higher education in Sri Lanka
Explain public financial management, procurement and audit expectations for a government-funded research project
Apply authorship, plagiarism, data-integrity and conflict-of-interest rules to four short misconduct cases
Your checkpoint
A two-page policy brief on how national science policy shapes a researcher's duties, with a case-response log for four misconduct scenarios
General Scientific Knowledge and Aptitude & Discipline-Specific Scientific Subject Knowledge & Scientific Research Methodology and Data Analysis & Scientific Administration, Policy and Ethics
Sit two full mixed mock exams under strict timing and record section-wise scores
Revisit only the weakest 20% of topics flagged across all four domains and re-test them
Recite your formula sheet, policy summary and test-selection table from memory in a single review pass
Plan exam-day logistics including time allocation per section and a strategy for uncertain items
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock exams with section-wise scores showing improvement over week 3, plus a one-page exam-day strategy sheet
Milestones
Week 2: You can explain any of the top five discipline gaps aloud without notes and score at least 90% on your 40-card recall test
Week 4: You score at least 60% on a timed discipline paper and correctly justify the statistical test for at least 8 of 10 scenarios
Week 6: You produce a defensible research proposal outline and correctly resolve all three ethics scenarios with cited principles
Week 8: Your second mock exam score exceeds your week 3 baseline in every domain, with no section below 50%