Medical Sciences Research Project
| Module title | Medical Sciences Research Project |
|---|---|
| Module code | CSC3029 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 45 |
| Module staff | Professor Rob Anderson (Convenor) Dr Katarina Kos (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 100 |
|---|
Module description
This is the final year research project module builds on the skills you have learnt in the previous years. It will stimulate your interest and knowledge in biomedical/clinical science or applied health research with the main component of the module being an independent research project. Your research will take the form of one, 20-week research-based project. These independent research projects will give you an insight into the world of research in medical science or health research. Research could include obtaining and analysing data in a laboratory or clinical research setting (primary research); or analysis of existing unpublished or published health/scientific data (secondary research)o. The module will consolidate your developing skills in collection, analysis, interpretation, formulation and presentation of evidence; and enhance your organisational, communication and personal reflective behaviours and employment skills.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module seeks to develop your ability to conduct and report scientific research within the Medical Science discipline and report the results in writing and verbally. It also aims to consolidate student reflective behaviours and employment skills.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate competence in key biomedical, clinical science or applied health research techniques.
- 2. Apply skills of critical thinking, problem-formulation, problem-solving, and rigorous scientific data /information analysis to biomedical, clinical science or applied health practice.
- 3. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of essential facts, relevant methods and theory in a research discipline related to biomedical/clinical science or applied health research.
- 4. Describe and critically evaluate aspects of current research in biomedical/clinical science or applied health research with reference to research articles.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Demonstrate professional competence in communicating effectively with academic staff and/or healthcare professionals
- 6. Understand the expected performance standards in relation to scientific probity, multidisciplinary team-based practice and recognise personal levels of professional scientific competence.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Manage time, workload, ambiguity, change and stress effectively and demonstrate effective personal development planning, based on self-awareness and reflection
- 8. Understand and apply key skills of effective project management
- 9. Extend and use relevant employability skills such as effective report-writing and delivering engaging oral presentations
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, an example of an overall structure is as follows:
Preliminary planning for the project takes place in Year 2 or the Professional Training Year (PTY), whichever appropriate. In the final year, project work will normally be undertaken in the Autumn and Spring terms and the written final reports are normally due in either the Summer term (Research Project) or in Autumn and Spring terms (Dissertation). Methods training workshops (attendance optional) are offered in a range of topics/statistical tools.
Supervisory meetings are held by arrangement, with students entitled to at least 30 minutes of supervisory time per week. Four formal, documented meetings of project student and supervisor take place and a formative submission of up to 10% of the dissertation is assessed with written feedback.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 430 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 2 | Lectures in person or via Teams/Zoom to provide module overview and modes of assessment |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 10 | Project work: Supervisor meetings for guidance on project development, implementation, data analysis and interpretation. This is done via arrangement with supervisor and may occur in person or via Teams/Zoom . |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 8 | Workshops to be delivered as synchronous workshops via Teams/Zoom or face to face. |
| Guided Independent Study | 430 | Other project-related work including: Formative project proposal writing, project report writing, data collection and analysis, literature research, preparation for supervisor meetings, oral presentation preparation and other guided independent study. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal and key skills feedback from project supervisor and research colleagues. | 100-200 words | 1-8 | Written and oral |
| Provider feedback on research project dissertation draft | On 10% of draft written research project report/dissertation, equivalent to ~1 page of A4 | 1-6 | Written and oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0 | 20 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Project proposal | 5 | 1 page of A4 | 1-5 | Written and oral |
| Research Project Dissertation | 70 | 10 pages of A4 | 1-6 | Written |
| 1x Oral presentation (10 min) + Q&As (5 min) | 20 | 15 min | 5 | Written |
| Research Project supervisor student performance judgement (5%) | 5 | Professionalism during project placement throughout Terms 1 and 2 | 1-8 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary project proposal (5%) | Re-submission of 1-page preliminary project proposal (5%) | 1-5 | Within 4-weeks of original submission |
| Research Project Dissertation (70%) | Re-submission of the Research Project Dissertation (10 pages) (70%) | 1-6 | By end of ref/def period |
| Oral presentation (20%) | Oral Presentation (10 min) + Q&As (5 min) (20%) | 5 | By end of ref/def period |
| Research project supervisor student performance judgement (5%) | Remediation meeting with academic tutor (40 minutes) (5%) | 1-9 | Early in term 3 (see note) |
Re-assessment notes
In the event of you failing the Research project supervisor student performance judgement component and failing the module overall, you will be required to meet with your Academic Tutor as soon as possible to remediate this failure as a referred assessment. This will involve undertaking any actions required by the Academic Tutor to remediate for any unprofessional behaviour. In the event of you failing the Research project supervisor student performance judgement but passing the module overall, you will be required to meet with your academic tutor for an individual meeting to remediate this outcome before the end of the academic year.
Please also refer to the TQA section on Referral/Deferral: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/aph/consequenceoffailure/
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
This will vary according to your specific project, and will be guided by your supervisor during the project development phase.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=9209
This will vary according to your specific project, and will be guided by your supervisor during the project development phase.
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
As directed by the supervisor
| Credit value | 45 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 22.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | CSC2023 Experimental Design and Statistics |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 25/02/2012 |
| Last revision date | 07/03/2023 |
