The final year research project is an opportunity for you to carry out an individual scientific investigation on a topic relating to your degree specialisation. You will use the skills developed in the module to identify, with your supervisor, a suitable question and then design an experimental approach to obtain data addressing this question. Your analysis and presentation of these data in a suitable scientific paper format report forms the main assessed component of this module. The second major component involves researching, understanding and writing critically about the scientific literature relating to your project work.
You will also be assessed on the skills that you develop in carrying out your project. You will be assessed on your oral project presentation skills and response to questions. The planning and management of your project work, a reflection on your progress, and your employability skills (based on an updated CV and action plan) will also be assessed.
Learning Outcomes:
To pass this module students will need to be able to:
1. develop a project plan, including the experimental, analytical and statistical methods to be used;
2. demonstrate an understanding of the health and safety and ethical issues related to scientific research and undertake appropriate risk and ethics assessments;
3. maintain an accurate and up to date record of all project work and data collection;
4. demonstrate responsibility for personal time management and progress and for any necessary amendments to the project plan;
5. reflect on the conduct and outcome of the project;
6. research the scientific literature relating to their Research Project area and present this information as an extended introduction to their project report;
7. carry out a research project and obtain sufficient data of good quality using appropriate experimental, analytical and statistical methods;
8. analyse and interpret scientific data;
9. communicate the outcomes of research effectively in a written report in scientific paper format;
10. describe and critically evaluate data from research articles;
11. refer appropriately to published work and be competent in the use of bibliographic software (EndNote);
12. communicate effectively by an oral presentation of project work;
13. address scientific questions on the background, methods, data and future direction from expert assessors;
14. update CV, write a job application cover letter, plan and perform in a mock interview scenario.
- Module Supervisor: Paul Dobbin