Unit information: Research Training in 2022/23

Unit name	Research Training
Unit code	BIOC30002
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Robson
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	Molecular Cell Biology BIOC20001, Macromolecular Structure, Dynamics and Function BIOC20002, Recombinant DNA Technology MOLG22100 and Gene Expression and Rearrangement MOLG22200
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	Advanced Cell Biology BIOC30601 The Dynamic Proteome BIOC30604 Cellular Information BIOC30602 Advanced Options in Biochemistry BIOC30600
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	School of Biochemistry
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Unit Information

This unit provides Research Training to prepare students for the Extended Research Project in the final year of the MSci programme. Students will work in groups to solve practical problems such as the expression, purification and characterisation of a particular protein. Work will be supervised by a member of staff and supported by a technical manual.

Students will:

• Develop independent, team working and problem solving skills
• Gain advanced research skills in preparation for their independent research project in Year 4
• Develop project planning and execution skills
• Gain important data analysis and interpretation skills
• Gain skills in recording and presenting scientific data in a variety of different formats

Your learning on this unit

Students will be able to:

• Undertake advanced research work in a supervised environment to solve research problems
• Maintain accurate and detailed records of their experimental work and results
• Work both independently and as part of a team
• Collect, analyse and interpret data
• Write up their experimental findings as a research report
• Undertake self-directed background reading of the primary scientific literature to inform their laboratory write-up
• Present their findings in the form of a scientific presentation

How you will learn

Supervised research sessions and workshops

How you will be assessed

For learning (formative)

Staff supervisor will provide formative feedback on their work.

Of learning (summative)

The mark for the unit is determined as follows:

• Completed lab book (20%): students will submit their completed lab book at the end of the unit for assessment
• Advanced research report (70%): mark determined as outlined below
• Group presentation (10%)

Advanced research report: students will write up their laboratory work individually in the form of a brief research paper. The maximum word count is 5,500. If this maximum word count is exceeded, word count penalties will only be applied to the mark awarded for the report. The report is marked independently by two markers. If the two markers are unable to agree a final mark, the Unit Director or nominee will assess the report and the comments of the two markers and decide the final mark.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. BIOC30002).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.