| Unit name | Research Project |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MEDIM7100 |
| Credit points | 60 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hans Reul |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Bristol Medical School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
There are still many important research questions in molecular neuroscience to be answered. Answering those questions will be key to our deeper understanding of the aetiology of and the development of novel therapies for brain disease. These goals can only be achieved by well-designed and well-executed experimental research plans. The research project is therefore a central unit in this programme. It will teach you how research is done in practice and will help you develop your skills and execute your own experiments in an active research environment. This unit is also important as you will be able to further develop your academic thinking and rigour, by critically analysing, reviewing, and discussing your own data and published research. Modern research is all about teamwork and collaboration which are also aspects that you will develop during the research project unit.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit follows the completion of the taught part of the programme, and therefore you will have a sound academic basis for working on your research project. At this point in the programme, you will have substantial knowledge of the subject matter of molecular neuroscience, and will also have gained insight in experimental design, analyses and state-of-the-art methods used in molecular neuroscience. You will draw upon your knowledge acquired throughout the taught and project units and use data collected during the project unit to write a dissertation and give a presentation of your work.
An overview of content
You will work with a supervisor or a small team of supervisors and contribute to the design of experimental plans and the execution of experiments. You will analyse and critically discuss your results and integrate these with information from the scientific literature. Your experimental work will normally be in a laboratory but, subject to availability, may also involve clinical research work or big data analysis approaches. In exceptional circumstances, and at the discretion of the Board of Examiners and subject to availability, a student may complete a desk-based research project.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will grow your academic knowledge and skills. You will learn how research is executed from determining the rationale of the study and phrasing the hypotheses and aims, to the execution of the methods and the analysis and critical evaluation of your data. You will have developed the analytical skills to troubleshoot experimental methods. The writing of a dissertation and a colloquium presentation will further develop your analysis, writing and communication skills.
Learning Outcomes
After this unit, you should be able to:
This unit is taught through training in the laboratory and discussion with the project supervisor(s). The formative assessments for this unit consist of draft submissions of the dissertation and presentation slides and the opportunity to practice your presentation with your supervisor(s) and/or their research teams, and with fellow students. These formative assessments will give you the opportunity to further improve your work before submission for summative assessment.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You will be given the opportunity to submit one draft of your dissertation for comments from your supervisor(s).
For the presentation, you will be able to submit one version of your draft slides for comments from your supervisor You will also be given the opportunity to practise your presentation with your supervisor(s) and/or their research team. Furthermore, we will organise an opportunity to practise your research presentation with your fellow students who will peer-review and mark your presentation. For this peer review, students will be provided with the marking sheets which will be used during the summative assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The summative assessment for this unit consists of:
When assessment does not go to plan
If you do not pass the unit, you may be given the opportunity to resubmit your work depending on the mark you have achieved and as per the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
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. MEDIM7100).
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 University 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. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
