LSC-30050 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

Students can express preference from a wide range of subjects and will be allocated a one-to-one academic supervisor to guide you throughout completion of this module.
Initially, your project supervisor will suggest some background reading to help familiarise yourself with the topic. This will help you to formulate a more specific research question.
You will use appropriate databases to probe the literature, evaluating both primary and secondary sources (published papers, review articles textbooks etc). Supervisors will be available for one-to-one meetings throughout this research phase of the module to discuss your progress and key findings.
When ready, you will then write your dissertation to summarise the topic and resolve the primary question in a critical, evidence-based manner, for example, highlighting any differences of opinion amongst the scientific community and offering supporting evidence as appropriate. The dissertation should be communicated at a level appropriate for publication.
The ability to assimilate, précis and report on complex issues is an important skill valued by many employers, both scientific and non-scientific.

To introduce students to the concept, philosophy and approach of performing scientific research by conducting an extensive literature survey to resolve scientific problems using individual initiative and presenting findings in a scholarly fashion.

Intended Learning Outcomes

formulate a scientific question to drive a hypothesis-led avenue of research: 1
integrate and synthesise material from different sources: 1
interpret and summarise key research findings, identify gaps in current knowledge and propose areas for future study: 1
produce a scientific dissertation that critically appraises a scientific hypothesis and presents an evidence-based argument: 1
critically appraise scientific literature: 1

Study hours

15 hours: meetings with supervisor
95 hours: private study
40 hours: preparation of dissertation

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment