| Unit name | Project Proposal in Health Sciences |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MEDIM0016 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Holmes |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Bristol Medical School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
This unit will comprise the writing of a research project proposal based on the research project phase of the MRes programme (Unit 5 – Research Project).
The proposal will include:
i) a review of the literature relevant to the research project (3000 words maximum);
ii) the aims of the project;
iii) the impact of the project
iv) a plan of the proposed research, which will include the experimental design and methods
v) ethical considerations
vi)contingency plans;
vii) a timetable and milestones;
vii) a list of references (total length 4500 words maximum, excluding references). The students will also present their research projects (10 min talk)
The purpose of this unit is to ensure that students obtain a good breadth of scientific background knowledge and a clear understanding of their project aims and the methods by which they will be achieved. Students will gain or improve their skills in IT, evaluating scientific papers, formulating hypothesis-driven research questions, laboratory research methods and statistical analysis. The unit will also provide students with transferable skills in scientific presentation and written communication, research ethics and time management.
The aims and objectives of the unit include:
(i) To gain IT skills in searching databases for scientific publications of the scientific literature relevant to their specific research project.
(ii) To critically evaluate relevant scientific literature.
(iii) To understand the scientific method and to learn how to formulate hypothesis-driven research questions.
(iv) To gain familiarity with research methods and techniques, including their advantages, shortfalls and statistical concerns.
(v) To develop written and oral skills in scientific presentation.
(vi) To gain an appreciation and understanding of research ethics.
(vii) To plan, organise and time-manage a research project.
At the end of this unit the students should be able to:
Attendance at a funding and grant-writing workshop (RED). Self-directed reading.
The Research Proposal will be read and evaluated by two independent assessors who are members of academic staff - the project supervisor (the PI of the host research group) and another member of academic staff with relevant background knowledge; both marks will carry equal weight. This will assess learning objectives (i)-(vii).
Several review articles will be selected by the project supervisor as starter reference material; the selection of these articles will be dependent on the assigned project. Students will otherwise be expected to read widely around the scientific literature in the area of their project proposal.
