Unit information: Extended Research Project in 2022/23

Unit name	Extended Research Project
Unit code	BIOCM0015
Credit points	60
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Professor. Dodding
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	Advanced Cell Biology BIOC30601 The Dynamic Proteome BIOC30604 Cellular Information BIOC30602 Advanced Options in Biochemistry BIOC30600, Research and Communication Skills BIOC30001, Research Training BIOC30002
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	All Year 4 units within the MSci
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Biochemistry
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Unit Information

This unit will give students the opportunity to spend up to 16 weeks on an individual research project supervised by a member of academic staff. The project will extend the research experience gained in the third year and enable them to develop independent research skills. Students will complete an extended literature review as part of their project and will be expected to attend research group meetings and present their findings to other members of the research group. They will gain data interpretation and analysis skills and will write up their experimental findings as a dissertation.

The key aims of the unit for students are:

• To enable them to gain substantial research experience and an understanding of the approaches taken to solving research problems in their project area.
• To develop critical and analytical skills.
• To develop scientific communication skills
• To learn how to be a valuable member of a research group

Your learning on this unit

Students will be able to:

1. Conduct independent research and collect valid data
2. Interpret and analyse scientific data
3. Summarise and present their results both verbally and in written formats
4. Interpret their findings within the context of the current scientific literature and formulate a plan for future work

How you will learn

Supervised research project work

How you will be assessed

For learning (formative)

Research proposal

Of learning (summative)

• Performance during the project (10% of the unit mark) consisting of an evaluation by the project supervisor
• Dissertation (70% of the unit mark) consisting of a literature review, data write-up and future directions (maximum 10,000 words). If this maximum word count is exceeded, word count penalties will only be applied to the mark awarded for the report. The project report is assessed independently by the project supervisor and the second marker, who agree a single final mark. 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.
• Oral presentation of their project (10% of the unit mark). Students will give a 20-minute talk on their project. Presentations are evaluated by a member of academic staff.
• Viva (10% of the unit mark). Vivas will either be conducted in the presence of another member of staff or will be audio-recorded. Audio recordings will only be reviewed in the event of a query into the conduct of the viva exam

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. BIOCM0015).

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.