| Unit name | Advanced Scientific Method and Application |
|---|---|
| Unit code | VETS33002 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Professor. Knowles |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Bristol Veterinary School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
This unit provides students with the knowledge and diverse skills necessary for the successful completion of a research project in a relevant field of enquiry. Students will develop creative ways of applying the behavioural knowledge gained to a new and diverse set of problems in conversation, production and pest control. The unit builds on knowledge of the important principles in the use of statistic covered in the earlier scientific unit, and covers a broader range of statistical and modelling techniques, and associated software. Practical classes will develop computer programming skills.
Aims:
The aims of this unit are to develop those skills necessary to pursue and understand the research process, including advanced data analysis, oral, written and visual presentation techniques, and communication skills.
At the end of this unit students will be able to:
Lectures, seminars, assisted practical classes, zoo visit and DSE
Assessment is by means of an end of unit examination in which students analyse a previously unseen data set using SPSS. This exam takes place in the Computing Suite. Students are given three hours in which to carry out an initial exploratory data analysis and then fit and interpret a general linear model. The exam is open book and students may bring text books, lecture notes and a calculator into the exam. Students are NOT allowed to surf the web or open up any other files or software packages, other than those which are part of the exam. Past papers and data sets are made available on Blackboard after the first term. An example paper is shown at the end of the relevant unit handbook. This exam carries 80% of the marks for this element.
A one hour, practice examination is arranged during teaching block 1 to allow the students to become familiar with the exam format. The actual exam is timetabled for the January assessment period to allow students to revise their statistical knowledge before the main body of their work on their dissertation project takes place.
During teaching block 1 an assessed DSE (Directed Self-Education) provides 20% of the remaining marks for the element. The DSE is carried out across the Advanced Scientific Methods and Applications element and the Applying Behavioural Knowledge element and is described in more detail below in the section covering Applying Behavioural Knowledge.
Grafen and Hails’ book forms the basis of the core statistics lectures and every student is issued with a personal copy from the Langford Library for the duration of the course. The other two books are not required reading but, if you would like to expand your expertise and knowledge of the application of statistics, these are very useful books and can be found in both the Langford Library and the Medical Sciences Library in Bristol.
Please note books 3 and 4 are available as e-books from the University Library (http://www.lib.bris.ac.uk/ALEPH/)
