Unit information: Dissertation in 2018/19

Unit name	Dissertation
Unit code	BRMSM0009
Credit points	60
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Professor. Kipping
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Bristol Medical School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This unit aims to teach students to design and conduct good quality research in a public health related discipline – primarily either through undertaking an epidemiological/quantitative/intervention study, an evidence synthesis project, or undertaking qualitative research.

Candidates will be able to select a topic from a central list or bring and design their own project in collaboration with personal supervisor and/or co-supervisor.

This unit aims to give the student an opportunity to practice and apply public health research methods using and developing further skills they have already learnt in the course.

Aims:

The dissertation should demonstrate that the student understands how to: frame research questions, critique, draw upon and develop appropriate conceptual and theoretical approaches, scope relevant literature, analyse data, interpret the findings and identify key strengths and limitations of the study. In addition, the student will present the findings in a research colloquium.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Develop and frame suitable research questions
2. Think critically about research methods selected for their chosen topic.
3. Identify ethical issues and considerations for specific study
4. Undertake a scoping literature view in their field of study
5. Analyse data or evidence, interpret and draw appropriate conclusions, present their findings
6. Independently plan and carry out a sustained piece of research
7. Generate a coherent report that is appropriately referenced

Teaching Information

• Seminars (2)
• One-to-one supervision meetings (5)
• Seminar on how to write an academic paper

Assessment Information

Students will receive feedback for learning in the form of:

Project proposal and tutor allocation agreed with dissertation and assessment leads. (ILO 1)

Outline of project, 1-2 pages –for discussion with tutor(s). (ILO 2 – 4)

Oral poster presentation of their research project in a research colloquium with feedback from tutors and peers. (ILO 7)

Students will be required to engage with the above activities to successfully complete the unit. However, they will not be formally assessed and will not contribute to the overall unit mark.

Summative assessment: the dissertation will contribute 100% of total unit mark. Students will produce a project report in the form of an academic paper for a target journal (with appendices) 5,000 minimum and up to 10,000 words (the range reflects the longer articles or additional appendices some research studies will require). (ILO -4-7)

Reading and References

To be negotiated with supervisor