The aim of the module is to introduce students to the most recent research developments, to develop their skills at acquiring, organising, processing and critically evaluating information, and to give them an opportunity to develop science communication skills.
Part of the module is based on the extensive School/University research seminar programme, which covers a wide range of subjects. These seminars, given by a mix of outside speakers and University staff, present up-to-date, cutting edge research and provide an excellent opportunity to keep up with the latest research developments.
Students will be able to tailor the content of this module to their own particular research interests by choosing from a range of School seminars. They will also be encouraged to read current, high impact, scientific literature in their area of interest and present this or their own research in a journal club format, and in a BBC news article format.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Demonstrate attendance at a series of research seminars
Acquire, organise, process, integrate and critically evaluate information from current research papers
Communicate a piece of scientific research in a format aimed at a general, on-specialist audience
Assessment: Seminar note book (10%), BBC News article (800 words) on a current research article (45%) and a 10 min journal club presentation of a current research paper (45%).
Reassessment: Reassessment of the module will require redoing the failed element:
Seminar notebook (reflecting on an additional seminars to those already recorded) BBC news article (using a different paper to the one originally submitted) 10-minute presentation on a topic different to the original.
Extenuating Circumstances impacting on coursework or in year assessment will normally be dealt with by an extension being granted where appropriate to the date for submission or completion of the piece(s) of work affected