Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Evidence-based literature review and critical analysis informed project proposal
School	School of Bioscience
Department	School of Biosciences
Module Code	03 36116
Module Lead	Leanne Taylor-Smith
Level	Honours Level
Credits	40
Semester	Full Term
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Exclusions
Description	In this module students will focus on a biological topic, under the supervision of a member of staff. The Literature review component will provide experience in the use of information databases to research a given area and allows students to explore the chosen subject area to a high level of breadth and detail. Students will critically appraise the current literature to summarise gaps in our current understanding. One particular area of the review will be presented in an oral presentation to communicate key findings to other staff and students. Semester 2 will focus on the critical analysis of select papers relevant to the gap in knowledge previously identified. The analysis will inform a research proposal. The proposal will demonstrate consideration of the safety and ethics requirements for such work. The proposal will include elements of communication to both technical and lay audiences. The overall aim of the project is to help students become effective independent learners, using a research-led and enquiry-based approach and to enhance students’ written and verbal communication skills. The module provides an opportunity for students to develop and demonstrate skills including: Independence and organisation, library and data base research, extended writing, written and oral communication to a range of audiences, summarising and processing complex information, critical anlaysis, experimental design and interpretation.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Collect, organise and synthesise a large body of information from a range of relevant sources Present their findings in a structured written report Communicate some of the work in an oral presentation Critically appraise the literature to identify a target area of research for further investigation Design appropriate experimental approaches Show an understanding of appropriate controls and statistical analyses Show an understanding of the Safety and Ethical issues of the proposed research Communicate and justify the concepts of the project to a diverse range of target audiences
Assessment	36116-01 : Lit A: Literature Review : Coursework (40%) 36116-02 : Oral Presentation : Presentation (10%) 36116-03 : Lit B: Critical Analysis : Coursework (25%) 36116-04 : Lit C: Project Proposal Mark : Coursework (25%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: Evidence-based Literature review (4000 words) (40%) Oral presentation (10%) Evidence-based critical analysis papers (2500 words) (25%) Research proposal (2500 words) (25%). No reassessment
Other
Reading List