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| Module Availability |
Semester 1 |
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| Assessment Pattern |
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Unit(s) of Assessment
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Weighting Towards Module Mark( %)
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Practical Work as part of group task
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20
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Individual poster
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30
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Post short course assessment package comprising:
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Mandatory question
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25
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Choice of short answer questions
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25
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Qualifying Condition(s)
An overall mark of 50% is required to pass the module
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| Module Overview |
This module provides an overview of the key skills and knowledge needed by postgraduates undertaking their first major piece of independent research. |
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| Prerequisites/Co-requisites |
| Normal entry requirements for a level M degree programme. |
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| Module Aims |
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This course aims to provide students with:
- an appreciation of the reasons for undertaking research, the principal stages involved in a research project and the framework in which research is conducted, including ethics.
- a understanding of the ways in which research findings are reported, communicated, protected and exploited
- a knowledge of the methods used to present data, including the quantification of errors and uncertainties.
- practical experience of the benefits and drawbacks of group work
- practical experience of basic metallography, scanning electron microscopy and hardness testing techniques
- an opportunity to present work in a variety of formats
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| Learning Outcomes |
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On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:
- describe and explain the context of research, including issues associated with ethics and academic misconduct
- list the purposes of studying the literature and construct a scheme to enable a literature search to be undertaken
- set objectives and plan experiments using the scientific method
- undertake simple laboratory work in the context of the group project
- present data appropriately and deal with errors (in a simple manner)
- differentiate between the requirements for reporting research in a variety of formats and produce practical examples of such formats (writing reports, presentations and posters)
- appreciate the requirements and opportunities for protecting and exploiting research
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| Module Content |
Lectures
The Framework for Research
Getting to Grips with the Literature
Plagiarism and How to Avoid It
Oral Presentations
Posters
Written Communications
Project Management
Errors and Uncertainties
Commercialisation of Research Results
Ethics for Engineers
Laboratory Work
Group work (typically involving 3-4 people per team) involving the metallographic investigation of a component or number of components from a small piece of equipment, such as a stapler.
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| Methods of Teaching/Learning |
Intensive five day teaching period spilt into lectures and tutorials in the mornings and group laboratory work in the afternoons, followed by assessment package of a nominal 120 hours work, to be submitted within six months (part-time) or six weeks (full-time) of the end of the course week.
Total student learning time 150 hours.
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| Selected Texts/Journals |
Required reading
None.
Recommended background reading
‘How to get a PhD’
E M Phillips and D
S Pugh
Open University Press,
Maidenhead,
, 2005 (fourth edition)
[Note – fifth edition is due to be published soon]
‘Experimental Methods – an introduction to the analysis and presentation of data’
L Kirkup
John Wiley & Sons,
Milton,
, 1995 (paperback)
Total student learning time 150 hours. |
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| Last Updated |
09 May 2011 |
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