Professional and Research Skills in Biomedical and Clinical Science
| Module title | Professional and Research Skills in Biomedical and Clinical Science |
|---|---|
| Module code | HPDM143 |
| Academic year | 2021/2 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Jon Locke (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 8 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 15 |
|---|
Module description
This module aims to prepare you for undertaking either of the Research Project (60 or 30 credit) modules and for those interested in developing their academic clinical careers. You will learn about approaches to conducting a literature review and how to establish and critique current knowledge with respect to a specific research question. You will be given a firm grounding in the basics of statistical methodology. You will practise and develop your skills in disseminating proposed research to non-scientific (lay) and scientific audiences, in oral and written forms. In summary, the module will enable you to practise and develop some of the professional and research skills needed to successfully conduct biomedical research.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will develop the skills necessary for you to carry out scientific research. We will provide you with a number of research briefs that detail currently funded research being done within the College. You will select one of these and present and write a grant application. During the course of this module you will examine the research process including literature searching, referencing, critical appraisal, user/patient involvement, peer/expert review and dissemination. You will develop your understanding of simple statistical tests and investigate some of the core principles of scientific writing.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. The nature of this module means that all module ILOs are also discipline-specific, see discipline-specific ILOs below.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Understand the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics and use of simple statistical tests to describe a sample or make inferences about a population.
- 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the purposes and processes involved in writing a literature review.
- 3. Evaluate the various methods available to communicate scientific messages to different audiences, including patients and public
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Communicate accurately and effectively with peers, tutors and the public.
- 5. Critically reflect on personal practice and make connections between known and unknown areas, to allow for personal development, adaptation and change.
- 6. Respond to innovation and new technologies and be able to evaluate these in the context of best practice and the need for improved service delivery and/or improved research performance.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, an example of an overall structure is as follows:
-
The research process; formulating a clear research question, literature searching and referencing, critical appraisal, patient/user involvement, peer/expert review, dissemination to different audiences
-
Designing studies of suitable statistical rigour; power/sample size calculations, non-parametric/parametric data, paired data, outliers, subgroup analysis, correlation, probability, confidence intervals
-
Scientific writing; abstracts, journal articles, structuring, reference systems.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 130 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 2 | Student presentations. Presentations (e.g. PowerPoint-based presentation to group in face-to-face setting) may be replaced by PowerPoint-based presentation to the group using Teams/Zoom. |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 18 | Workshops/seminars. Small-group discussion in tutorials and seminars may be replaced by synchronous group discussion on Teams/ Zoom |
| Guided independent study | 8 | Reading of provided project proposals and selection in advance of contact day 1 |
| Guided independent study | 12 | Preparation of PowerPoint presentation for contact day 3 |
| Guided independent study | 4 | Editing of PowerPoint presentation following lay and peer feedback |
| Guided independent study | 31 | Writing of project grant application |
| Guided independent study | 75 | Online resources and independent guided literature research |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral presentation feedback from lay panel and peers | 5-15 slides (8-12 minutes) | 1-6 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant application | 90 | 2250 words | 1-6 | Written |
| Contribution to online discussion forum | 10 | 5 substantive posts | 1-6 | Written |
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant application (90%) (2250 words) | Re-write of grant application | 1-6 | Typically within six weeks of the result |
| Contribution to online discussion forum (10%) (5 substantive posts) | Contribution to online discussion forum | 1-6 | Typically within six weeks of the result |
Re-assessment notes
Please refer to the TQA section on Referral/Deferral: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/aph/consequenceoffailure/
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Greenhalgh, T. (2019). How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine 65th edition. Hoboken, New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Albert, T. (2016). Winning the Publications Game: The smart way to write your paper and get it published. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press
Herzog, M.H, Francis, G and Clarke, A. (2019). Understanding Statistics and Experimental Design: How to Not Lie with Statistics. Cham, Switzerland: Springer
Browne, M.N. and Keeley, S.M. (2014). Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Ltd
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=6150
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/05/2017 |
| Last revision date | 13/05/2021 |
