This module is a capstone piece of work which allows you to work independently on a laboratory, field or work based in-depth research project.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Students are expected to be proactive in suggesting their own project titles. The course director and/or appropriate member of staff will discuss the proposal, approve and appoint an internal academic supervisor. If the student is in employment it is anticipated the project will be of interest to the employer, and supported by the organisation, with an appointed employment-related coordinator.
Full-time students may choose to select a project supervised at Kingston or a project placement in practice if agreed with employer. Part time students are likely to carry out work based projects and a practice based supervisor will normally be appointed to support the student in the work place with an academic supervisor who will have overall responsibility for ensuring appropriate academic standards are maintained.
Prior to starting project work the student will attend teaching sessions which discuss research methods and skills and scientific communication. The student will be supported throughout the project by the teaching team, the learning resource centre, and IT services.
The project requires the equivalent of 600 hours of student study time; it is expected that not less than 160 hours of which is field or laboratory based.
| Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | Field or laboratory based research activities | 160 |
| Guided independent study | Literature searching, research, preparation, analysis of results and report writing | 440 |
| Total (number of credits x 10) | 600 | |
The module is assessed by coursework only which will comprise of three elements. The principle element is a project report which will not only assess the students' knowledge and critical appraisal skills but also their report writing skills, an asset that is highly valued by employers.
The project report will be assessed by both the supervisor and a second internal examiner, and will utilise a marking scheme with suggested weightings for the following:
The student will also present their work in the form of a poster presentation to the students' peers and teaching team. Although scientific content is a vital component of any scientific presentation the emphasis in this element is on presentation and communication. During the poster session the student will be assessed on the poster content but also on their understanding of the subject and ability to defend their work through questioning.
Student progress through their project will be assessed by the third element, namely a logbook of activities and progress.
Students will be required to carry out a literature review and prepare a project proposal which will be reviewed by their project tutor and feedback provided. This formative assessment feeds forward into the final report as well as providing valuable feedback in the early stages of the work. Some practice based studies will require ethics or clinical audit approval and this will provide valuable feedback for the student. Laboratory based studies will nearly all require a health and safety risk assessment and the completion of CoSHH documentation and again this will provide direction and feedback for the student with regard to safe laboratory practice.
| Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
|---|---|
| 1) Formulate research aims and objectives and prepare a realistic and coherent project proposal | Project proposal (formative) and introduction section of final report (summative) |
| 2) Review and critically evaluate the current literature | Literature review in final report (summative) |
| 3) Apply time management methods to achieve stated objectives, deadlines and project milestones | Methods and results section of final report (summative) Project Log Book |
| 4) Carry out appropriate research interventions in an effective, safe and ethical manner to generate robust and accurate data, analyse that data and apply appropriate statistical methodologies | Methods and results section of final report. (summative) Ethics or audit approval (if appropriate) (formative) COSHH form (if appropriate) (formative) Results, Discussion and Conclusion sections of final report (summative) |
| 5) Communicate the results of the project coherently in written, oral and visual manner | Written – Final report (summative) Oral – Questions during poster session formative) Visual – Final report and poster presentation of final report (summative) |
| Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Project report | 60% |
| Coursework | Logbook | 10% |
| Coursework | Poster presentation | 30% |
| Total (to equal 100%) | 100% | |
It IS NOT a requirement that any element of assessment is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
The nature of core texts for individual projects may vary depending on the nature of the project
For practice projects:
As recommended by the project supervisor; including original research papers, review articles, reference books, previous theses as appropriate. These will be recommended as appropriate and dependent upon the research topics selected.
These will include papers from the literature including publications such as the New Scientist, Lancet, Education in Chemistry, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Pharmacological Reviews, Science, Nature, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, The Pharmaceutical Journal, British Medical Journal and relevant pharmaceutical, scientific and medical journals according to the subject area. Official guidance, eg. NICE, NPSA, NSFs, etc. will be relevant to some projects.
Dependent on the nature of the project some of the following texts may be of value.