Summary 

The research project may be either laboratory-based, clinically-based or literature-, statistics- or bioinformatics-based.

In the first term your project will be allocated based on your choices made on a list of available projects after which you will meet and discuss your project with the supervisor. You are expected to start your background reading and prepare a formative proposal. In terms 1 and 2, you may also start preparing a draft of the introduction for your dissertation. Start time on the project will be decided by discussions with your supervisor but students will be expected to work full-time part on the research projects in terms 3, after completion of the main exams, and during the Summer months. This will culminate in preparation of data for presentation as a written dissertation and an oral presentation.

By the end of the project, you will have gained transferable skills in in-depth directed researching and reading around a topic; generating a specific research question; designing a research project to answer the question. You will learn practical techniques specific to the project, as well as generic skills such as scientific record keeping in a laboratory notebook, team-working and communication with lab-members. You will also gain experience of, and training in, formal presentation of scientific results orally and in writing.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes 

After taking this module, you should be able to:

Be fully involved in a research project and learn how to master the techniques involved.
	Learn how to present your research project with both oral presentation and a written dissertation
Who is this module for? 

This is a compulsory module for students in the Cardiovascular Science MSc.

Teaching and Learning Methods 

Teaching and learning will be through face-to face-sessions that offer training in research-related skills (how to prepare a presentation, how to write a dissertation) in addition to one-to-one discussions with allocated supervisor(s) and self-directed learning. Additional support e.g. Statistical Analysis Planning will also be provided to help with analysis and presentation of research projects.