MSc Precision Medicine

The Research Methods Course is a 15 credit, interactive blended learning course. It has been developed to provide postgraduate students with an introduction to key material required for the design, execution and interpretation of medical, scientific and clinically-related research and the production of a high-quality dissertation. Postgraduate students who do not have to submit a MSc or MRes dissertation will find that the unit helps them to understand the process of medical/health-aligned research from start to finish.

The Research Methods Course will run over one semester and will draw on a blended learning approach. Students will engage with high-quality online self-study materials (on our e-learning platform) and attend in-person sessions. A variety of online material will be utilised, including video presentations, web-based reading, and interactive self-assessment. In-person sessions will include tutor presentations and some group work.

The unit has been designed with a view to covering a wide variety of topics:

    1. Dissertation Skills

•Abstract writing
•Critical appraisal of research publications
•Report writing skills - academic writing and reference management
•Communication skills - poster preparation, oral presentation

    2. Study Design

•Ethics, research governance and data protection
•Designing a study – protocol development, time management and the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods
•Epidemiology - key concepts and different epidemiological study designs, e.g. randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, case-series, qualitative research

    3. Statistical Analysis

•Types of data and appropriate summarising techniques
•Understanding sample statistics and population parameters
•Statistical inference – confidence intervals and hypothesis testing
•Sample size calculations

Learning objectives are to develop the skills and knowledge to extend student's knowledge of the range of epidemiological study designs, to enable students to critically design, ethically conduct and clearly communicate research in a clinical/medical setting.
Furthermore, at the end of the unit, students will have a clear understanding of the key components of academic writing, be able to critically appraise literature to a high standard and develop a basic working knowledge of handling data.

The course combines formative and summative assessment methods. Formative assessment takes the form of online self-assessment multiple choice questions and self-reflections. 

Summative assessment includes:
- Written assignment (incl. essay) 34%
- Written assignment 33%
- Report/Statistical (computer-based) examination 33%

Summative assessments contribute to the overall mark for this unit.
Written assessments are moderated by internal and external examiners to maintain objectivity and uniformity in the assessment procedures.

Student feedback will be delivered online using the e-learning platform. Students can pose questions using the discussion board on the e-learning platform to aid their understanding of the course content and assessment methods. Comprehensive feedback will be given on all written assessments, fully justifying marks with written comments.

Students will be given the opportunity to complete an online survey to gather feedback on the unit.