Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course will provide students with theoretical concepts related to hypothesis formulation, experimental design and data analysis. This course will train students in the fundamentals of scientific research and will prepare them for their Research Project and for work in a research lab.

Teaching will take place over 4 weeks in semester 2 and will consist of lectures and tutorials of 1-2 hr(s) duration during the first 2 weeks of the course. The last 2 weeks of the course will be used for independent learning and preparation for the assessments.

None

None

None

1. 30% - Short written entry detailing the students' research questions and hypotheses (600 words) (ILO 1)

2. 70% - Oral presentation of a short research proposal (presentation time: 10 mins; Q&A: 5 mins) (ILOs 1-3)

This course aims to:

1. To provide students with the tools to develop a research question based on a critical analysis of the literature and formulate hypotheses containing testable predictions.

2. To train students in designing appropriate experiments to test their hypotheses.

3. To provide students with knowledge and understanding of fundamental statistical concepts of "Power calculation" and basic statistical analyses.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate scientific literature to generate research questions and associated hypotheses to be tested.

2. Critically appraise the advantages and limitations of published experimental designs and methods of data analyses.

3. Apply recognised principles of experimental design to create appropriate plans for experimental and data analyses.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.