Students will undertake an independent research project focused on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Projects may involve laboratory-based research or a systematic literature review. Through this process, students will develop skills in scientific writing by producing a dissertation and will present their findings in an oral format.

The project may require regular laboratory attendance, and regular meetings with the project supervisor and attendance at research group meetings and seminars. The project will take place over the summer term, full time.

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The project assessment will consist of the following components:

Dissertation (65%) (ILO1- ILO6)

■ An individual written report of 6,000-8,000 words formatted in appropriate scientific style as if in a manuscript submitted for publication.

■ The report will be assessed by two independent markers and the grade awarded will be an "agreed" mark.

Oral Presentation (20 minutes, 20%) (ILO1- 4, ILO7)

■ A short presentation of the project (followed by questions) to an audience consisting of fellow students and teaching staff. The presentation will be assessed by two assessors.

Supervisor Report (15%) (ILO8)

■ The supervisor will provide a grade based on the performance of the student

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

To develop students' ability to plan and execute an independent research project in cardiovascular research, including critical literature review, culminating in a written dissertation and the presentation and discussion of research findings.

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

1. Design, plan, and execute a research project, either lab-based or systematic literature review in an area of cardiovascular or metabolic disease.

2. Critically appraise the literature in the field of the research project.

3. Develop practical laboratory and/or clinical skills or, in dry projects, information retrieval, data synthesis and handling.

4. Select and justify appropriate methods for data collection.

5. Critically analyse and interpret data and communicate results in a systematic manner.

6. Organise and complete a written research report, formatted for submission to a peer-reviewed journal, that includes explanatory hypotheses, critical evaluation, limitations, and future directions.

7. Communicate the research project findings and relevance to peers and teaching staff in a concise and clear manner through an oral presentation.

8. Demonstrate independence by managing time, meeting deadlines, and respecting the time and contributions of supervisors and peers.