This course will cover the broad topic of scientific research and writing skills. It will start with the principles of scientific enquiry and study design. Systematic literature searches will be covered as well as basic statistics. Examples of published research in the field of Critical Care or related clinical fields will be explored and critically appraised for relevance, validity, bias and applicability. Students will have the opportunity to learn and practice scientific writing skills.

A variety of teaching methods will be scheduled over 6 weeks including online lectures, live tutorials, webinars and reading material with an online discussion forum in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

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1. Written assignment: Perform a literature search on a topic related to Critical Care or other relevant fields -1000 words then develop a research question. Design a project using an appropriate method to answer this question replicating the introduction and methods section of a scientific paper (80%)

2. Presentation: (20%)

The aim of the course is to improve the students' knowledge and skills in identifying relevant published research in the field of critical care or related clinical fields.

In addition, students will improve their ability to appraise published research, apply an analytical approach and eloquently present scientific work in both written and oral form.

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

■ Conduct literature searches and critically appraise literature in the field of Critical Care or related clinical fields to make informed judgements about the strength of published literature

■ Critically discuss research methods and important elements of study design

■ Compose and articulate well structured scientific arguments in written and oral form 

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