Module PHAR4013: Research Project

Department: Health [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

PHAR4013: Research Project

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• PHAR4003 - Targeted Therapeutics - optimisation, critique and responsibility

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To develop a focused research output from an area of pharmacy chosen by the individual student.
• To develop practical research skills and demonstrate the potential of future study within a specific area of pharmacy

Content

• Students will be expected to apply their understanding of research methodology, statistics and ethics developed earlier in the programme electing to continue their studies in a particular research area of pharmact (pharmaceutical chemistry, analysis, drug discovery, formulation and clinical pharmacy). Projects will include significant hospital, community and general practice-based exposure where students will gain experience of each particular environment. In addition, many projects will be facilitated using regional contacts and will be facilitated through links to the NHS, community pharmacy and local industry. Where possible we will attempt to submit student projects for publication. Whilst the primary purpose of this kind of project will be the collection of data to satisfy the requirements of the project, students will have to demonstrate communication and team-working skills in order to ensure that their work is successful.
• Aspects of theory, practical skill or ethical issues will be covered within each research group and students will be supported by a named academic supervisor working in your area.

Learning Outcomes

• originality in the application of knowledge around a research topic relating to pharmacy;

• the capacity to apply a range of laboratory techniques, analyse the data and present the outcomes in an appropriate form;
• the ability to generate, search for, analyse and evaluate experimental data and relevant primary literature;
• preparedness to act autonomously and efficiently in the planning and the ability to formulate and justify judgements in the absence of complete data and communicate their conclusions to patients, the public and professional colleagues;
• implementation of responsibilities at a professional level;
• a working understanding of research ethics and the means of gaining approval for research projects;
• the ability to conceptualise, design and carry out a Masters level research project related to pharmacy. This will entail a comprehensive understanding of specialist research techniques and the ability to relate these to advanced scholarship.

• the ability to express one’s own ideas orally and in writing, to summarise the ideas of others and to distinguish between the two;
• the ability to manage time to meet a set of pre-determined deadlines both as an individual and as part of a team;
• the ability to understand and evaluate numerical data using basic statistical skills;
• the ability to outline key concepts and apply them to a specific issue, problem or question;
• the ability to apply basic theoretical frameworks at an intermediate level;
• confidence in identifying, analysing, interpreting and solving problems creatively using appropriate knowledge and skills;
• the ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary and multicultural team and to address the relevance and importance of ideas with open-mindedness;
• the ability to articulate and communicate ideas, principles, theories, problems and solutions verbally and in writing to specialist and non-specialist audiences;
• the ability to distinguish and differentiate conceptual/theoretical models, and critically assess and evaluate their comparative strengths and weaknesses, detect false logic or reasoning, identify implicit values, defines terms adequately and generalise appropriately;
• self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level;
• confidence in dealing with complex issues, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences; and
• initiative and adaptability in independent research and sustaining a project to deliver Masters level outcomes.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• There will be a small number of lectures to reinforce student understanding of the ethical issues associated with research. This is particularly important in the context of research projects which will take place within the NHS. Other issues around health and safety will be delivered in this way. These lectures will be designed to ensure that the whole student group has an understanding of fundamentally important concepts relating to the research project.
• Research seminars will take place once each term where students will be expected to discuss the research project within the group, receiving constructive comment from academic staff and student peers. The seminars will help students understand context of the research group and will give them insight into how research is conducted at postgraduate level. These sessions and working within a research team as a whole aid student understands the communities of practice that exist within research teams in general.
• Students will undertake a minimum of one day per week actually collecting data for the project. In terms of laboratory projects this one day per week will be very clearly identified, however in the practice environment it is likely that students will be required to adapt with clinics, ward rounds all other relevant activities involved within the project.
• The final submission will take the form of a bound report which must be constructed along the lines of guidance given and should include an abstract of the work in the form of a typical conference submission. Student work within a breadth of disciplines covering quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and therefore will be given clear guidance as to the format of the report where appropriate to the specfic area of study. The report will be a maximum of 15,000 words. The students must ensure that the submission is appropriately written and includes extensive discussion of the field, using appropriate references throughout.
• In addition to bound report students are required to produce an individual poster summarising the work, which will be presented as part of a research seminar within each particular discipline. These posters will be open to peer review from other students working in the area and from academic staff throughout the division. Lastly the student is required to give a formal presentation to staff and students involved in a particular area where the project will be discussed in depth and the student is expected to answer a full range of questions. The students will use the poster and presentation to reflect upon their work and the process of completing it, this will include consideration of working within a laboratory or clinical environment and integrating as a member of such teams.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Oral presentations within each research group once each term. Students will be given opportunities to have their progress reviewed by the academic supervisor at various points during the year, prior to submission of the final report.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University