Module BIOL3451: Literature Review

Department: Biosciences

BIOL3451: Literature Review

Prerequisites

• Satisfactory completion of at least two Level 2 modules in Biological Sciences selected from the following list: Ecology BIOL2461, Behaviour BIOL2511, Evolution BIOL2451, Plant Physiology BIOL2571, Cell Signalling BIOL2501, Development BIOL2471, Cell Biology BIOL2481, Molecular Biology BIOL2441, Metabolism BIOL2491, Integrated Physiological Systems BIOL2521, Microbiology BIOL2431, Immune Systems BIOL2421, Biomolecules BIOL2591

Corequisites

• At least two other level 3 modules in Biological Sciences, selected from the following list: Advanced Topics in Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour BIOL3561, Conservation Biology BIOL3551, Ecology in the Anthropocene BIOL3541, Advanced Topics in Development BIOL3521, Stress and Responses to the Environment BIOL3491, Crops for the Future BIOL3611, Cellular Biochemistry BIOL3601, Advanced Biomolecules BIOL3671, Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering BIOL3531, Ageing BIOL3591, Advanced Cell Biology BIOL3481, Biology of Disease BIOL3621, Genomics BIOL3651, Fieldcourse BIOL3161.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To carry out a study of research in a topic associated with biological sciences using the full resources of the scientific literature.
• To present the results of the study in the form of a critical review.
• To present the process taken to produce the review in a verbal commentary with academic staff.

Content

• Self-directed study.
• Workshops and tutorials in literature database searching, presentation techniques and scientific illustration.

Learning Outcomes

• In depth knowledge and understanding of a selected topic in biological sciences.
• Knowledge of communication of scientific information in written form.

• To be able to access and evaluate information relevant to biological sciences from a variety of sources, and to prepare a written report on a specific topic that is organised and critical and takes account of current developments in research in the field.
• To be able to present the results of literature-based research in a form accessible to an audience of peers.

• Literacy, in being able to consult and extract information from printed and on-line archives.
• Communication skills, including the ability to synthesise information and produce a written review, and to discuss the process taken to complete the review and how conclusions were reached.
• IT skills, in use of online data bases and GenAI formatively to generate feedback and assist assessment literacy.
• Self-motivation, in self-guided learning, independent work on a review.

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

• Students will be allocated a supervisor.
• Literature review: a comprehensive review of scientific literature on a specific topic, agreed between student and supervisor. The student uses published information and database resources to produce a critical account of the topic, with an emphasis on current research and the context in which it is taking place. Assessment is based on a written review and accompanying verbal commentary. Formative assignments and feedback support the research and writing processes and articulating verbally these processes.
• Workshops; group teaching with active pedagogy to develop key skills and assessment literacy.
• Summative assessment consists of a 3000-word literature review and accompanying 10-minute verbal commentary addressing the process taken to write the review.
• The overall combined mark for the summative will be determined holistically having taken into account students' engagement with their in-year work (formative submissions and meetings with supervisors) as judged by their supervisor, performance in the written report, and performance in the verbal commentary.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Engagement with all formative activities contribute to the overall combined summative mark. Formative One – Tutorial to discuss student work comprising summaries of three research papers. Formative Two – Tutorial to discuss student work comprising a draft outline plan of the review structure and content. Formative Three – Tutorial to discuss student work comprising two pages of text.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.