HLTH SC 4202 - Honours Research Skills (Adelaide Medical School)

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2019

A course covering topics relating to the development of key skills associated with advanced scientific research. Students will develop research skills including safe working practices, scientific method, research design and analysis, data recording and maintenance, ethical requirements and the ability to critically analyse and communicate scientific research, in the context of cross-disciplinary research within the Adelaide Medical School. Assessment includes Non-expert seminar, Literature review and literature assessment task.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code HLTH SC 4202
    Course Honours Research Skills (Adelaide Medical School)
    Coordinating Unit Medical Studies
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 6
    Contact 20 weeks full-time
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange
    Prerequisites Credit average or above in 3rd year of an approved degree program or approval by School Honours committee, each subject to supervisor acceptance to work on specified research project
    Corequisites Honours Research Project
    Restrictions Only available for students enrolled in BHMS(Hons)
    Course Description A course covering topics relating to the development of key skills associated with advanced scientific research. Students will develop research skills including safe working practices, scientific method, research design and analysis, data recording and maintenance, ethical requirements and the ability to critically analyse and communicate scientific research, in the context of cross-disciplinary research within the Adelaide Medical School. Assessment includes Non-expert seminar, Literature review and literature assessment task.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Janet Coller

    Course Coordinators
    A/Prof Joanne Bowen
    Dr Janet Coller
    Dr Carmela Ricciardelli
    A/Prof Richard Young
    Dr Peter Zalewski
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1. To demonstrate the ability to undertake critical analysis of peer-reviewed scientific research.
    2. To recognise and apply skills associated with scientific research across diverse disciplines.
    3. To demonstrate the capacity to evaluate and communicate the key elements of a research paper in the written form.
    4. To engage in cross-discipline scientific research by way of a research seminar series and journal clubs.
    5. To communicate scientific information clearly and concisely in written and spoken English.
    6. To develop and demonstrate advanced research skills.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1,2,3,6
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    1,2,3
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    3,5,6
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    2,3,4
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    4,5
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    2,5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    School-based research, Honours workshops on research skills (online and face-to-face) and regular attendance at local research seminars.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    Honours research skills is a 20-week course in which students acquire and develop research skills taught by school academics and affiliates. In order to facilitate development of research communication skills, students will be required to attend weekly research seminars relevant to their research areas.
    Workshop/tutorial material will be supplied using MyUni.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Please refer to MyUni.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Please refer to MyUni.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment task Assessment type Weighting Hurdle Learning course objective(s) being addressed
    Non-expert seminar on original research paper Summative 20% no 1, 5, 6
    Literature review Summative 50% yes 1, 3, 5, 6
    Literature assessment task Summative 30% no 1, 2, 3, 5
    Assessment Detail
    Non-expert seminar: Oral presentation of an original research paper within the student’s field of research covering: project background; hypotheses; aims; research methods; research outcomes, significance, strengths and limitations and ethical considerations. It will consist of a 10 minute oral presentation followed by 5 minutes of questions.

    Literature review: A literature review of 3000 words (excluding references) plus 250 word summary, demonstrating evidence of both in-depth knowledge of key literature underpinning the student’s Honours research project, and broader reading around the subject matter, as appropriate for the specific research topic. In addition to reviewing the appropriate literature, this review will identify the key basis for / logic underlying the experiments proposed for the thesis project, including identification of the hypotheses, aims and application of potential outcomes.

    Literature assessment task: Students are asked to evaluate aspects of at least one basic science and one clinical research paper in a 3-4 hour test. Questions will evaluate the ability to identify and summarise key information including rationale, methodological and ethical aspects, interpret key results including figures or tables, describe the evidence base for conclusions, and evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the studies. Answers will need to draw on material covered in workshops, such as good study design and appropriate use of statistics, as well as information in specific papers.
    Submission
    Where applicable, all submissions should be made via MyUni unless otherwise directed. For the oral presentation, prior submission of presentation slides will be required before the presentation date. The literature assessment task will be sat within the School and submitted in hard copy upon completion.

    In alignment with the School of Medicine Policy of grading penalties late submission will attract a 10% deduction and a further 10% for each day late after that. This penalty will be enforced from the submission deadline (i.e. a noon deadline and a 12:01pm submission will attract a 10% penalty). Extensions of deadlines are only available under specific circumstances and must be negotiated with the School Honours coordinators well ahead of the due date.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M11 (Honours Mark Scheme)
    GradeGrade reflects following criteria for allocation of gradeReported on Official Transcript
    Fail A mark between 1-49 F
    Third Class A mark between 50-59 3
    Second Class Div B A mark between 60-69 2B
    Second Class Div A A mark between 70-79 2A
    First Class A mark between 80-100 1
    Result Pending An interim result RP
    Continuing Continuing CN

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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