Research Project (MRes)

• Credit value: 120 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Dr Tracey Barrett
• Assessment: an 8000-word literature review and 10-minute oral presentation (20%) and 25,000-word final written report and viva (80%)

The MRes research project represents the research component of your MRes, complementing the taught component. It offers the opportunity to join an academic research group in the school and/or the Institute of Structural Molecular Biology (ISMB) and to embark on a project that you will execute independently, and which will be substantially of your own design.

As a member of a research group, you will be expected to attend, and actively participate in, all relevant activities of the group, e.g. lab group meetings, attending research seminars relevant to the group's work, preparing internal reports. You will undertake extensive hands-on practical work in the laboratory or computationally and will conduct in-depth research into the literature. The module will help you to develop core computational and/or laboratory skills relevant to your MRes stream, and scientific judgement, and will give you insight into high-level scientific research as a possible career.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of the science in your project area, and its practical applications
• carry out the appropriate literature and data searches
• critically assess current literature relevant to the selected topic
• formulate a suitable plan of work for the project research, selecting the most appropriate methods and experimental designs (e.g. ensuring that appropriate controls are included, that the design is statistically sound)
• re-assess and modify the research plan as required throughout the duration of the project
• show practical competence in the laboratory, or computationally, by being able competently to perform a variety of manipulations appropriate to the investigation
• demonstrate an understanding of the techniques employed by correctly analysing and presenting your data
• demonstrate a critical and professional approach to the analysis of results and realise when mistakes have occurred and how they may be rectified.