BM7001 - Scientific Frameworks For Research (2025/26)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2025/26 | |||||||||||||||
| Module title | Scientific Frameworks For Research | |||||||||||||||
| Module level | Masters (07) | |||||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 20 | |||||||||||||||
| School | School of Human Sciences | |||||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 200 | |||||||||||||||
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| Running in 2025/26(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
The module is designed to provide you with an understanding of skills needed for the planning, organisation, and practice of science research. It will review different analytical approaches to problems and the need to consider statistics and quality control in project design. You will also consider the impact of appropriate safety, ethical, and resourcing implications in project design and operation.
Syllabus
Characteristics of the scientific process; controlled experimentation; types of experimental design.
Communicating scientific ideas; research literature and how to use it.
Principles of data analysis: hypothesis forming and testing; statistical modelling and testing
Developing and managing research projects
Professional codes of practice and ethics; intellectual property; data protection; health and safety, management skills (LO1-3)
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
You will learn and understand research planning and execution through lectures, workshops and IT-based practicals. Throughout the module, you will be guided towards the use of IT-based approaches to literature searching, data analysis, and the presentation of results, and you will be expected to exploit these fully and effectively in your work. Directed study is provided in the form of practice statistical problems and analyses. On completion of this module students’ provide an evaluation of how the module allowed them to develop skills such as information technology, organisational skills, team building, communication time management, and working under pressure and leadership and management skills
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, you will:
1. Develop a deep and systematic understanding of the principles of experimental design, including the need for randomisation, replication, and control. Understand the implications and importance of the research on various incidental topics, including ethics, health and safety, resourcing, data protection, and intellectual property rights.
2. Demonstrate a basic understanding of statistical modelling; identify appropriate tests for a given dataset; run a variety of statistical tests using a commercially available software package
3. Analyse and critically evaluate published research articles; locate literature relevant to a scientific topic using appropriate databases and search techniques.