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FSC-40027 - Module Specification
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2024/25 Last Updated: 13 May 2024

FSC-40027 - Advanced Topics in Forensic Science
Coordinator: Jamie Pringle Room: WSF13 Tel: +44 1782 7 33163
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 7
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 734921

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

You will explore the current cutting-edge research topics on forensic sciences, critically evaluating these topics in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and significance for both the discipline and society. This module will be based on a combination of guest lectures and workshops covering computer aided literature searching, reviewing research manuscripts, web authoring techniques, and writing an article for a popular scientific magazine, as well as independent research. By the end of the module you will have further developed your research skills, have acquired in depth knowledge of forensic science topics at the forefront of the discipline, will have acquired the necessary skills to design and produce a web site to a professional standard and will have further developed your scientific communication skills.

Aims
The module aims to encourage students to explore and critically evaluate the cutting-edge research literature on forensic science in terms of its strengths and weaknesses as well as its significance for the discipline and society. The module also develops scientific communication skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

extract, evaluate and synthesise information from the current research-based literature on specific topics in forensic science using literature searching facilities: 1,2
author a set of self-contained Web pages to provide an overview of a contemporary topic in forensic science as well as critically evaluate the importance of the topic to both the discipline and society: 2

Study hours

Active learning hours:
21 hours synchronous workshop activities on literature searching, reference management and wiki authoring
4h workshop on specific wiki authoring
10 hours guest lectures from forensic science experts in contemporary topics
Independent study:
119 hours for research and completion of literature review and web site

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Short Paper weighted 50%
Article based on a detailed literature review on a specific forensic science topic
Carry out a review on a specific forensic science topic and present the results from this exercise via an article written for a popular scientific magazine (equivalent length = 2500 words).

2: Website weighted 50%
Web site based on a detailed literature review on a specific forensic science topic.
Carry out a detailed literature review on a specific forensic science topic and present the results from this exercise via an online method, equivalent to 2,500 words.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 13 May 2024