Keele Badge

FSC-30021 - Module Specification
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2023/24 Last Updated: 13 February 2024

FSC-30021 - Forensic Science Research Project (30 credit)
Coordinator: Christopher Aris
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office: 01782 734921

Programme/Approved Electives for 2023/24

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2023/24

This is the flagship module of the Forensic Science programme, with the independent research projects showcasing students' ability to identify a topic within forensic science and subsequently plan and execute a research project, analyse data, and present results.

Aims
The aim of this module is to allow forensic science students to undertake an independent research project. This will enable the student to design an appropriate experiment to test a scientific hypothesis. During this module, they will gain experience in research design, data collection and analysis, and science communication in both written and oral form.

Intended Learning Outcomes

plan and initiate a programme of practical work into a clearly defined area of the proposed forensic project: 1,3
communicate verbally the project aims, key literature findings, and plans for practical work: 1,2,3
carry out a planned programme of investigative laboratory work, continually analysing the data obtained, enabling informed decisions to be made: 3
communicate verbally the results obtained and offer interpretation. Summarise the key findings: 2,3
produce an individual project report outlining the project background, individual results and interpretation, group results and their relevance, a critical evaluation of findings overall, and conclusion: 3
identify the need for, and complete, ethical appraisal and/or risk assessment of any work in forensic science and this project in particular: 1
critically appraise information of relevance to the project (general) and specific area (individual) obtained from a variety of sources: 2,3

Study hours

Scheduled teaching hours: 140
Laboratory work and data analysis - 72
Module and lab inductions - 8
Progress meetings - 15
Lectures and problem classes - 40
Training - 3
Poster presentation - 2
Independent learning hours: 160
Research and private study - 30
Report writing - 100
Research proposal writing - 20
Poster writing and preparation - 10


School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Research Proposal weighted 15%
Project Proposal
Written project proposal detailing the rationale, plan, ethical appraisal, risk assessment, and methods of the main research project. This will include all completed ethics, risk assessment, and COSHH (where appropriate) forms. This assessment will allow students to fully prepare their projects before conducting them (equivalent to 1000 words).

2: Oral Presentation weighted 15%
Poster presentation
Presentation of research via conference style A0 summary poster. Around 10 minutes is allowed per student to present and posters to be equivalent to 1000 words.

3: Report weighted 70%
Research project report
An individual report write-up of research project equivalent to 7000 words, including submission of ethics form and risk assessments (previously included in project proposal), and laboratory book (lab notes) for the project.

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 February 2024