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CHE-30011 - Module Specification
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2021/22 Last Updated: 16 February 2022

CHE-30011 - Forensic Science Team Research Project - ISP
Coordinator: David F Thompson Tel: +44 1782 7 34954
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 734921

Programme/Approved Electives for 2021/22

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2021/22

Investigating crime involves a significant amount of teamwork with various different agencies. The team research project is a year long investigation, carried out as a team, that allows you to develop your research skills in a particular area of forensic science. The aims of this module are: (i) to provide students with the opportunity to apply
and develop their knowledge and understanding of forensic science within a research environment; (ii) to implement recognised and develop novel forensic analytical techniques; (iii) to evolve their knowledge and use of and understand the relevance of statistical techniques and their interpretation; (iv) to use and develop interpersonal and communications skills working as part of a team; (v) to develop presentation and report-writing skills;(vi) to appreciate the role of ethical approval in forensic science project work.

Aims
The aims of this module are:

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/che-30011/lists

Intended Learning Outcomes

plan and initiate a programme of practical work into a clearly defined area of the proposed forensic project; will be achieved by assessments: 1,3
critically appraise information of relevance to the project (general) and specific area (individual) obtained from a variety of sources; will be achieved by assessments: 1,4
communicate verbally the project aims, key literature findings, and plans for practical work; will be achieved by assessments: 1
carry out a planned programme of investigative laboratory work, continually analysing the data obtained, enabling informed decisions to be made; will be achieved by assessments: 2,3
communicate verbally the results obtained and offer interpretation. Summarise the key findings; will be achieved by assessments: 2
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; will be achieved by assessments: 4
identify the need for an ethical appraisal of any work in forensic science and this project in particular and the process for obtaining ethical approval. will be achieved by assessments: 4

Study hours

Induction (3h)
Laboratory work and data analysis (57h)
Progress meetings (8h)
Cross-examination sessions (1.5h)
Literature research and private study (30.5h)
Report writing (50h)
These hours are 'per student'.


School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Group Presentation weighted 15%
Group presentation/ interview/ questioning on progress of project
Cross examination I : the student group (of four or five students) will be interviewed on a draft literature review of their overarching research topic. Around 10 minutes is allowed per student so typically, for a team of four, this interview would take around 45 minutes.

2: Group Presentation weighted 15%
Group presentation/ interview/ questioning on progress of project
Cross examination II: the student group (of four or five students) will be interviewed together on the individual sets of experimental results they have produced to date. Around 10 minutes minutes is allowed per student so typically, for a team of four, this interview would take around 45 minutes.

3: Laboratory Book weighted 10%
Laboratory notebook
Laboratory diary of practical work carried out comprising the results obtained and including a brief reflection (peer assessment) of the work of the others in the group (equivalent to 500 words) to include a mark for each team member which will be averaged across the team to contribute half the marks for this assessment item for each student; the remainder will be from the lab notebook itself. This material is mostly brief notes and a collection of tables, images, spectra, graphs etc indicative of the volume of practical work undertaken and the effective use of the practical sessions.

4: Report weighted 60%
Individual written report
Written report equivalent to 4000 words including submission of an ethics statement on the project.

Please note that for the 2021/22 Academic Year all programmes will be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there will 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: 16 February 2022