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ESC-40093 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2025/26 Last Updated: 04 December 2025

ESC-40093 - Research Design
Coordinator: Alix Cage Tel: +44 1782 7 33177
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 7
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 734414

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

This module provides an important foundation to support you to design and carry out independent research. It offers training that you can then tailor to individual project needs in preparation for your Dissertation project. The module will give you the tools to design and carry out high quality, ethical and robust research not only in your postgraduate degree, but also in future academic, industrial and commercial employment.

Aims
This module aims to develop student awareness of contemporary research methods and to equip students with skills to produce, interpret and contextualise complex information and data. It will provide students with the necessary advanced skills to plan their dissertation project and to carry out, interpret and present academically rigorous research.

Intended Learning Outcomes

contextualise and communicate the importance and limitations of a relevant research approach in a detailed literature review: 2
formulate conclusions about the direction and gaps in existing research areas in a comprehensive literature review: 2
develop an appropriate research methodology to test a research hypothesis in a safe, academically robust, ethical, repeatable and reproduceable way, showing awareness of research ethics: 1
define and use an appropriate set of advanced skills and tools to evaluate and analyse complex information, and data to formulate conclusions: 2

Study hours

22 hours of scheduled synchronous in situ sessions.
2 hours of additional drop in clinics.
31 hours of structured engagement with online resources and directed research
95 hours of independent learning hours preparing for coursework assessments and independent study, and receiving bespoke training if required.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Reflective Diary weighted 10%
A reflective diary document project progress.
Students will keep a 800-word reflective diary documenting their research design progress for their This will include four x 150 word structured reflections on supervisory meetings charting their research process, the preparation of draft work submitted, meetings with their advisor, and changes made in response to advice received. At least three of the reflections should document meetings supervisory meetings. It will also require a 200-word overall reflection on the research process.

2: Research Proposal weighted 90%
Research Proposal
Students will submit a detailed research proposal that will form the basis of their MSc dissertation project. The proposal will comprise key components guided, to some extent, by the UKRI (UK Research & Innovation) research grant application system, e.g. a rationale (underpinned by a critical literature review section), aims and objectives, clear and reproducible methodologies, justification of resources, Gantt chart, outline of beneficiaries, an impact summary (including how the research feeds into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals), and a lay summary. The assessment will be page limited with a maximum length of 12 pages (usual submission is around 10 pages) which includes figures and tables etc. The approximate word count would be around 4,000 words. The proposal will consider the ethics of the research project via a preliminary self-assessment of ethics (followed by a full ethical approval request if necessary) and will also include a risk assessment.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. 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/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 04 December 2025