SERC2700 Research Project 1

2020

4.5

1 x 1-hour workshop weekly
1 x 62-hour industry placement per semester

Admission into BSCH-Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Enhanced Program for High Achievers)

Material covered in SERC1012 Introduction to Research.

This topic will impart skills in developing and implementing a research project and how to disseminate research outcomes both in an oral and written form. Students will undertake a research project under the guidance of a nominated supervisor. A research plan and results obtained from the project will be communicated by oral presentations and as a poster presented in a conference-like environment. Additionally, students will develop skills in writing and developing a research proposal, similar to that submitted to a grant-funding agency, based on their project.

The aims of this topic are focussed on obtaining explicit research planning and implementation skills through an industrial placement in a scientific research laboratory. The aims for research planning are for the student to be able to engage with relevant scientific literature and to write a literature review and a research proposal. In research implementation, the aims are for the students to undertake research in accordance with the plan that they will produce and communicate the outcomes of their work at a simulated scientific conference poster session in addition to oral presentations during the semester. These aims thus continue to develop each student's professional and generic skills of carrying out planned research, by developing written and oral communication skills in a scientific context and in fostering independent thinking, allowing them to be able to make informed, justifiable scientific arguments.

At the completion of the topic, students are expected to be able to:

1. Critically assess scientific literature
2. Conduct a directed literature review, putting their research project in an international context within their field of research
3. Develop and present a research proposal (both in written and oral forms)
4. Implement a Research Project
5. Communicate results of research