| Unit name | Research Project in Physics |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHYS30034 |
| Credit points | 40 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Carrington |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Core physics at levels 4 and 5, physics laboratory units at level 4 and 5. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
PHYS30032 Industrial Group Project in Physics, PHYS30031 Physics Education |
| School/department | School of Physics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
This unit is the capstone unit for your degree; it is the opportunity to put all of your physics knowledge to bear on a singular problem in research. You will be a part of a research group in the School of Physics, conducting original research in order to contribute to the research output of the group. You will be working as part of a collaborative team to find a solution to an unknown problem which – if successful – will be suitable for publication or further dissemination. Fundamentally, it is your opportunity to validate your development as a physicist and to feel part of the wider Physics community.
We will also develop key skills in employability to support you in recognising your transferrable skills, identifying areas for development, and in presenting yourself at interview.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
As a capstone unit, everything you have done in the course of your studies will be relevant to your pursuit of the defined research problem; your technical laboratory skill, your coding skills, your ability to search for and to find appropriate literature and data to support your research findings are all clear skills which will be applied. You will also have studied a relevant topic area which is readily applied in your research context, however the reasoning skills and the physics intuition you have developed through the study of all other units in your programme are also relevant.
It is often difficult to identify how the skills you have developed in the course of studying a Physics degree will fit into the wider world of employment, and through the course of developing your research skills we will support you in developing awareness of the applicability of your skills.
An overview of content
You will choose your project from a list of available projects and will carry out the project either independently within the research group, or as a pair with another student, again within the research group. The project is student led and you will write a substantive report detailing the project, how it was approached and the results obtained. This may involve original practical experimental, theoretical or computational work, or may involve an original literature-based study of a research area.
You will also be given introductions to library structures, literature searching and the Science Citations Index to help you in developing your research skills. You will hone these through a self-paced active learning exercise to produce a literature review on your research project.
As there are no defined ‘hours of work’ for a project, please note the University Workload Statement; this 40cp unit should equate to around 400 hours of work to complete (from start of work to the end of assessment).
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
The project is a substantial exercise in which you will learn and demonstrate initiative and independence, bringing your diversity of knowledge and skills to bear on a particular topic. You will gain insight into tackling real problems rather than simply assimilating knowledge, and you will have an opportunity to realise your place in Physics, recognising the application of your skills in an appropriate context.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
The unit is organised through our on-line learning environment (OLE). This is where you will find information about the unit, schedules for assessment as well as for the personal development planning and other learning resources.
While there will be in-person masterclasses to support some of the content, it is expected that students individually practice the skills introduced in these masterclasses to support their independent group work in the context of the unit.
Some sessions may require preparation beforehand (reading a journal article, textbook chapter, watching a video etc.); where these materials are provided, you should aim to spend around one hour of preparation time for one hour of face-to-face teaching. This will allow you to make the most of class discussions and activities.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Throughout the project you will be directed by your academic supervisor and will also receive advice and feedback from a named assessor. The quantity and nature of contact will vary depending on the nature of the project, however you are expected to meet with your supervisor at least weekly. You should expect to gain feedback for example, on your experimental design, the results obtained, and your record keeping. Your feedback will be self-directed; if there are areas in which you feel you need feedback, you should discuss this with your supervisor.
Interim Report (mandatory formative assessment - 2,500 words). In this report you will outline the background to the project and your work completed to date. This will be marked similarly to
the final report and so it is an excellent opportunity for you to get practice at report writing and receive valuable feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The final assessment mark for the unit is broken down as shown below. Except where explicitly mentioned, the documents submitted for assessment should be entirely your own work
Presentation (10%). This will be given after the initial literature review stage of the project is completed. You will give a brief presentation about the background and aims of the project and also your plans. The presentation will be given to a small group of your peers, and an academic moderator. It will be assessed jointly by your peers and the staff moderator (50/50 split). In some cases, the assessment may be made by a small panel of academic staff only.
Poster Presentation (10%). After the completion of the practical work, you will produce a poster explaining the work done, results obtained and relevant background. The poster will be printed by the School and you will present the poster, along with other students, at the Poster Fair session. The poster will be assessed by academic staff, with the mark depending both on the poster itself and your presentation of it. Students working in pairs will submit one poster. Normally, each student in the pair will present their poster to a different academic assessor. The mark returned will be the same for both students, being the average of that given by each academic assessor.
Research Output (50%). This will assess the quality and quantity of the research outputs produced during your project. It will take into account your approach to the project, decisions taken during the project, analysis of results and understanding of the science. It will be assessed by drawing evidence from your final report (see below), laboratory notebook and a viva-voce examination (30 mins). Assessment will be made jointly by your supervisor and an independent assessor.
Final Report (30%). Your final report (6,000 words) will outline the aims of the project and its context in terms of the scientific background, the methods used to conduct the investigation, the result and their analysis and final discussion of the conclusions which can be drawn from your research. The assessment of the final report will not take into account the quality of the research outputs obtained in the project but rather your ability to report and explain the results, put them into context, and draw conclusions from them. Assessment will be made jointly by your supervisor and an independent assessor.
More detail about the assessment criteria for each of the above can be found in the ‘Project Handbook’ applicable to this unit.
When assessment does not go to plan:
If you do not pass the unit, you will usually be offered reassessment where permitted by the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes. The reassessment may not be in the same form as the original assessment but will test the same learning outcomes.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHYS30034).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
