NES8316 : Dissertation Preparation
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Helen Adamson
- Lecturer: Dr Janet Simkin
- Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To support student transition to postgraduate study and to introduce students to field skills along with research, planning, analytical and scientific writing skills to plan and carry out a dissertation.
Outline Of Syllabus
• Searching literature, referencing using Endnote
• Advanced Word Processing
• Managing data with Excel
• Developing a hypothesis and research questions, experimental design
• Thinking and writing critically
• Writing scientifically: a scientific paper, a PIR
• Field skills
• Project planning
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 40:00 | 40:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 20:00 | 20:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 5 | 2:00 | 10:00 | Computer practical |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 4 | 7:30 | 30:00 | Labs/field trips |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Workshops to allow students to explore the skills they need.
A combination of online lectures with associated practicals to allow students to learn theory then practise and develop academic and professional skills
Lab work and/or field trip to learn and reinforce key features of the species.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 1 | M | 100 | Project Inception Report. Project plan and design, risk assessment, and COSHH, ethical assessment and timeline. Approx 2000 words (Submitted in Semester 2) |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | Canvas quizzes to assess species identification |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The PIR will assess students' ability to search literature, reference, plan an experiment and word process professionally
The formative assessments on Canvas can be repeated by students to reinforce their skills
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- NES8316's Timetable