Unit Outline

This unit will consolidate and build on research skills that have been developed in first units within the Bachelor of Medical Research and will cover the principles of research design and analysis, ethics in medical research, scientific controversy, scientific critique and scientific communication. This unit will allow students to develop these skills in a collaborative and supportive environment through interactive group activities and engagement with leading medical researchers in the School of Medicine. The concepts that students engage with are designed to provide them with the skills necessary for working in the medical research workforce and/or continuing their education.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Evaluate the scientific integrity of medical research and discuss ethical, legal, social and cultural issues relating to medical research
2.	Communicate (both verbally and in written formats) medical research effectively to a broad audience.
3.	Evaluate scientific literature and examine the validity of media reporting of medical research.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CAM103 or CZZ103

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Case analysis and reflection (x 2)	Week 4	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Debate (oral presentation)	Week 8	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Essay	Week 14	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Case analysis and reflection (x 2)

Task Description:

You will be provided with two case studies - 30% (15% each) during the semester. You will need to:
- Reflect on the study and identify any potential issues of ethics and integrity and provide a justification for your comments.
- Outline how you would undertake the task to ensure compliance with relevant codes, polices or issues or social/cultural relevance.

Further guidelines and assessment criteria will be provided on MyLO

Tasks will be due in weeks 4 and 7.

Task Length:

600-800 words

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Evaluation and discussion of the case including justification	LO3
2	Application of ethical/legal/social/cultural principles	LO1, LO2

Assessment Task 2: Debate (oral presentation)

Task Description:

Debate (oral presentation)
In small groups, you will contribute to a debate on a contemporary issue in medical research. Your group will be provided with a topic and assigned to the positive or negative team. As a group, you will need to research the topic and provide an evidence based argument. Each student on the team will compose and deliver a short oral presentation in support of their position. This will be followed by a rebuttal and questions from audience. Further guidelines will be provided on MyLO.

The debates will take place during class time and will also be peer assessed (assessment criteria and mark breakdown will be available on MyLO.

Students will receive Individual and Team marks for each criteria

The debates will take place in weeks 8 - 10. See MyLO for further information.

Task Length:

3 min presentation (per student) + 3min rebuttal and questions (group)

Due Date:

Week 8

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Presentation skills	LO2
2	Identification and exploration of key themes and issues	LO1
3	Construction and delivery of argument/narrative	LO2
4	Use of evidence/literature to support argument	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Essay

Task Description:

You will discuss a scientific topic that has been recently reported within mainstream media (including digital, press, social media or podcasts). You will explore how the topic was reported, the balance and appropriateness of the reporting and consider its validity by comparing to and reflecting on primary published sources of information.

Further guidelines and information will be provided on MyLO

Task Length:

1500-2000 words

Due Date:

Week 14

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Content and development of ideas	LO1
2	Evaluation of literature and media reporting	LO3
3	Presentation of information and writing	LO2
4	Citations and Referencing	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.