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 you 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 you engage with are designed to provide you with the skills necessary for working in the medical research workforce and/or continuing your 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 ethical, legal, social and cultural issues related to medical research
2	Communicate (both verbally and in written formats) medical research effectively to a broad audience using relevant scientific terminology
3	Evaluate scientific literature and 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:	Weekly Reflection	Week 1	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Debate (oral presentation)	Week 9	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Essay	Week 13	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Weekly Reflection

Task Description:

Each workshop will end with reflective evaluation of a contemporary topic in medical research. A worksheet containing specific prompts and/or case studies will be provided and you will have 30 minutes to complete your reflective evaluation. Marks from workshops across the semester will be collated and contribute 30% to your final grade.

Further guidelines and assessment criteria will be provided on MyLO

Task Length:

1 page worksheet each week

Due Date:

Week 1

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Evaluate a contemporary topic in medical research	LO3
2	Apply knowledge of ethical/legal/social/cultural principles to a medical research topic	LO1
3	Communicate using relevant scientific terminology	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Debate (oral presentation)

Task Description:

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 research the topic and develop an argument using evidence from the scientific literature. 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 (assessment criteria and mark breakdown will be available on MyLO).

The debates will take place in week 9. See MyLO for further information.

Task Length:

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

Due Date:

Week 9

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explore key themes and issues related to a contemporary medical research topic	LO1
2	In a team, communicate orally a cohesive argument related to a medical research topic using relevant scientific terminology	LO2
3	Apply knowledge of scientific literature to defend a position related to a medical research topic	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.

A Confirmation of Learning Check or VIVA may be required as a component of this assessment task

Further guidelines and information will be provided on MyLO

Task Length:

1500-2000 words

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Contextualise a current issue in medical research	LO1
2	Evaluate the integrity of media reporting of scientific literature	LO3
3	Communicate in written format using relevant scientific terminology and appropriate citation of scientific literature	LO2

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.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

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.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

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.