AD3RES: Independent Research Project

Module code: AD3RES

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 40

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2 / Summer / Semester 1 / Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Gillian Rose, email: g.rose@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module builds on the skills, knowledge and experience that you’ve gained throughout your degree course. You will identify a suitable research topic, develop an hypothesis, plan and conduct a research project. Using your statistical skills you will analyse the results of your research project and rely on your critical analyses skills to interpret the data. Your research will be presented to your peers and the wider School of Agriculture, Policy and Development via a scientific poster presentation and you will produce a written dissertation. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Manage a project from conception to completion including identifying an appropriate topic, following instructions including and editing/formatting details and managing the process within the required timeframe.   
2. Critically evaluate literature from a range of relevant sources and use this to develop research questions and hypotheses for the project.  
3. Identify, appraise and select appropriate research methods, using qualitative and/or quantitative methods to collect data where relevant and critically analyse the results/outcome, using statistical tests where appropriate.  
4. Present and discuss the outcome of the project in the form of a written dissertation, using appropriate use of IT and acknowledging sources using the Harvard referencing system.   

Module content

Semester 2 (Part 2)

Students will be introduced to the dissertation process and the skills required to undertake this through a series of taught sessions.Students are encouraged to attend the Part 3 dissertation poster session and to engage the students in dissertation-related conversation.Students must complete the Dissertation Survey on Blackboard to choose their topic, allowing a supervisor to be allocated.The first assessment, Justification of Research, is due at the end of the summer term of Part 2.Students may being their dissertation over the summer vacation.

Semesters 1 and 2 (Part 3)

Students will start/continue with their independent research project, being responsible for managing their time effectively to produce a high quality research project.Support is provided by their allocated supervisor. In Semester 2 a poster presentation will encourage further dissemination and discussion with a range of staff and students.The culmination of the module is a written dissertation.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

This module introduces the research process with a series of lectures.

With the support of a dissertation supervisor, students should confidently continue to lead and drive their independent research project.

•  Students will be introduced to the dissertation in the summer semester of Part 2

The study hours listed for Semester 2 include hours in Part 2 and hours in Part 3.

Study hours

At least 4 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative feedback on one chapter of the dissertation, date to be agreed with supervisor.

Formative feedback on one draft of the scientific poster.

Reassessment

Additional costs