project proposal

School of

Pharmacy and

Biomedical

Science

UCLan Coursework Assessment Brief Academic

Year

2020/21

Module Title: Research development Module Code:

PJ4022

Level 7

Research proposal

This assessment is

worth 100% of the

overall module mark

THE BRIEF/INSTRUCTIONS

The aim of this piece of coursework is to give you, the student, a better

understanding of how research projects are developed and managed. The proposal

should be 2000 words in length (±10%) and is worth 100% of your total mark.

The report should be produced using suitable software (e.g. MS Word). Any diagrams, chemical structures and equations should be illustrated using appropriate software packages that are compatible with the presentation software used. Available research project titles will be disseminated in due course for you to rank your preference of projects. The proposal must demonstrate your own critical analysis on the appropriate literature available and how they provide a rationale for your proposed study. You should plan carefully the structure and content of the report before writing. It is important that you present your information appropriately and clearly to support your discussion on the chosen topic. The format of the proposal will be similar to a research grant proposal and will

include the following sections:

You should include the following in your proposal:

• Full title of the research

• Background information of your chosen study (i.e. literature review)

• Research aims and objectives

• Methods to be used for the experiments

• Rationale for the proposed methods to be used for the investigation

• Methods of data analysis and the rationale

• Anticipated outcomes from the proposed experiments

• Scope and limitation of the planned study

• Study plan / Gantt chart

• References You should also include the following in the Appendix:

• COSHH, ethical approval and risk assessments of the planned experiments

• Cost of chemicals and suppliers (budget £600)

You should ensure you consider the following;

• What is the main theme of your discussion?

• What are the aims / objectives of the project?

• What is the ‘research question’ of the study proposed?

• How do you think you could present your argument clearly and precisely?

• What information is needed to support your discussion?

• Where / how / what (e.g. databases) will you use to do the literature search? e.g. From the lecture materials, then online paper searches etc.?

• Which papers would you be using to illustrate your ideas better?

• What information is necessary: e.g. - as an introduction or the background? What information should be provided to help the reader understand the chosen topic? - for the main body of text? – How to construct your argument clearly? - for the methods? – What methods have been used from the literature? How

/ why you may want to use / not use them for your project? You may find online searches such as Pubmed, ScienceDirect and Web of Knowledge useful for compiling your literature for this assignment. The MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) and the EMEA (European Medicines Agency) may also be useful to provide regulatory guidelines on medicinal products.

Associated Learning Outcomes

1. Source and critically evaluate relevant technical / research data and

publications

2. Develop an appropriate scientific research proposal which demonstrates effective time management and budget planning 3. Apply knowledge/theory to new situations that involve the formulation of hypotheses and experimental design.

PREPARATION FOR THE ASSESSMENT

In writing your proposal, you will need to take into account:

1. The analytic processes required to obtain data a. Discuss with your supervisor and tutors to have an idea of the types

of equipment and expertise we have available to you in the School and how you could utilise these for your project (if appropriate).

2. Budgetary costs associated with projects a. You have been given a budget (£600) to work with and you must not

overspend. You must factor in delivery charges for items where appropriate. Orders are not subject to VAT.

b. Your supervisor may already have some of the items you need for your project so these may be omitted from the budget planner,

however, you should at least refer to these items to indicate that you know they are required and would be included if the budget was available.

3. Possible contingency plans should parts of the project fail Not all projects go according to plan and you may find that you need to change the project slightly. It is always good to have an alternative plan of action.

Outline plan of research:

This section should provide a timeline for your project. The information can be

displayed as text and/or by using a Gantt chart.

‘A Gantt chart, commonly used in project management, is one of the most popular and useful ways of showing

activities (tasks or events) displayed against time. On the left of the chart is a list of the activities and along the

top is a suitable time scale. Each activity is represented by a bar; the position and length of the bar reflects the

start date, duration and end date of the activity. This allows you to see at a glance:

• What the various activities are

• When each activity begins and ends

• How long each activity is scheduled to last

• Where activities overlap with other activities, and by how much

• The start and end date of the whole project’

http://www.gantt.com/

Gantt charts can be created using specialised software, but for our purposes we can

create a similar chart using Word, PowerPoint or Excel (Gantt_Excel example)

*Gantt charts will not be counted in your word limit, but outside text will.

Budget:

Appropriate budgeting is one of the most important parts of any research proposal.

You do not have an infinite amount of money to undertake your research so every

penny counts. You must remember to include delivery charges, dry ice etc. in your

budget as these can often add a significant cost to your purchase.

We typically purchase our chemicals from the same few companies so your

supervisor should be able to provide you with these details. If you are working with

a specialist item, you may also need to obtain this information from your supervisor.

*This section will not be counted towards your word limit.

References:

Please make sure that your references are indicated correctly and appropriately in

your main text and referenced correctly in your reference list. You should use the

Harvard method of referencing. Although this section is not being counted towards

your word limit, you will be penalised if you do not follow the guidelines given.

You have teaching sessions which would support you to write excellent proposals.

You should also liaise with your project supervisor. You have been scheduled with

some drop-in sessions with your supervisor

*This section will not be counted towards your word limit.

Reading list is located at http://readinglists.central-

lancashire.ac.uk/lists/14406A39-23A0-6E64-4874-FCEC8F14D86D.html

First Upper second Lower second Fail

Knowledge Excellent use of taught material,

clearly extended by the use of

additional material. Major issues

clearly addressed, very good

evidence of wide reading around

the subject.

Very good use of

taught material, good

use of additional

material. Most of the

major issues clearly

addressed, good

evidence of reading

around the subject.

Good use of taught

material, some use

of additional

material. Some of

the major issues

addressed, limited

evidence of reading

around the subject.

Reliance on use of taught material,

no use of additional material. Some

of the major issues addressed, no

evidence of reading around the

subject .Poor in virtually all areas,

little or no knowledge of the subject

area demonstrated.

Comprehension Excellent understanding of the

subject. Very good

development of own ideas,

logical arguments clearly

presented and structured.

Very good

understanding of the

subject. Good

development of own

ideas, logical

arguments clearly

presented and

structured

Good understanding

of most aspects of

the subject. Some

development of own

ideas, logical

arguments mostly

clearly presented

and structured

Little understanding of the topic.

Little evidence of development of

own ideas, few logical arguments.

Evaluation

Very high level of independent

thinking demonstrated Excellent

evaluation of the evidence.

High level of

independent thinking.

Good evaluation of

the available

evidence.

Good level of

independent

thinking. Adequate

evaluation of the

evidence.

Little or no evidence of independent

evaluation presented.

Presentation

(in written

communication)

Material is presented to a very

high standard, all sources of

information properly

acknowledged and cited. No

errors in spelling or sentence

construction.

Material is presented

to a high standard,

most sources of

information properly

acknowledged and

cited. One or two

errors in spelling

and/or sentence

construction.

Material is presented

to a good standard,

most sources of

information properly

acknowledged and

cited. A few errors in

spelling and/or

sentence

construction.

Poor standard of presentation, few

references cited. Errors in main

body of the text and in the

reference list. May contain

significant errors in spelling and/or

sentence construction.

Many errors. Information sources

incorrectly/not cited or from an

inappropriate source.

RELEASE DATES AND HAND IN DEADLINE

You need to submit your report via Turnitin. You are also strongly advised to start preparing this report early before the deadline!

Assessment Release date: 21st September 2020 Assessment Deadline Date and time: Sunday 3rd January 2021 23:59

Please note that this is the final time you can submit – not the time to submit!

Feed forward would be provided during scheduled teaching session

Your feedback/ mark for this assessment will be provided by 25th January 2021 on

Blackboard. Individual feedback would be accessible through the submission

portal at a later date.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Assessment must be submitted using Microsoft Word and submitted electronically

on Turnitin.

The proposal should be 2000 words in length (±10%) and is worth 100% of your

total mark.

In marking, note that for submissions beyond 2000 words, nothing will be marked. The section above has stated what would not be included in your word count e.g. references and appendices Harvard style referencing must be used

HELP AND SUPPORT

• Questions arising from this assessment brief and academic support would be handled by 1. Emailing Dr Enoche Oga ([email protected]) 2. Discussing with your project supervisor (some dates are timetabled for this) 3. Discussed during workshop and seminar sessions

• For support with using library resources, please contact Louise Smith ([email protected]). You will find links to lots of useful resources in the My Library tab on Blackboard.

• If you have not yet made the university aware of any disability, specific learning difficulty, long-term health or mental health condition, please complete a Disclosure Form. The Inclusive Support team will then contact to discuss

reasonable adjustments and support relating to any disability. For more information, visit the Inclusive Support site.

• To access mental health and wellbeing support, please complete our online referral form. Alternatively, you can email [email protected], call 01772 893020 or visit our UCLan Wellbeing Service pages for more information.

• If you have any other query or require further support you can contact The <i>, The Student Information and Support Centre. Speak with us for advice on accessing all the University services as well as the Library services. Whatever your query, our expert staff will be able to help and support you. For more information , how to contact us and our opening hours visit Student Information and Support Centre.

• If you have any valid mitigating circumstances that mean you cannot meet an assessment submission deadline and you wish to request an extension, you will need to apply online prior to the deadline.

If you have any questions with regard to this assignment, please contact Dr Enoche Oga

Disclaimer: The information provided in this assessment brief is correct at time of

publication. In the unlikely event that any changes are deemed necessary, they will be

communicated clearly via e-mail and a new version of this assessment brief will be

circulated.

Version: 1