Honours Assessments
Breakdown of Honour's Assessments
Summary of Assessments:
Literature Review
- 3,000 words
- Should give a detailed account of published scientific investigations which are relevant to the project being undertaken. It should contain an introduction, and aims, hypotheses and methods sections.
- The introduction should identify the limitations of the literature and areas of controversy and assess them critically.
- It should be adequately referenced with recent and appropriate studies and have clear and logical flow.
- The aims, hypotheses and methods sections should be between 250-300 words only (i.e. approximately a tenth of the literature review).
- The general and referencing style should follow the “School of Medical Sciences Honours Report Instructions to Authors”.
- Penalties will apply for an inability to observe the word limit.
Literature Review Marking Criteria (95KB)
Due - 22nd of April, 5pm (late
penalties apply).
Length - Not more than 3,000 words.
Copies - Three (comb bound).
Attachment - One
assignment coversheet
Note - The literature reviews for the part-time students commencing in S1 2008 are due at 12pm Wednesday 05/11/08.
Introductory Seminar
- The introductory seminar is a 10 minute presentation with 5 minutes of questions.
- The presentation should cover the background and methods of the project and not contain any preliminary results.
- The introduction of the talk should include a critical analysis of strengths and limitations of the literature.
- The hypotheses and aims should be clearly stated and relate to the strengths and limitations of the literature identified.
- The methods should be explained clearly and concisely
- The seminar should have clear and logical flow, good pace (i.e. neither hurried nor laboured) and use good visual quality slides.
- The student should demonstrate an understanding of the questions raised during question time by giving appropriate answers.
- All aspects of the seminar should be able to be understood by a non-expert audience
Introductory Seminar marking Criteria (100KB)
Date -9th and 10th of June
Venue -BioMed B
Length - 10 minute presentation, 5 minute question time.
Topic - Background & methods and NOT preliminary results.
Timetable -
Introductory Seminars
Note - The introductory seminars for the part-time students commencing in S1 2009 or Full-time students commencing S2 2009 are held in November with the final seminars of the part-time 2008 and full-time 2009 students. See "Final Seminar" below for dates and timetable details.
Project Manuscript
- Guidelines set out in the School of Medical Sciences Instructions to Authors
- Abstract, Acknowledgments, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion & References.
- Word count 5,000 words. Excluding the abstract, acknowledgements and references sections, as well as an supplementary data (if present),tables, figures and legends used in the text.
- Material needed for a complete understanding or evaluation of the work, but which does not fit well in the chosen journal's manuscript format, should be included as supplementary data.
- All work which is integral to the manuscript but was not performed by the honours student (i.e. was undertaken by another member of the supervisor's and/or co-supervisor's research group) is to be clearly disclosed in the Methods and Results sections of the Project Manuscript, where appropriate.
- The referencing style of the project manuscript should also comply with the guidelines set in the School of Medical Sciences Instructions to Authors to Authors.
Project Manuscript Marking Criteria (pdf)
Student Interview Marking Criteria (pdf)
Due - 4th of November 5pm (late penalties apply).
Student Inquiries Office (MG15), School of Medical Sciences
Length- Not more than 5,000 words.
Copies - Three (comb bound).
Attachment - One
assignment coversheet
Note - The project manuscripts for part-time students commencing in S1 2008 are also due on the above date. The project manuscripts for part-time students commencing in S1 2009 are due in November 2010. The project manuscripts for full-time students commencing in S2 2009 are due in June 2010.
Final Seminar
The final seminar is a 10 minute presentation with 5 minutes of questions. The presentation should largely cover the results of research project. A clear, concise and appropriate introduction should be provided which identifies the limitations of the literature and areas of controversy. Clear and valid aims and hypotheses should also be stated. The results should reflect a significant body of work including sufficient controls and replicates and analysis of data using appropriate statistical tests. Presentation of the results should be clear and logical and should use figures, tables, etc. The significance of any important findings should be addressed and appropriate conclusions made. The results of the study should be placed within a broader context and suggestions should be made for future experiments. The seminar should have clear and logical flow, good pace (i.e. neither hurried nor laboured) and use good visual quality slides and/or overheads. The student should demonstrate understanding of the questions raised during question time by giving appropriate answers. Each student’s final seminar presentation will be assessed by their two examiners.
Final Seminar Markign Criteria (pdf)
Date -11th, 12th and 13th of November .
Venue - TBA.
Length - 10 minute presentation, 5 minute question time.
Topic - Results of research project.
Timetable -
Final Seminars
Note - The final seminars for part-time students commencing in S1 2008 and the introductory seminars for part-time students commencing in S1 2009 are also held on the above dates. The final seminars for part-time students commencing in S1 2009 will be held in November 2010. The final seminars for students commencing S2 2009 are held in July with the introductory seminars of the students commencing full- time S1 2010
Student Interview
To facilitate assessment of the project manuscript, the two examiners will interview the student one week after the submission of the project manuscript. This interview will be conducted in the presence of the supervisor and the Course Coordinator and will be not more than 15 minutes in duration. Laboratory notebooks, or a (single) photocopy of all relevant sections thereof, must be available at the interview. During this interview the student should address all queries, clearly demonstrate that they understand the project's methods and can place the project's findings in the context of past studies, as well as make suggestions for future experiments. The student will then leave the interview and following a further 5 minutes of discussion between the two examiners and the supervisor, the supervisor will provide their mark for the student's performance. The supervisor will then leave the interview and the examiners will provide their final marks for the project manuscript and interview. The examiners' marks for each assessment will then be tallied and checked for major decrepancies. In the unlikely event that the assessments are seriously and justifiably discrepant, the Course Coordinator will obtain assessments from additional staff members.
Project Manuscript & Student Interview Assessment Form (104KB)
Date - 16th, 17th and 18th of November.
Venue - TBA.
Length - 15 minutes of examiner questions
Timetable -
Student Interviews
Note - The student interviews for part-time students commencing in S1 2008 are also held on the above dates. The student interviews for part-time students commencing in S1 2009 will be held in November 2010.
Laboratory Performance
- Initiative, independence
- Originality
- Enthusiasm, selfmotivation, perseverance
- Planning and preparation of experiments
- Organisation of time
- Laboratory skills in techniques required
- Laboratory notebook/ Organisation and analysis of data
- Accuracy and precision
- Knowledge of relevant literature
- Application of literature to interpretation of results
- Awareness of limitations of the study
- Appreciation of future directions
- Ability to work as a member of a research team
Research Skills Test
60 min
- MCQ & short answer (5min) questions
- Covering all the material presented in the Research Skills Seminars & Techniques Workshops
Honours Grades
| >85 (Hons 1): | Work of superior quality in all aspects of research, scientific writing, and oral presentation, demonstrating the ability to organise information in a clear and concise manner, the integration of information from a wide range of sources and containing clear examples of excellent critical evaluation. |
| 75-84 (Hons 2.1): | Work of very good quality in all aspects of research, scientific writing, and oral presentation, but showing lesser ability to organise information in a clear and concise manner, integrate information from range of sources and critically evaluate the literature and research data. |
| 65-74 (Hons 2.2): | Good quality in all aspects of the Literature Review but with inadequacies in understanding, critical skills, organisation and presentation. |
| 50-64 (Hons 3): | Adequate quality work with significant deficiencies in understanding, critical skills, organisation and presentation |
Attendance Requirements
The course extends from early February to late November (session 1 commencement) or early July to late June (session 2 commencement). Attendance requirements will be dictated by the nature of the work in relation to preparing and writing an essay and subsequently a thesis, preparing and delivering two seminars and by the nature of the research project. Attendance requirements will be agreed mutually between student and supervisor, depending on the nature of the work at the time. As with academic staff, the minimum time required is standard working hours on weekdays.
Penalties
A penalty of 1% of the total honours mark will be imposed per day for the late submission of the literature review and/or the Project Manuscript, except where an extension to the deadline has been applied for and granted. Application for an extension must be made to the course coordinator, and will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.
Grievance Resolution
If you have a grievance, in the first instance, you should consult the Honours Coordinator then the Head of School. If you are still unable to resolve any grievance, you should consult the School's nominated Grievance Resolution Officer,
Dr Priti Pandey, ext. 52483