Undergraduate Course: Research Methods and Transferable Skills (GESC11005)

Course Outline
School	School of Geosciences	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Year 5 Undergraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	This course will enable students to learn general transferable skills and professional skills appropriate to their MEarthSci year, as well as help students manage the transition from working at an undergraduate to a postgraduate level.
Course description	Emphasis will be placed on small group teaching with strong staff-student interaction. Key analytical techniques used in geoscience research will be introduced through a series of short modules, both in terms of presenting the theoretical background to analytical techniques as well as actual hands-on training using equipment. Advantages and limitations of different techniques will also be compared and discussed. Students will be able to draw on the skills acquired during the course to plan and execute their independent research topic, but will also have the opportunity to become familiar with techniques more widely used in geoscience research. Core research skills will also be presented through a series of workshops, including how to determine the statistical validity of analytical and experimental data, comparing data and results with published literature, dealing with large data sets, presenting and describing data in both graphical and text-based methods, presenting data through verbal and poster presentations (at the level of a large scientific conference), and preparing scientific reports.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	While there are no pre-requisites for this course, only students who are accepted onto the MEarthSci programme can enrol in it.
Additional Costs	None.

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 25, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 71 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Written Exam: 0%, Course Work: 100 %, Practical Exam: 0%. Coursework 100% [Pebblepad Blog 100%] Assessment Deadlines Pebblepad Blog (Sem 1) Thursday, Week 11
Feedback	Opportunities for feedback are continuous throughout the course. Students are able to ask for verbal feedback weekly throughout the course informally. Formative feedback are available to students on their first few blog posts, through the comments mechanism, available in blogs.
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Gain an insight into a number of key analytical techniques used in geoscience and applicable to their research projects. Develop strong staff-student interaction allowing them to develop professional transferable skills. Understand the level of statistical validity of the data they collect (as well as the data of others), and to be able to discuss these. Students will be able to present and describe these data with graphical and text-based methods. Develop a range of science communication skills from public outreach skills to professional skills for presenting their research to their peers.