Postgraduate Course: Research Skills in Particle & Nuclear Physics (PGPH11103)

Course Outline
School	School of Physics and Astronomy	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	This course is compulsory for all students on the MSc programme in Particle & Nuclear Physics. Students will develop their research skills through a set of exercises which include oral and written analyses of recent research papers, and a group review of a topical research area. Following the choice of the MSc dissertation topic, there is also an element of project preparation and planning in this course.
Course description	This course is split over semesters 1 and 2, building core skills for working in experimental particle- and nuclear-physics research groups. In the first part of the course, students will review a set of research papers. In a journal club-style session, students will give oral presentations showing their understanding of a paper. They will then write a magazine-style article explaining research in a way that can be understood by the public. In the first semester, students will also select a supervisor and topic for their dissertation, and at the end of the semester, will present a poster related to their topic. In the second semester, students will work in groups to produce material to engage the public with a recent topic in particle or nuclear physics, and demonstrate this to members of the Institute. They will also explore further into their dissertation projects, producing a literature review, project plan, and oral presentation. There will also be opportunities for students to get support with technical skills, and applying for PhD positions.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2023/24, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Full Year
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 6, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 10, Fieldwork Hours 4, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2, Formative Assessment Hours 4, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 146 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Oral Presentations 20% + 30% Referee's Report 10% Group activity 30% Poster 10%
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Understand in detail and critically review a paper in the research literature Choose a topic for your dissertation 3. Understand the physical principles relating to your proposed dissertation topic, the significance of the work you will perform, and the experimental setup and/or analysis techniques to be used Complete an initial plan for your project Communicate your scientific understanding to audiences with a variety of different backgrounds, both in writing and through visual and oral presentation techniques