Module Catalogue 2026/27

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

(1) develop scientific questions with clear aims, objectives, and hypotheses;

(2) build ecology fieldwork skills in a responsible, safe and ethical manner;

(3) design, plan, conduct, and report on field investigations, using a variety of field work techniques;

(4) establish approaches to obtaining, recording, collating, analysing, and presenting data using

appropriate statistical analyses;

This module provides formative training, assessment and feedback that equips students to carry out
their final year Research Project in any subject area, as well as increasing their practical field work, data processing and interpretation skills.

Outline Of Syllabus

A two-week block module.

Week 1: students will learn a variety of fieldwork sampling techniques appropriate to each habitat;

common statistical problems encountered when designing experiments for field-based research;

critical thinking for defining aims, objectives, and hypotheses for scientific research; EDI and Health

and Safety in the field.

Week 2: at a residential field centre students will implement and develop skills learnt in Week 1. The

students will perform data collection, analyses, present results, and perform critical appraisals of

each subproject undertaken during the week.

Afterwards: preparing an individual write-up in the form of a scientific paper.


Residential field courses require a student contribution to the cost of the trip.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

PC1 Knowledge Application (developed and assessed): Interpret more detailed biological evidence and concepts and apply this knowledge to critically evaluate key issues in the discipline including its applied contexts. Students will use their knowledge from this and other modules to develop and design an experiment.

Intended Skill Outcomes

This module will incorporate aspects of all of the below competencies.

PC2 Information Literacy (developed and assessed): Critically analyse and evaluate scientific literature to provide an answer to a question with an uncertain answer. Students will critically evaluate relevant literature and use this to design an experiment and establish hypotheses, which they will test.
PC3 Practical Skills (developed and assessed): Assume some level of responsibility for experimental design in a moderately structured setting using appropriate scientific methods to collect data. Students will design an experiment under supervision.
PC4 Data Literacy (developed and assessed): Find, evaluate, visualise, analyse and interpret data appropriately in a moderately structured environment. Apply data management techniques appropriate to your discipline in a moderately structured environment. Students will analyse their own data following field experiments.
PC5 Communication (developed and assessed): Comprehend and adopt appropriate academic language and conventions in order to communicate more complex scientific concepts clearly, concisely and correctly. Students will communicate with peers and staff through their project protocol, presentation, and scientific report.
PC6 Digital Literacy (developed and assessed): Identify and utilise different types of digital technology appropriate to the discipline to communicate scientific concepts clearly, concisely, and correctly in a variety of digitally enhanced formats. Students will use a range of software to analyse their own data, including GIS and statistical software.
PC7 Ethics Literacy (developed and assessed): Assume some level of responsibility for compliance with relevant ethical concepts that apply to more detailed scientific knowledge and your own work with guidance as relevant to the discipline of study, in a moderately structured environment. Students will need to secure ethical approval for their designed experiments.
PC8 Collaboration (developed and assessed): Apply professional and digital collaboration skills in various settings to advance shared endeavours. Implement principles of effective teamwork, acknowledging both personal contributions and the significance of others within the team. Students will work with peers throughout the module in experimental design, implementation of data collection, and presentation of results.
PC9 Professional Skills & Career Management (developed): Undertake experiential learning to apply both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in a professional context. Deepen understanding of your subject area in applied settings and develop mindset that combines problem identification and solving, innovation, creativity, communication and practical action. Students will use methods that are directly applicable to ecological and conservation-based careers, putting them into real world perspectives.
PC10 Integrated Problem Solving (developed): Demonstrate and show resilience in applying problem solving approaches to complex questions using evidence to support the decisions, recognising that there may be more than one solution. Students will develop their projects throughout the module. The experiments will be continually adapted and improve on the lead up to the field course.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Some habitat and sampling technique exploration and planning are conducted in virtual environments, enabling access to a range of habitats. This prepares students for potential pitfalls, experimental design challenges and safety considerations prior to working in the field. Detailed planning, field data collection and group data analyses are all undertaken at the residential centre, with each team assigned to an individual staff supervisor. Writing up is an individual activity for each student.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The completion of a piece of scientific research is normally signalled by submission of a paper to a peer-reviewed journal. An individually written submission (70%; up to 2,000 words) of this kind is submitted 2 weeks after the end of the residential field course. Marked by the group supervisor and moderated by module leader.
Oral assessment (20%; 15-20min) at the end of the residential field visit will check understanding and practice oral presentation skills; group presented.
Group ethical approval (10%) is required to have been approved prior to residential field course.
Effective teamwork will have an influence on the utility of data collected, and the quality of analysis and interpretation, so each student’s contribution is formatively assessed by their staff supervisor and group peers for academic impact and industry in the field.

General Notes

N/A