Module Catalogue 2026/27

Pre Requisite Comment

Stage 2 Food & Human Nutrition or Stage 2 Nutrition with Food Marketing

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

- To provide experience of primary or secondary research on a current topic in food & human nutrition
- To give the opportunity to develop research skills
- To encourage students to develop strategies for problem solving
- To assist students to develop skills in the critical analysis of scientific evidence
- To assist students to develop skills in the presentation of results and conclusions in written format [poster, and extended project report], and orally [presentation of poster]

Outline Of Syllabus

This is the largest component of the final year's work worth 40 credits. Each student will undertake a novel piece of supervised research and prepare a project report, and a poster presentation summarising the results of the project. The following comments on the methods of assessment are intended to guide students in what is expected from them in this module. The student’s application and work during the project will be assessed by the supervisor (if there is joint supervision, the first named supervisor will take this responsibility) [20% of the module mark]. The project report [60% of the module mark] will be assessed by two independent markers appointed by the module leader. The poster [20% of the module mark] will be assessed by the module leader and other academic staff.

(a) Assessment
Performance in the following areas will be examined.
NB Not all of these areas will necessarily be relevant to all projects.

1. Literature searching and use of existing knowledge base
2. Ability to use appropriate research methods for their topic
3. Laboratory/ experimental/public health/clinical skills
4. Ability to cope with research problems
5. Care in collection and recording of data
6. Ability to analyse data and interpret results
7. Preparation of the project report including:

- Relevance and depth of the Introduction
- Statement of hypothesis/and or aim
- Description of methodology
- Presentation and interpretation of results
- Critical discussion of results
- Overall presentation of project report

The independent markers will base their assessment on the project report as presented (Area 7) whilst the supervisor will take note of performance in all areas.

The supervisor will give feedback both verbally and/or written comments onto an electronic version of the draft. For the introduction, methods and results sections the feedback will relate to content, structure and organisation, presentation and use of English. For the discussion, which should demonstrate the student’s own interpretations of their own work, comment from supervisors will be limited to structure and organisation, presentation and use of English. It is the student’s responsibility to modify the draft based on the feedback from their supervisor.

About a week before final submission, on a date agreed with their supervisor, the student should submit, electronically, the second, and final, draft of all sections of their project report so that their supervisor can consider it in its entirety. Feedback from supervisors on the second draft will be limited to comments on structure, organisation and presentation. Students will then have a final opportunity to revise their project report before submission. [Note: students suffering from relevant disabilities will be permitted to submit more than two drafts of each section to their supervisors but comments on content will only be made with respect to the first draft].

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

On completion of the project the students will have:

K1       Enhanced their skills in the design and execution of scientific research at the cutting edge of food and nutritional science.

K2       Understood the ethical requirements for conducting research with human volunteers.

K3       Developed a critical approach to the evaluation of evidence related to food and nutrition research.

K4       Developed skills in data analysis and interpretation and in the presentation of data in a number of different formats [tabular, figures etc].

K5       Understand the requirements for presenting results from the project in a structured manner suitable for submission to a Learned Society as a peer-reviewed abstract; how to present complex results in the form of an e- poster, and how to prepare a scientific project report.

Intended Skill Outcomes

On completion of the project, students will have acquired some or all of the following:

S1       Describe the processes involved in undertaking food and nutrition research.

S2       Developed a range of skills in practical food and nutrition research, depending individually on the topic of the project [e.g. laboratory based skills, working in a clinical research setting, working in schools etc].

S3       Handle data of a variety of types depending on the nature of the project [e.g. quantitative data from laboratory or questionnaire-based work or qualitative data from focus group work].

S4       Information retrieval, evaluation and summarising of research publications.

S5       Advanced skills in interpretation of their data in relation to other published information and be able to present their findings in a critical manner.

S6       Present their project in the form of a poster and give a short oral description in the presence of other students and academic staff.

S7       Write a scientific report in the form of a project report complying with the accepted structures of a scientific journal, including referencing source material.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The honours project and project report provide a unique opportunity for assisted private study and research of a topic selected by the student. Students select a topic of choice from a range of projects provided by academic staff. The students complete plans for the practical element of their research project with their supervisor and her/his research team. In this way the student gains experience in project design and management. Where necessary the student may assist in the submission of material for ethical approval before commencing data collection.

The students receive instruction on writing styles, storing reference information in Endnote and formatting thesis in the lectures and practical (computer cluster) sessions which accompany the module. The students develop skills in preparation of a project report. They develop skills in preparation of this work to a high standard. The students also receive some guidance on how to prepare a poster which builds on their previously-gained experiences in Stage 1 and 2, delivering presentations.

The supervisor provides active guidance during the practical elements of the research so the student gains relevant experience in data collection and recording. For the project report the student is required to search relevant literature using a range of resources after initial guidance from the supervisor. For the written project report the student gains experience and training in information retrieval, interpretation, report writing skills and, where relevant, with statistical analysis of data. The e-poster presentation develops verbal and visual presentation skills and the ability to discuss and present scientific findings.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessment process includes the project supervisor who appraises the student's abilities in areas such as time management, problem solving and practical skills which may not be evident from the project report. The latter forms the basis for assessing the student's ability to undertake research, to test a hypothesis, to analyse and interpret results and to draw conclusions in the light of existing knowledge. The oral presentation/poster presentation assesses communication skills.


For 2024/25 Entry and onwards
To meet accreditation requirements and to pass this module, BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition and BSc (Hons) Nutrition with Food Marketing students must obtain a mark of 40 or above for each summative assessment.

General Notes

N/A