MS931-60 Professional Project in Neuroscience and Psychology of Mental Health

Department: Warwick Medical School
Level: Taught Postgraduate Level
Module leader: John Davey
Credit value: 60
Module duration: 44 weeks
Assessment: 100% coursework
Study location: Distance or Online Delivery

Introductory description

The “Professional Project in Neuroscience and Psychology of Mental Health” is a 60 CATS module that will enable students to identify, understand, appraise, and plan a professional project related to mental health.
The module will build on the students' learning in the PG Diploma, allowing them to explore different research methods and giving them the opportunity to apply these skills and understanding to develop, design and deliver a research project relevant to mental health.

Module web page

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To develop students' intellectual abilities using theoretical perspectives and drawing on current experience and previous experiential learning.
To develop students' knowledge and understanding of research methods and principles.
To develop students’ ability to critically evaluate an area of practice relevant to mental health.
To develop students’ ability to critically appraise the research literature and synthesise their findings.
To develop students’ ability to undertake substantial independent study.
To develop students’ ability to produce and communicate a piece of work informed by the forefront of research and evaluation, and with the potential for publication for a professional audience.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

This module will introduce students to different research methods and then give them the opportunity to apply these skills and understanding to develop, design and deliver a Professional Project relevant to mental health research. The course will cover the skills needed to identify, appraise, and synthesise research evidence and develop an understanding of the implications of research. It will introduce students to different research approaches including systematic reviewing, quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research, and will explore the application of various sampling, data collection and data analysis methods.

The module addresses the following areas:

Literature searching.
Formulating a research question.
Study design.
Writing a Professional Project.
Presenting a Professional Project.
Preparing a poster presentation.
Critical writing.
Writing for publication.

A central element of the module is the Professional Project.
A number of different types of activities will be available to be undertaken as a Professional Project, and students will discuss ideas with their supervisor before deciding the most appropriate approach.

The module will commence with a series of structured small group tutorials which will provide a forum for students to recap key concepts of research design from previous modules (as they relate to the Professional Project) and to have group discussion on their proposed project as they progress towards submission of a Research Proposal for academic and ethical approval.

Students will deliver a Formative Assessment in the form of a pre-recorded Oral Presentation of their Research Proposal.
Students will receive feedback from a selection of their peers, their supervisor and one other academic reviewer.

Students will deliver 3 pieces of work for Summative Assessment:

Research Proposal (pass/fail)
Poster Presentation – delivered live (20%)
Journal Article or Research Protocol Submission (80%)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

1. Create a research proposal that addresses a research question or evaluates an area of neuroscience and/or psychology of mental health.
Demonstrate self-direction and originality in the critical evaluation and synthesis of research evidence in an area of mental health.
Apply the principles and techniques of critical appraisal to evaluate the limitations of research evidence.
Demonstrate understanding of ethical values and principles in the context of health services research, including application for ethical approval and the role of ethics committees.
Produce work commensurate with an advanced level of skill in planning, information gathering and data interpretation for research enquiry.
Apply independent analytical and critical thinking skills.
Write succinctly in the format of an academic article for an appropriate professional journal and present work visually in the format of an academic poster.
Demonstrate the skills to, plan, conduct, and complete a significant piece of academic writing which addresses an area of mental health research.

Research element

Students will undertake a Professional Project under the guidance of a supervisor.
Students will be able to undertake a wide range of Professional Projects, including projects that may require ethical approval. The expectation is that the process will be similar to that used for the ethical review of research projects on our other MSc courses with iheed.
Briefly:

All students will complete a BSREC application form for ethical approval.
The forms will be assessed by the Course Directors (and moderated by the Programme Director).
o Possible outcomes:
A. Insufficient details provided – proposal returned to student.
B. Project does not require ethical approval.
C. Project meets the criteria for course-delegated ethical approval.
D. Project meets the criteria for course-delegated approval, subject to minor revisions.
E. Project requires ethical approval from BSREC – proposal is submitted to BSREC.
F. Project requires approval from a Local or National Health Authority and is rejected.
We will confirm this process with BSREC when the course is approved.

Interdisciplinary

The understanding of mental health necessitates collaboration across disciplines, and it is appropriate that this is reflected in the course. The module is designed to appeal to a range of professionals, including medical, nursing, counselling, pharmaceutical, bioscience and other disciplines engaged in promoting good mental health.

International

The course will recruit from (and be delivered in) multiple territories, and the content will be tailored to the students’ own territories, reflecting local and international standards and approaches to understanding and promoting good mental health.

Subject specific skills

Subject-specific skills that will be obtained from the module include:

Knowledge and understanding of research methods and principles related to mental health.
Ability to critically evaluate an area of professional practice relevant to mental health research.
Ability to critically appraise the research literature and synthesise findings in relation to mental health.
Ability to produce and communicate a piece of work informed by the forefront of research and evaluation in mental health.

Transferable skills

Transferable skills that will be developed during the module include:

Written communication.
Oral communication.
Numeracy.
Thinking and problem solving.
Organisation and time management.
Use of tools and technology.
Independence and initiative.
Adaptability and flexibility.

Study time

Type	Required
Tutorials	24 sessions of 1 hour (4%)
Online learning (scheduled sessions)	56 sessions of 1 hour (9%)
Online learning (independent)	80 sessions of 1 hour (13%)
Other activity	10 hours (2%)
Private study	360 hours (60%)
Assessment	70 hours (12%)
Total	600 hours

Private study description

This is self-directed learning and will include a range of activities.
It will also include preparation for assessments (Research Proposal, Oral Presentation, Poster and Journal Article or Research Protocol Submission).

Other activity description

Formative sessions for Oral Presentations (using Studio).
Studio is an interactive, video-centric approach to learning that turns one-way, passive video into two-way, inclusive discussion. Students can share, comment and give feedback all within the video timeline. Students learn from each other's insights as well as from the Supervisor.

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A

	Weighting	Study time	Eligible for self-certification
Assessment component
Poster Presentation	20%	20 hours	Yes (extension)
Students will be required to submit a Poster that reports the findings from their Project. The Poster will be assessed by two independent markers. The Poster will be submitted in electronic format (as a PDF file), and then presented live to the two independent markers – who will be able to ask questions and seek clarifications. The content of the Poster will vary according to the Project, but it should be presented as appropriate to an audience with knowledge of the field of research. The Poster should provide a visual summary of the project’s findings. There is no word limit for the Poster, but a guide of 500 words is recommended to achieve a balance of text and visual impact. Summative assessment of the Poster will be based on the marking rubric used for other MSc courses in WMS. The Poster Presentation is a visual and verbal way of communicating the work undertaken in the Professional Project. While relying on the work in the whole Professional Project module and being strong aligned to the Journal Article, the Poster Presentation addresses learning outcomes in a different forum. Prior to the Poster Presentation, students will deliver a Formative Assessment in the form of an Oral Presentation of their Research Proposal. The Oral Presentation should last for approximately 10 minutes (usually 8-12 slides) and should include the following: Background to the area of research Proposed study approach and methods Planning (resources, timescale, dissemination) The Oral Presentation is to be submitted electronically. Students will receive feedback from their peers, their supervisor and one other academic reviewer before submitting their Research Proposal. Students will also be required to submit a Research Proposal that describes their planned Project. The Research Proposal must be submitted within 2 months of the start of the module, and failure to submit a Research Proposal will result in failure of the module. The Research Proposal should be a maximum of 1,500 words (±10%, excluding references and appendices) and should include the following: Background to the Project Proposed study approach and methods Planning (resources, timescale, dissemination) The Research Proposal will be assessed by the supervisor and will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Students who fail the Research Proposal will be permitted one resubmission attempt. Students will be unable to continue on the module without their Research Proposal being approved, and (subject to recommendation by the Exam Board) will be considered as having failed the module.
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
Journal Article	80%	50 hours	Yes (extension)
Students will be required to submit a Journal Article that reports the findings from their Project. Articles should contain the following sections: Title Page Abstract (not exceeding 250 words) Introduction Project Design and Methods Results Discussion Conclusions References Tables and Figure Legends Word count = 4,000 words (±10%, excluding title page, acknowledgments, tables, figures, references). The Journal Article should contain no more than 40 references. The Journal Article should contain no more than a combination of 4 tables and/or figures. The Journal Article should be anonymised (as far as possible) so that individuals, teams and organisations are not identifiable. Summative assessment of the Journal Article will be based on the marking rubric used for other MSc courses in WMS. The Journal Article will be assessed by two independent markers.
Reassessment component
Journal Article - resubmission			Yes (extension)
Students who achieve a mark of <40% for the Journal Article will be required to resubmit a revised article for reassessment. However, Students who achieve a mark of 40-49% for the Journal Article will be required to submit a 2,000-word narrative in response to the comments from the markers. This would be similar to the response from authors to reviewers’ comments in the standard journal process.

Feedback on assessment

All assignments will be submitted electronically, and staff will provide electronic feedback to the students (including individualised feedback) in line with WMS postgraduate assessment criteria (including submission to Plagiarism software).
All marking and feedback will use standardised rubrics.
Further verbal feedback will be available to students on request.

Formative assessment – Feedback on Oral Presentation
Oral Presentations will be submitted electronically using software provided by iheed. Students will receive formative comments from other students, their supervisor, and one other academic reviewer.
The formative feedback will be provided before the student will be required to submit their Research Protocol for Summative assessment.

There are three main elements of ‘summative’ assessment:

Research Proposal - assessed on a pass / fail basis
Poster Presentation - contributes 20% of the final mark
Journal Article - contributes 80% of the final mark

The Research Proposal will be submitted electronically and will be assessed by the Supervisor.
The Course Director will review at least 40% of the Research Proposals submitted by each cohort.
The Research Proposal will be assessed on a pass / fail basis, and students will be required to achieve a pass in order to progress.

The Poster Presentation will be submitted electronically (and delivered live) and will be assessed by two academic markers using standardised rubrics.

The Journal Article or Research Protocol Submission will be submitted electronically and will be assessed by two academic markers using standardised rubrics.

There is currently no information about the courses for which this module is core or optional.