Medical Education BMSc Dissertation module (BM40055)

Scholarship is a fundamental tenet of the role of educator and clinician. A key element of scholarship is the ability to critique and conduct original research.

This module is designed to develop your knowledge of and skills in academic research. You will prepare for and complete a dissertation of approximately 11,000 words involving an element of original research achieved through the collection of primary or secondary data. By authoring this work, you will gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes credible and ethical medical education research.

What you will learn

This model will build on the core research skills module. In this module, you will:

• contextualise and develop your understanding of scientific paradigms and methodologies as they relate to medical education
• contextualise and develop your core research skills within the field of medical education
• plan and execute a piece of original research
• apply professional and ethical principles to a research project including applying for relevant permissions, formally considering ethical issues arising from your research project, and displaying transparency in the presentation and communication of your work

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand at a basic level the history & philosophy of research: why do we do it?
• conduct effective searches of existing literature to identify relevant lines of enquiry and research methods
• evaluate qualitative and quantitative methods of enquiry and determine their suitability in addressing a specific topic
• critically appraise a piece of research in the field of medical education 
• design and carry out a study to address a specific research question including data collection and data analysis
• demonstrate an appreciation of ethical issues and their application to your area of study
• demonstrate evidence of the knowledge and skills required to write a dissertation
• understand how to prepare an article for journal submission

Assignments / assessment

• dissertation (100%)

This module has no final exam.

Teaching methods / timetable

This module is a mix of prescribed and self-directed learning activities. There is a large component of self-directed work necessary in this module for the planning and completion of both a research project and a dissertation.

All teaching is planned to be face-to-face within the University. Teaching will be delivered by academic staff with specific interests and expertise and is designed to support the breadth of research projects across the whole cohort of students.

Primary support for each research project will be provided by an educational supervisor who will have suitable research experience and an interest in the topic of each project. Many projects are proposed by the supervisors themselves, although students can self-propose a project if they can provide their own suitable supervisor. All projects will be secondarily supervised by a member of the course faculty.