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Outline:

This module provides an introduction to the approaches and techniques of physics research through an open-ended scientific investigation. Students will be supervised by a member of academic staff within one the Department’s research groups. The project will develop independent research and problem-solving skills, by requiring students to plan, undertake and present an extended project, conducted over two full terms. Topics can be chosen from a range of research areas in theoretical, experimental and computational Physics and related disciplines, but please note that due to demand we cannot guarantee to assign a student to their first choice of project area.

Aims:

The aim of this module is to develop the student's independent research skills, by requiring them to undertake and complete an open-ended research project over two full terms. At the end of the project, the student is required to submit a detailed written project report, written in the same style as a scientific paper, and to give an audiovisual presentation of their project to peers and members of the Department.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of the module, the student should have:

• increased their skills and confidence needed to plan and work independently;
• improved their ability in conducting a complex, open-ended scientific investigation, in an active research environment;
• sought out and assimilated information, as required, from a variety of sources;
• become accustomed to developing ideas in discussion and by reference to the literature;
• further developed their reporting skills practiced in earlier practical and computing courses, by distilling the notebook record of work of the lengthy project into a concise, but precise and complete, publication-style formal report;
• become more adept and confident in oral presentation;
• gained a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, at the forefront of their field;
• acquired comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research;
• developed originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the field;
• evaluated critically current research and advanced scholarship in the field;
• evaluated methodologies and develop critiques of them and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses.