1. Subject Knowledge and Understanding

The taught parts of the course will have three main objectives:

• To provide a general overview of research and methods across the whole field of cognitive science;
• To provide detailed, in-depth exposure to esearch methods in Psycholinguistics, Cognitive Psychology and Philosophy;
• To provide practical training in the tools and techniques used by current researchers in the field.

  Having followed the taught programme successfully, you will be able to:

• Identify and describe the main component fields of study in Cognitive Science;
• Identify and describe the main techniques and tools used in Cognitive Science research;
• Identify and describe the gross anatomy of the brain and how different structures may relate to cognitive functions;
• Identify the main philosophical and/or empirical ideas presented in a journal article and be able to express and critique those ideas in written or oral presentation;
• Categorize an empirical approach as experimental or correlational;
• Understand the deductive nature of research in Cognitive Science;
• Analyse a given research problem within the field of Cognitive Science and be able to select the appropriate statistical/analytical tools with which to explore it;
• Be able to conduct appropriate sta
tistical testing and to comprehend the results;
• Be able to design and implement a computer program using appropriate software for stimulus preparation, presentation and data analysis;
• Identify and describe the experimental methodologies most frequently used in Cognitive Neuroscience research, with particular emphasis on EEG, MRI, and patient studies, evaluating the relative suitability of these methodologies for tackling particular research questions;
• Be able to produce a written report or oral presentation clearly describing the outcome of a given experiment or other scientific piece of work.


2. Intellectual Development

The overall goal will be to provide you with:

• A new appreciation of the complexity of the brain and how it gives rise to the mind;
• The range of methods and techniques available for studying it;
• The knowledge necessary in order to analyse a range of complex problems and to design and conduct empirical research.


3. Key/Transferable Skills

Key transferable skills include:

• Critical thinking;
• Experimental design;
• Data analysis;
• Generic IT skills;
• Computer programming;
• Scientific writing.


4. Other skills

A mix of analytic and practical skills related to problem analysis and experimental design, and experience in the use of cognition-related technology and equipment which is acquiring wider recognition and application in both academic and commercial contexts.

Facilities Available

The new Cognitive Science Lab in the Faculty of Media & Knowledge Sciences is equipped with soundproofed testing booths, eye-tracking, and electroencephalography (EEG). Use can also be made of the facilities in the Biomedical Engineering Lab in the Faculty of Engineering that include a Vicon motion analysis system and a biomedical data acquisition system.