| CODE | FSN4000 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Dissertation | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | ||||||||
| EQF/MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 12 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Food Science, Nutrition and Dietetics | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit incorporates the design and execution of a research project in a particular area of study related to food science, nutrition and/or dietetics, under supervision. Empirical or non-empirical research may be conducted. The research process will usually include a literature search, design of a research study and the analysis/ presentation of results. These findings will then be critically investigated and practice and policy recommendations formulated. Students will have the opportunity to practice and develop skills in literature searching, study design critique, statistical analysis (for empirical studies), findings interpretation and scientific writing. Students will also gain an opportunity to apply for research ethics (whether this is then sent for review or simply kept for records) The project will be presented as a written manuscript (7000-9000 words) for review and marking by a board of examiners, with the culmination of an oral examination at the end of semester two. Study-Unit Aims: The main aims of this study-unit are to: - Generate research skills by giving the opportunity to students to independently design and carry out a research project; - Identify a research gap that has not been previously studied locally; - Write a manuscript which details the work carried out, the interpretative analysis and critique of the generated findings. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Discuss current literature in the chosen field of study; - Identify a research gap to explore; - Describe accurately the methodology undertaken using scientific wording; - Distinguish between scientific and non-scientific literature and make appropriate reference selections; - Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria developed for the study; - Report and describe the results in concise and scientific form. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply the literature searches to develop the research gap, aims and objectives and construct the research methodology; - Analyse and/or present the results; - Evaluate the results scientifically; - Evaluate the strengths and limitations of their research and propose possible further studies; - Interpret the results constructively and comparatively with similar studies in the field. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Peer reviewed papers relevant to the subject area being studied will be provided. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Study-units: HSC3002 **September Assessment Session: Students who fail to obtain an overall pass mark will be re-examined in the Dissertation. However, the resit availability for the Oral Examination is at the discretion of the Board of Examiners. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Dissertation | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2026/7. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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