1. Demonstrate the ability to devise, plan and execute an extended independent piece of work
2. Critically assess the topic in the context of the previous work of others and current literature
3. Analyse data in an appropriate critical fashion and draw justified conclusions
4. Demonstrate skills in writing a coherent, structured technical report
5. Respond to challenges to your work and conclusions under oral examination
6. Critically review your own performance and success in meeting the project's aims

1. Progress review (10%) – Students will write a project proposal of no more than 4 sides of A4. The project proposal will outline the aims and objectives of the project, give a summary of background reading, any practical work carried out to date and any outstanding work left to complete (LO’s 1 and 2).
2. Project Notebook (10%) – Students will keep a project notebook of contemporaneous notes, showing regular progress throughout the project and, how ideas have evolved on the basis of results obtained (LO’s 1 and 6).
3. Viva Voce examination (10%) – Students will undertake a question-and-answer session on their project, showing an appreciation of its findings and significance in a wider context (LO’s 5).
4. Written report (70%) – Students will produce a dissertation report (around 30 A4 pages in length) detailing the background, methods, experimental programme, results and discussion, and conclusions of their project. The report should also contain aims and objectives, and further work (LO’s 1-4 and 6).

You will devise, plan, execute and report on a substantial piece of independent research work in a forensic science or forensic investigative capacity. This will include drafting ethics and risk assessments. The topic will be selected from a list or you can offer your own topic which would need to be agreed with an academic supervisor. It will normally include experimental work or fieldwork but, could be a quantitative critical evaluation of secondary data which you have assembled from literature or other sources.

In all cases the project should reflect the scientific base of the award. The module will allow you to develop skills in defending your work through a viva-voce examination. You will need to select, deploy and adapt techniques, critically interpret and evaluate data, and present your findings both in writing and orally. As part of the viva voce examination you will be expected to give a concise verbal summary of your project, its finding and their significance.

You will devise, plan, execute and report on a substantial piece of independent research work in forensics. The topic will be selected from a list of research projects or you can design your own topic. It will normally include experimental work or fieldwork. The module will allow you to develop skills in defending your work through a viva-voce examination. You will need to select, deploy and adapt techniques, critically interpret and evaluate data, and present your findings both in writing and orally. As part of the viva voce examination you will be expected to give a concise verbal summary of your project, its findings and the significance of the research.

Through discussions with your research group and supervisor you will develop your plans to complete a project related to the field of forensics. This module is research led and so will rely heavily on your ability to source information from literature sources and experimental results. One-to-one meetings with your supervisor will explore key skills looking towards graduation or further study.

N/A

Access to appropriate laboratory, computational or field equipment/facilities (as necessary)
Access to SPSS, R, or other statistical software package
Individual requirements may vary depending on project and discussion with supervisor / technical services.

N/A