Staff involved
Dr Julie Letchford, Dept of Pharmacy and Pharmacology
Dr Hazel Corradi, Dept of Biology and Biochemistry
Dr Bridgette Duncombe, Dept of Chemistry
Tom Rogers, Library
Trevor Davies, External
What problem was trying to be solved?
It was found that third year students often were at various levels of ability when faced with the challenge of evaluating literature, and it was decided to develop an online tutorial in order to give all students a common grounding.
What was done and what technology was used?
The team involved developed an interactive online resource, called Evaluating Scientific Research Literature tutorial available on Moodle.
The course consists of four modules to help undergraduates in Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Biology & Biochemistry, Natural Sciences, and Chemistry. The first module is an introductory module explaining the different sections of research papers as well as general tips, and the other three are specific for each discipline, explaining how to begin to evaluate a paper and critique data and findings.
Pharmacy & Pharmacology students use the introductory module as part of a mandatory unit in year 1 and the subject-specific module for formative assessment in year 2. Biology & Biochemistry students use it to help them with practical write ups. Overall the students enjoy this resource and find it very helpful.
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