PHY4416 Project

1999-2000

Code: PHY4416
Title: Project
Instructors: Dr S.J. Matcher and Research Group Staff
HE credits: 60
ECTS credits: 30
Availability: programmes F3Q4 and F3QK only
Level: 4
Prerequisites: none
Corequisites: none
Background Assumed: none
Duration: Semesters I and II
Directed Study: 40 hours nominal (supervision)
Private Study: 560 hours
Supports Programme Aims: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11
Supports Programme Objectives: none

Assessment Methods

Oral presentation (3.4%), laboratory work and viva voce (31.6%), poster presentation (8.4%), further laboratory work and viva voce (15%) dissertion and viva voce (41.6%)

Rationale

A major distinguishing feature of the MPhys degree is its substantial project which requires students to apply the knowledge they have acquired to a real problem in a research environment. The aim is to foster the skills in open-ended problem solving necessary for the practising physicist.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Give a scientific presentation, work in the context of a research group, keep a research notebook, present and defend a scientific poster, write a scientific report.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Supervision sessions, self-study, on-the-job training.

Transferable Skills

Time-management; working in groups; report writing; keeping a research notebook; oral and written presentation, communication.

Assignments

Oral presentation, poster, final report, weekly reports as detailed below.

Module Text

Not applicable

Supplementary Reading

Not applicable

Syllabus Plan and Content

Students will work in one of the existing main research groups in the School. Over the period of the project, they will learn what it means to work in an active research group. The students will not only develop research skills and communication skills but also gain valuable experience in team work. Between two and four students will work on a particular research topic, and within the group the students will work in pairs.

Note: Further details of the MPhys projects and assessment criteria are given in the School of Physics handbooks.

1. Background and Project Proposal
   In week 5 of the Michaelmas Term each student will give an assessed presentation on their background report (see PHY3205).
2. Project Work
   In weeks 1-10 of the Michaelmas Term the students will spend an average of three days per week working on their project.

   Throughout the work each student will be responsible for keeping a record of their work in a research notebook (in the form of a detailed diary). The student will also produce (in the notebook) a brief (one-page) weekly summary of the work completed in the previous week and a list of the tasks intended to be completed in the coming week. (A photocopy of this summary should be provided each week to the main supervisor.)

   This part of the project will be assessed by examination of the student's lab books, and an oral examination on the Monday of week 7.

3. Poster Presentation
   In weeks 9-10 of the Michaelmas Term the students will spend 4 days jointly preparing a poster display on their work. The assessment will take the form of a discussion of the display with each student in turn, on the afternoon of Friday of week 11 in Lent term.
4. Project Work
   In weeks 14-18 in the Lent Term students will spend an average of three days per week working on their project, and this work will be assessed in week 19 in the same way as in week 7 of the Michaelmas Term.
5. Final Dissertation
   In weeks 19-20 in the Lent Term and weeks 21-22 in the Trinity term students will spend three days per week on analysis and preparation of an individual (not joint) final dissertation. This dissertation must be complete and submitted by the Monday of week 23 of the Trinity Term.

   The dissertation should be no more than 10,000 words long and will be assessed by the same two examiners who assessed the project notebooks. There will be a 20-minute viva on the dissertation, and this will be held in week 24 in the Trinity term.

Feedback to Students

Students have a weekly supervision meeting with their supervisor(s).

Feedback from Students

Feedback from students on the module forms part of the weekly supervision meetings. Students can also discuss matters with the second assessor for their project or the MPhys Projects Co-ordinator.