Critical Analysis of Pathology Research

Subject PATH40002 (2011)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2011.

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 4 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2011:

Semester 1, Parkville - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 30
Total Time Commitment: 120 hours
Prerequisites: Students must be enrolled in the Bachelor of Biomedicine (Honours), Bachelor of Science (Honours) or Postgraduate Diploma in Science to complete this subject.
Corequisites: Please refer to the notes section below for details regarding the subjects to be completed.
Recommended Background Knowledge: It is recommended that students complete 50 points of the 300-level pathology major before enrolling in this subject.
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.
The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit websiteH: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Coordinator

Assoc Prof Anthony White, Dr Joe Ciccotosto

Contact

Academic Coordinators:

Dr Joe Ciccotosto and Dr Anthony White
j.ciccotosto@unimelb.edu.au or arwhite@unimelb.edu.au

Administrative Coordinator:

Ms Lesley Robinson
lesleyr@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: Advanced scientific lectures are provided by experienced researchers discussing current scientific methods and their application to the study of pathology. These lectures provide a foundation for critical analysis tasks which are consolidated during tutorials which assist students in reading and understanding research articles. Students will be taught key learning objectives including, the application of scientific methods, how to write manuscript titles and abstracts, and in the art of critical analysis of scientific papers. The course is composed of 12 lectures and up to 6 tutorials. The lectures and tutorials are held during first semester.
Objectives: The objectives of this course include –

• To ensure students develop competent skills in reading and understanding of scientific research articles.
• To acquire skills for the critical analysis of research articles.
• To appreciate the importance of constructing a title and composing an abstract that conveys the significance of the research problem.
• To be able to identify the purpose of a research article by determining the proposed hypothesis or aims.
• To appreciate the technical basis of the proposed research and determine whether the appropriate methods were used to address the aims.
• To appreciate the need for good experimental design, the appropriate use of controls and standards, the clear presentation of data in graphs, tables or images, validation of results through statistical testing and concise description of the experimental results.
• To generate awareness of how a discussion summarises the results relating to the hypothesis and reconciles the results with published literature.
• To become familiar with being able to extrapolate new research ideas from the published research.
Assessment: Assessments are held in the first semester. There are two assessment tasks.
1. An open-book examination (4h) whereby students are required to perform a critical analysis of a research article (80%).
2. A journal club presentation of a research article of 15 min duration (20%).
Prescribed Texts: None
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:

The emphasis of this course is to introduce students to the importance of reading research articles effectively by learning critical analysis and evaluation skills.

This will enable students to:
• Be subjective when reading research articles.
• Appreciate the importance of presenting results in a format that demonstrates good scientific process.
Links to further information: http://www.path.unimelb.edu.au/
Notes:

To be awarded Honours with a specialisation in Pathology, students must successfully complete the following:

Semester 1

BIOM40001 Introduction to Biomedical Research (12.5 points)

PATH40002 Critical Analysis of Pathology Research (12.5 points)

PATH40001 Pathology Research Project (25 points)

Semester 2

PATH40005 Pathology Research Project (50 points)
Related Course(s): Bachelor of Biomedicine (Degree with Honours)
Bachelor of Science (Degree with Honours)

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