Module manager: Dr Susan Richman
Email: S.D.Richman@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
Identical to the entry requirements for MRes Medicine.
This module is not approved as an Elective
Not offered as elective module
The aim of the module is to equip student with the critical and analytical skills to allow them to quickly assess the merits of published research. By exposing them to papers in different fields, alongside tutors from different backgrounds, they will gain understanding of the variety of publications and how to evaluate them, quickly assessing the type of study being presented, na whether it fulfils various criteria used to judge its merits
1. classify the different types of articles which appear in clinical research journals;
2. evaluate the study design, including ethical considerations, of published papers and suggest improvements;
3. assess the uncertainty, ambiguity and limitations of knowledge in published medical research;
4. assess the quality or lack thereof of published research, and which parts of mixed quality research has merit;
5. comment on the processes of submitting articles for publication and the peer review of scientific literature in selected journals and evaluate the effectiveness of peer review;
6. contrast the different forms of published abstracts and prepare an abstract of a published scientific paper;
7. assemble a structured analysis of the contents of original articles and criticise the findings in a concise fashion.
The Paper Criticism module enables students to develop the following subject specific skills:
1. an understanding of the ethical issues of medicine
2. a knowledge of the current requirements for the governance of medical research and its publication
3. an evaluation of the global impact of medical research
4. an appreciation of the international issues which affect medical research
5. a description of the perspective of patients, service-users and society in medical research
6. the engagement of patients and the public in research.
Learning takes place in small groups and involves discussing the merits of a research paper. Each tutorial is with a different tutor, assessing a paper from a different field, exposing them to the variety of styles of paper analysis each tutor has developed. The tutorials will develop the students' critical faculties by asking them to understand, condense and interpret scientific papers. Papers will span a wide breadth of quality, to allow students to quickly assess the merits of a paper.
The emphasis will be on the scientific method and not on the content of these papers. The ability to evaluate published research will be assessed by writing a new abstract to an unseen paper, and to critically appraise another.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Tutorial | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Private study hours | 139 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 11 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150 | ||
Reading tutorial material and preparing formative abstracts and appraisals.
Students submit formative abstracts and appraisals in advance of the submission of the summative exercises. These formative assessments are returned to students with detailed, written feedback.
Students receive group verbal feedback during tutorials and individual written feedback on formative abstracts and appraisals.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Assessed Abstract, 300 words | 25 |
| Assignment | Assessed Appraisal, 1,000 words | 75 |
| Assignment | 1 formative abstract. 300 words | 0 |
| Assignment | 5 formative appraisals, 1000 words each (each time 2 weeks to complete) | 0 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Compensation is permitted between the different assessed elements
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 29/04/2024
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