Module manager: Dr Tom Willis
Email: T.A.Willis@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
None; a core module of the MBChB
| MEDI1204 | Individuals and Populations |
| MEDI1214 | Innovation, Development, Enterprise, Leadership and Safety 1 |
| MEDI1215 | Campus to Clinic 1 |
| MEDI1216 | Introduction to Medical Sciences |
| MEDI1220 | Body Systems |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module provides structured, peer-to-peer and independent learning and practice of research, audit and evaluation skills. Students will be introduced to the skills needed to carry out research, audit and/or evaluation effectively, including how to formulate questions, gather information from a range of sources, make judgements on the quality of this data, and interpret the results and draw conclusions.
ENQUIRE Purpose:
At graduation, a newly qualified doctor should be able to critically evaluate research, audit and evaluation findings, recognise the inherent limitations and strengths of evidence, understand how evidence is used in management guidelines, and be able to reason about different types of data (e.g. patient, research, service) to inform healthcare delivery and patient care.
The ENQUIRE strand is a core part of the MBChB programme, aimed at providing medical students with the opportunity to acquire, develop, and apply research, audit and evaluation skills. ENQUIRE maps directly to Outcome 3 (Professional Knowledge) of the GMC’s “Outcomes for Doctors: 2018: Newly qualified doctors must be able to apply scientific method and approaches to medical research and integrate these with a range of sources of information used to make decisions for care (26). ENQUIRE enables our students to have participated in a breadth and depth of curricular experience to develop important skills needed to practice evidence-based medicine.
The GMC outcomes evolved from 2015 (section 12) to 2018 (section 26), and now emphasises the application and integration of the research and wider scientific method to make decisions for care. The ENQUIRE strand will be structured to help students apply systematic evaluation methods to clinical situations, and of relevance to any direction their careers take them, practice, policy, leadership, education, and research.
The ENQUIRE strand is an integral part of the overall MBChB SAFER-MEDIC (core curriculum). In addition to section 26, ENQUIRE also maps onto these wider GMC Outcomes for Doctors (https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/dc11326-outcomes-for-graduates-2018_pdf-75040796.pdf), where newly qualified doctors must:
• demonstrate that they can practise safely. They must participate in and promote activity to improve the quality and safety of patient care and clinical outcomes (5)
• learn and work effectively within a multi-professional and multi-disciplinary team and across multiple care settings (9)
• be able to use information effectively and safely in a medical context…(19)
• be able to apply biomedical scientific principles, methods and knowledge to medical practice and integrate these into patient care (22)
• be able to apply social science principles, methods and knowledge to medical practice and integrate these into patient care (24)
• be able to apply the principles, methods and knowledge of population health and the improvement of health and sustainable healthcare to medical practice (25)
These wider objectives have led to a closer integration of ENQUIRE with each other strand within MBChB.
ENQUIRE also provides opportunities for diversifying and personalising the curriculum (for the student and by the student) and is therefore linked to careers and employability development, as well as intercalated programmes, interdisciplinary programmes and opportunities for excellence. ENQUIRE also enables embedding of ongoing and emerging issues in our society (such as equity and diversity, nutrition and health, sustainability, medicine as part of our community, sleep and health).
The broad aims of ENQUIRE 1 are:
• to explain the role of ‘evidence based medicine’ for doctors
• to explain the importance of well-developed research, audit and evaluation questions and provide frameworks for developing and evaluating the quality of such questions
• to provide an understanding of different types of study designs, and approaches to audit and evaluation, including their strengths and limitations
• to provide opportunities to develop research, audit and/or evaluation skills
• to provide an understanding of different types of data, including how to analysis, interpret, synthesise and present data
On successful completion of ENQUIRE 1, students will be able to:
1. describe a range of research designs and methods, relevant to research, audit and evaluation
2. show basic research, audit and evaluation skills, including formulating a question, literature searching, data collection, data analysis and interpretation
3. describe key features of qualitative research, systematic reviews, approaches to audit and evaluation, lab sciences, surveys and observational research, experimental research
4. demonstrate research, audit and/or evaluation skills through presentation of data in different formats (written reports and poster presentation)
5. show basic critical evaluation skills
6. demonstrate use of evidence throughout research by appropriate referencing
Consistent with LeedsforLife aims, ENQUIRE:
Provides the knowledge and skills enabling students to undertake projects that are suited to their interests, and needs. The research, audit and evaluation skills are relevant to being able to think critically about the delivery and experience of medicine and healthcare, and also consider the partnership between medicine and society.
Provides opportunities for students to experience different types of expertise from across academia, clinical academic, health settings, and community organisations when carrying out projects to develop their scientific skills, and application to clinical reasoning.
Term 1
The lectures will cover: evidence based medicine, formulation of research, audit and evaluation questions, research designs, and approaches to audit and evaluation, critical evaluation, data collection, descriptive quantitative analysis, basic statistical tests, interpreting quantitative data, critical thinking and writing, communicating research, audit and evaluation findings, and referencing.
Students will concurrently work on a research project: Sleep App Project. This project will provide structured peer to peer and independent learning, and practice of research, audit and evaluation skills. Following hypothesis generation and method development, students will collect quantitative data on self and input to a central database. Anonymised class data will be analysed to test hypothesis. Tables and graphs will be used to present self and class data, and measures and spread to describe data. Data will be interpreted and complex information summarised succinctly for presentation (research report).
Terms 2 and 3
The lectures will cover: qualitative research, surveys and observational research, experimental research, systematic reviews, lab science methods, audit and evaluation, research ethics, further statistics, poster presentation.
Students will concurrently work on the Student-Selected Project (SSP). This project allows students to apply the research, audit and evaluation skills they have developed during term 1 of ENQUIRE 1 to a project of their choice.
The students will produce a project report, poster, and a reflections form for assessment.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Poster session | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Lecture | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| Seminar | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Tutorial | 19 | 1 | 19 |
| Private study hours | 56.5 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 43.5 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 100 | ||
Term 1: Independent online learning with completion of weekly task, where the output of each task is used in subsequent tutorials.
Term 2: Students will meet approximately 5 times with tutors depending on the project and will then work independently on their projects and posters.
Students will receive verbal and written formative feedback for all assignments. This will be done through tasks completed in the tutorials, draft written work and a conference day where students present their poster.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Sleep App Project. 1,200-word report | 40 |
| Coursework | Report, poster and reflection - SSP, 2,000-word report, A3 poster and reflective log | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
ENQUIRE 1 assessments are pass/ fail (non-graded), with the opportunity to resit in the resit period if a student receives a fail. Students also receive an indicative grade which indicates what standard their assessment was at, but this is for the student’s information only. There is no compensation between assessments. *This module contributes questions to the Year 1 Integrated Summative Exam (MEDI1208).
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 16/06/2026
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