Posted: July 1st, 2015

Topic: The Reemergence of Poliomyelitis

The order is in two parts, one part is something called a tutor marked assignment 03, or TMA03, the other part is the dissertation. I need the dissertation doing first and then the TMA03, as it makes more sense to work backwards as TMA03 is about constructing abstracts. The exact details are copied below.

TMA03 assignment:

Part 1 (20 marks)

This part carries 20% of the marks for this assignment and tests module learning outcome Ky2.

(i) Using the abstract you chose in Activity 20 of the Project Guide, explain why the abstract is appropriately structured and how it influenced you in writing your own draft abstract. (Word count: Mandatory maximum of 100 words for Part 1i).

(ii) Write a draft abstract for your project (Word count: Mandatory maximum of 300 words for Part 1ii).
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Guidance
Follow the guidance on writing an abstract in Section 9.6 of the Project Guide. In practice, you will not be able to write your abstract until you have completed your project work and drawn your initial conclusions, but we ask you to present your abstract ahead of these in this TMA, as this reflects the order required in the final report. Comments from your tutor on this draft abstract should enable you to refine it for the final report.

I WILL PROVIDE THE ABSTRACT FOR PART i.

Part 2 (10 marks)

This part carries 10% of the marks for this assignment and tests module learning outcomes C2 and Ky2.

Submit a draft of the contents page for your final project report.

Guidance

Part 2 has no word limit.

Aside from the introduction and conclusion, the core of your project should be organised into chapters with appropriate headings that cover all aspects of the themes of your topic areas as laid out in your objectives. In these chapters you will use a critical review of the literature to describe, discuss and evaluate your research. You may choose to have a separate discussion chapter or to have your discussion within individual chapters.
Help on the structure of your report is given in Section 9.3 of the Project Guide. Please take care to ensure you include all sections not listed as optional. Give your chapters and sub headings suitable titles

Part 3 (20 marks)

This part carries 20% of the marks for this assignment and tests module learning outcomes C3, Ky1 and Ky2.

Write an introduction to your project report. Please include your project title at the beginning for your tutor’s reference.

Guidance

Word count : Mandatory maximum of 500 words for Part 3 (excluding project title).

This may be considered as a draft introduction, as you may make amendments for the final report in response to tutor feedback comments.

Literature-based projects
You should ensure that you describe your topic and set the scene, give the scope of your research area, identify your project objectives explicitly and provide a brief overview of your search methodology. Aim to keep your search methodology overview to less than 100 words.

Part 4 (35 marks)
This part carries 35% of the marks for this assignment and tests module learning outcomes Kn1, Kn2, C1, C2, C3, C4 and Ky3.

Literature-based research projects
Write a review of the literature you have studied for your project (Word count : Mandatory maximum of 2000 words for Part 4).
SXE390 and other practical-based projects
Write a review of the literature you have studied for your project and a draft of the methods and results. (Word count : Mandatory maximum of 2000 words for Part 4).
Guidance
Guidance on writing up practical work can be found in Section 9.5 of the Project Guide and the SXE390 Study Guide. You should write up your methods and results so far and present this in draft form. Ensure that the methods are described in such a way that anyone can repeat the experiment. Materials can be listed in an Appendix.
Your literature review (as described below) will be a shorter section as you will also be reporting on the data you have collected and your findings thus far.
All projects
Section 9.5 of the Project Guide gives guidance on writing a literature review. This should be a critical review of the supporting literature for your project, not just a summary of information. Include figures, tables and equations where appropriate, and a list of your references using the OU Harvard Guide. The reference list at the end is not included in the word count but all in-text references are.
As noted above, aside from the introduction and conclusion, the core of your project should be organised into chapters with appropriate headings that cover all aspects of the themes of your topic areas as laid out in your objectives. In these chapters you will use a critical review of the literature to describe, discuss and evaluate the science underpinning your topic area. With more than two months left until the final project is due, you need not attempt to include all of the literature you plan to use for the EMA. Instead, for this TMA, to ensure that the critical analysis is of sufficient depth you can provide selected chapters. You should include evidence that at this stage you are working on all aspects of your themes though these need not be in equal amounts. It is highly likely that you will need to amend and modify these chapters in response to tutor feedback for the final report.

For the dissertation the following requirements are needed:

Part 1 (85 marks)
This part carries 85% of the marks for this assignment and tests module learning outcomes Kn, C and Ky
Submit your completed project report.
Word count: Mandatory maximum of 5000 words for Part 1.
Guidance
It is essential that you follow the instructions in Section 9 of the Project Guide on writing your report.
Word count
Where you are given a maximum number of words (e.g. 400 words maximum), this is a strict maximum and 10% of the mark for the Part will be deducted for exceeding this maximum. Further information will be available on the Forum close to the submission date.
When you have written your answer to a Part which has a mandatory maximum word limit, you must state the number of words you have used at the end of your answer (e.g. 385 words).
In order to demonstrate the learning outcomes of the module related to communication of information to a specialist audience, writing to a specific length is an important skill to develop. Research papers submitted to scientific journals have strict word limits. It is also an important mechanism in ensuring that all students are treated equally.
Please refer to Section 11.2 in the Project Guide for specific advice regarding word limits.
SXE390 and other practical-based projects
You must include your raw data and results in a separate file zipped in with your report. Any information in this file is not part of the word count.
Part 2 (15 marks)
This part carries 15% of the marks for this assignment and tests module learning outcomes Kn 2, P1 and P2.
Throughout the planning and writing of your project, you have been asked to reflect on your work. Here we ask you to reflect on the whole project – the process and what you have learned, what you would like to have done differently and what you would still like to do, if there were more time.
Base your answers to the following questions on these reflections referring, where appropriate, to particular entries in your log.

(a) (i) Did your final project end up addressing the research area and the objectives set out in TMA 01? Include a copy of the original pro forma you submitted with TMA 01, which had proposals for the title of your project and for your objectives. Annotate this copy to show any changes, e.g. by inserting text in a different colour or using track changes. The words on the original TMA 01 pro forma submission and your annotations of it do not contribute towards the 500 word count for this part of the EMA.
(ii) In what ways did your tutor’s feedback on your TMAs lead you to modify these initial proposals?
(b) (i) Of the skills you have identified in your skills audit in TMA 01, which have been the most important in enabling you to complete your project work?
(ii) What new skills have you acquired while studying this module?
(c) Suppose you had an opportunity to start your current project again on the same topic. With the benefit of hindsight what would you do differently and why?
(d) Suppose that to extend scientific knowledge you were asked to suggest a new project that would build upon your current project.
(i) Provide a title and draft objectives for this new project with brief supporting text. In terms of scientific subject matter, in what way(s) would your new project differ from your current project? Give reasons for your suggestions.
(ii) List two problems you anticipate encountering on this new project and briefly explain how you would deal with them.