1

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SUMMER PROJECT?

MSc Control of Infectious DiseasesAnna Foss and Michael Miles

Based on material and slides provided by:Helen Hogan, Michael Miles, Doug Parkin, Rory Donnelly, Cathy Zimmerman, Jane Falconer and Stuart Anderson

Why do a Project Report?

• To provide students with a crucial opportunity to gain personal experience of real world issues and problems with the control of infectious diseases

• To be able to conduct research projects overseas in endemic areas, in developing or developed countries– However, some students may undertake their projects

in the UK, focusing on UK public health or analysing literature or data sets generated through collaborative research elsewhere

2

The specific objectives of the Project Report are to:

• Describe the research project and the experience gained• Demonstrate the ability to plan and organise time• Demonstrate understanding of relevant literature and

summarise the context of the project in an introductory or background section to the report

• Demonstrate the ability to understand and apply an appropriate range and selection of investigative and analytical methods

• Demonstrate the ability to interpret rationally observations and data, while being aware of the limitations of the project

3

And to:

• Demonstrate the ability to critically discuss and evaluate the outputs and applications of the research project in the context of previous relevant work, and to state clear conclusions and recommendations for future research

• Demonstrate independent and original thinking• Where appropriate, reflect on social or ethical issues

relating to the research• Demonstrate competent communication /

presentational skills through the write-up a coherent and professional report, including accurate and systematic reference citations and accompanying bibliography

4

Project: Process and Product

• The process – doing the work:

• a literature review• study design/research

proposal• data collection /

analysis etc

• The product (content that will be marked)

– communicating the results: • project report(In an academic

professional format, as defined by the School and for CID MSc)

5

Independent learning• Complex learning is messy, uncertain and

ambiguous...

The independent learner – • Can live with this• Enjoy this• Manage their reactions / show resilience• Arrive at results...• But know that the results are not fixed...• And that further questions arise from every ‘apparent’

answer

Project Report

Skills and Assessment

7

8

Project Report: Student skills and assessment task

* data may be either qualitative or quantitative

Assessment Task Student Skills

Background, literature and theory elements

Critical Thinking

Data* collection and findings sections Independent research skills

Data* analysis and conclusion sections Ability to analyse data and draw conclusions

The entire written report Clear coherent writing

Style, presentation and referencing Familiarity with written conventions

Questions to guide markers (1)• How clearly does the abstract represent the content and

outcomes of the project?• How effectively does the introduction summarise context

and relevant literature? • How clearly and coherently are the aim and objectives

stated?• How appropriately were investigative and analytical

methods applied and explained?• How rationally were the findings interpreted?• Does the student demonstrate sufficient understanding

of the limitations of the current project work and show insights into ideas for future research?

9

Questions to guide markers (2)• How clearly were conclusions, implications and

recommendations made and discussed?• Have the aims and objectives been met?• How well has the student sought and identified relevant

references (e.g. to position project within context of broader research), and cited these appropriately?

• How competent and accurate was the presentation of the report overall, including structure and the use of tables / figures / illustrations?

• How much independent and original thought was displayed throughout the project?

10

Project Report assessment criteria: pass

Marking is based on the following guidelines: 

• 5 (outstanding achievement, distinction level) - A comprehensive discussion of the topic giving all relevant information, showing in-depth critical understanding of the topic, going beyond conventional answers, and bringing in additional relevant ideas or material

• 4 (very good pass) - A full discussion of the topic, including all relevant information and critical evaluation

• 3 (good pass) - The major points are discussed, but relevant, though less important considerations, are omitted

• 2 (satisfactory pass) - Sufficient relevant information is included but not all major points are discussed, and there may be some errors of interpretation

11

Project Report assessment criteria: fail

• 1 (borderline fail) - A few points are included, but lack of understanding is shown together with use of irrelevant points

• 0 (outright fail OR not submitted) - None of the major points present; many irrelevant points included and a serious lack of understanding, OR Not submitted

NB The marking of the project report counts for 30% of the overall MSc

12

Project Approval Process:

Key milestones and deadlines

13

CARE form

• CARE form: The Combined Academic, Risk assessment and Ethics approval form

• Intended as a way to comprehensively summarise the work you intend to do in your project, so that staff have sufficient information to give approval

• It will also prompt you on a number of key points you need to think about

• http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/tpd/taughtcourses/studentforms/index.html

• Form and Project Handbook on Blackboard under CID.

14

• Section 1 – Student and course information

• Section 2 – Approval and submission status

• Section 3 – Application for academic approval

• Section 4 - Application for Risk assessment approval

• Section 5 – Application for Ethics Approval

The CARE form consists of 5 sections:

Key milestones and deadlines (Jan – April)

• End of Feb: decision about the likely project title and supervisor – see project topics list

• Draft project outline / proposal / protocol• End of March: submission of draft CARE form and more

detailed protocol (including budget) to supervisor• Ensure support from tutor / LSHTM staff member and an

established means of regular contact, and adequate local support overseas

• Travel preparations e.g. passport, visas, vaccinations, prophylactic medicines, insurance, flights, Trust Fund

• End of April: submission of final CARE form, approved by supervisor and Course Director (and Safety signature if required), to TSO (and to MScEthics if required) 16

Key milestones and deadlines (May – Sept)

• May/June: Further develop project protocol, especially Background section (literature review), proposed Methods, conceptual framework, plan for presentation of Results, structure of whole report, timetable, logistics, budget

• July/August: Conduct project, write-up Results and Discussion sections, obtain supervisor feedback (e.g. on draft of complete report), and revise report with feedback

• DEADLINE for final report is12 noon on Friday 03 September 2010

• Any extension to this deadline has to be approved in advance by the Taught Course Director, Graham Clark (ITD) / Hannah Babad (PHP), and will require supporting evidence of medical issues etc

17

Project Report Content

18

19

Project Report Content: Introduction

Statement of the problem

- Introduce the broad topic and its context - e.g. disease, geographic setting, ‘historical’ or

current relevance- State the problem

- e.g. gap in knowledge on the subject area, an operational or an analytical ‘problem’ that deserves examination, a contested or debated issue for which there are different ‘solutions’

- Justify the need for the project

20

Project Report Content: Background

- What is known to date about the topic?

- How has it been addressed? - e.g. conceptually, methodologically, politically/

policy, programmatically…

- In which populations and settings?

- What is not known?

- Definition of terms

21

Project Report Content: Aim and objectives

Aim• What aspect of the ‘problem’ will your project examine?• What is the overall contribution of the project? (e.g. to

better understand…., to explore…., to review…., to inform) Note: please keep this modest !

• The overall aim which should be a clearly stated and answerable research question

Objectives (what will the project do to meet aim)- Should emerge clearly from the background (what you

know at this stage on the topic)- Should be in line with your overall aim- Should be stated as research objectives, not

methodological objectives- Main objectives can be broken down into smaller sub-

objectives

22

Project Report Content: Methods

Methodology (How will I fulfill my objectives)- Should suggest an appropriate and feasible study design given

scope of topic, type of analysis and duration of study- Methods should be consistent with, and appropriate for

addressing your objectives (or sub-objectives) and should include:– For the literature review: search terms, search strategy,

exclusion criteria, databases used, etc– For interviews / questionnaires: sampling strategy, data

collection methods, data analysis, etc– For monitoring data: sampling strategy, data collection

methods and data analysis– For modelling: description of models and justification of tools

used- Ethical considerations

23

Project Report Content: Results

• The form will depend on the type of project• Look up past example of projects in library• Results should have emerged from the methods

described• Overview of the quality and quantity of

information / data• Summary of findings from literature that shows a

reasonable understanding of the topic• Good description of qualitative / quantitative

results• Appropriate use of tables / figures

24

Project Report Content:Discussion and Conclusions

• In this you bring together your findings; often useful to summarise them briefly at the start of this section

• Commentary on their value and applicability– Review the strengths and weaknesses of your work– Relate back to the original research questions - can

you answer them?– Integration of theory into discussion– Bring in (more?) literature for comparative purposes

• Make overall conclusions– Again, in relation to the original research questions– Implications and realistic / feasible recommendations

of results for infectious disease research / policy / other audiences

25

Project Report Content:Appendices

This should include:

• The final CARE form and any addition forms (all anonymised!)

The following information may also be included in separate appendices:

• Table of studies reviewed including nature of the population studied and quality of the study

• Copies of questionnaires / interview schedules.

• Datasets, including detailed quality assurance information. (This may not be appropriate if the data set is large).

• Mathematical description of models, statistical techniques, etc

Examples and further guidance resources

26

Example of aim

Overall aim:

• To determine the relationship between dengue fever incidence in Malaysia with social and cultural variables using statistical and geographic information systems analysis

27

Example of objectivesSpecific objectives:• To access incidence data on dengue fever from the Ministry of

Health• To develop a geo-referenced map with incidence of dengue per

region in Kuala Lumpur• To develop and conduct a questionnaire to determine social and

cultural factors that may influence dengue incidence, including human dwellings, awareness/knowledge, mosquito protection patterns, sanitation, water collection and storage and waste disposal

• To assess spatial social risks related to dengue incidence• To develop a model that can be used as a predictive tool to

forecast the occurrence of dengue cases in metropolitan Kuala Lumpur for preparedness and control efforts

28

29

Searching and reviewing the literature, and good academic writing

Library help pages on planning and conducting a literature search, and citing and referencing systems: http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/help.html

A tutorial on critical appraisal and using the literature:http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/ir/units/critapp/index.htm

Resources and advice on good academic writing practice: • http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/authors/bmj-house-style - from

the British Medical Journal – ‘gold standard’• http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3359 – from

the Open University - a comprehensive set of online tutorials about planning, structuring and writing academic assignments or reports.

30

What makes a good report? Overall

• Well written and well structured throughout

• Abstract / Summary briefly summarizing key points from the methods, results and conclusions

• Good choice of Headings and sub-Headings

• List of abbreviations at the beginning (a glossary in the appendices may be necessary if there are lots of technical terms)

• List of tables at the beginning

• Conventional use of referencing

• Any tables and charts well laid out and labelled

31

What makes a good literature review? (in addition to previous general points)

Methods• Include detail on how the search was undertaken: search terms, search

strategy, databases used, inclusion / exclusion criteria, how quality was assessed

• Justification of the methods used (e.g. reasons for including or excluding specific studies) and consideration of the limits associated with the approach (e.g. confounding, emphasis on hypothesis generation)

Results• Overview of the quantity and quality of the literature included• Present the results in a systematic way, including critical appraisal and a

synthesis of the evidence (not just a description of findings from each study) – it is about ‘making the whole into something more than its parts’

Discussion / Conclusions• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the literature and discuss the

implications of the findings for future research and policy / practice• Conclusions should be grounded in the evidence reviewed

32

What makes a good research project? (in addition to previous general points)

Introduction• Give a brief description of the specific population, country or region,

if applicable, e.g. location maps may be helpful

Methodology • Literature review, focusing on current knowledge and identifying any

research gaps• Description of statistical / modelling methods used (including

software tools)• Description of datasets (existing datasets or new data appropriate to

a pilot study): sampling strategy, data collection methods, data analysis, representativeness, QA/QC, etc

Results • Good description of quantitative results, including tables & figures

(with appropriate labels) where graphs (scatter plots, histograms, pie charts, etc.) should be readable and any units clearly indicated

33

Common problems

• Poor report structure, inadequate headings/sub-headings

• Confusion between aim / objectives and methods

• Overambitious aim / too many objectives

• Very broadly described literature review methodology (or not enough articles in lit review), statistical methods lacking detail

• Not all objectives (sufficiently) addressed in results & discussion

• Inconsistent datasets, figures / tables without appropriate labels, units, etc

• Too general recommendations, not entirely justified by the results & discussion

• Limitations, strengths & weaknesses of methodology not discussed

• Data / information quality & quantity not discussed

• Referencing style

• Lack of proofreading

34

Further information about the Project Report• Recommended length 7000 words, with an absolute maximum of

10,000 words

• Electronic and 2 paper copies• Further information in Project Handbook:

– Page 9-10 describes what you can expect from your supervisor

– Page 15-17 gives guidance on developing your protocol

– Page 52-55 details how to reference appropriately and avoid plagiarism (see also quiz: www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/plagiarism)

– Page 46, and 57-61 contains key information about required format for project report and how to submit final report

– Page 65-77 is CID-specific Part 2, including examples of more detailed project protocols to supplement CARE form section 3

– Pages 12-44 for detailed guidance on how to complete CARE form

• See past examples of projects in library achieving pass grade or above:

http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/mscprojects.html