Course Coordinators:

Course email: RIL@adelaide.edu.au 

Dr Agnes Arthur
Senior Lecturer
agnes.arthur@adelaide.edu.au

Dr Simran Sidhu
Senior Lecturer
simran.sidhu@adelaide.edu.au

Dr Nichola Thompson
Senior Lecturer
nichola.thompson@adelaide.edu.au

Dr Bill Panagopoulos
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
bill.panagopoulos@adelaide.edu.au

1. Critically evaluate and synthesise relevant evidence from multiple sources.
2. Demonstrate research and practical competencies aligned with the research placement.
3. Plan and conduct experimental activities in the context of a research placement.
4. Analyse and interpret project results correctly and in context.
5. Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills.
6. Demonstrate professional behaviour and work effectively in teams within a research group setting.
7. Demonstrate awareness of ethical and cultural issues that arise in health science research and
practice.

No single textbook covers the material to be considered during this course. All students are required to review the literature that is relevant to their project. Students will have access to bibliographic databases and peerreviewed journals and relevant software for analysis.

Students will be referred to relevant library guides.

The teaching and learning in this course are facilitated by:

Placement: The students will select three research areas of interest and will be placed with a supervisor
aligned with their preferences. Each placement group will consist of 1-3 students. Approval to choose some
specific projects may also require supervisor acceptance of individual students. Students are expected to
spend 2 days per week across the semester or an equivalent time in the research placement. However,
potential placements and the timing of research activities will be heterogeneous. For example, in some
projects, students may complete research work over an intensive period rather than scheduling two days per
week across the whole semester.

Practical core competencies (individual): tutor guided workshops are designed to develop wet and dry labbased skills.
These may include workshops on the following:
- pipette use, accuracy, and precision
- cell culture basics
- sterile technique
- immunohistochemistry and histology basics and assessment
- scale and centrifuge use
- documentation/lab book
- dilutions and concentrations
- meta-analysis/systematic review
Students will be required to review pre-workshop material provided on My Uni.

Research core competencies (individual): Students will work through online research skills theory modules
provided in My Uni. These modules facilitate learning on, but not limited to, research practices, ethical
consideration in research and safe work practices. Students will review reading material and/or videos before
completing module related quizzes.

Introduction seminar (group): The purpose of the introduction seminar is to have students assimilate and
introduce the subject of their research. This is a group assessment and will be completed by the group of
students on the placement (1-3 students, dependent on the number of students per supervisor). Students will
receive constructive feedback to improve and develop their hypothesis, aims and experimental approach as
well as their presentation skills, which will be useful for the written reports and poster presentation.
Supervisors will support the student in the preparation of this seminar, providing key literature and feedback on
the presentation preparation. Coordinators will also support the students by providing exemplar presentations
and an online module to assist with the preparation of this assessment.

Poster and presentation (group): Students will present their final research findings in their groups in a poster
presentation at the Florey Undergraduate conference. Students will present an oral presentation and will
answer questions to assess understanding of the project and depth of discipline knowledge.

Students will be supported in this assessment by provision of a University made “Creating an effective scientific
poster” presentation, poster templates and exemplars of posters via the MyUni course. Students are also able
to receive feedback from their supervisors on the poster and their presentation. This is an authentic
assessment for students wanting to pursue a career in research, where researchers often communicate their
work at conferences in the form of a poster.

Final report (individual): The final report will be in the form of an individual written paper. Students will be supported through the development of a stepwise framework of preparing a research report. The framework is designed to facilitate the delivery of a high-quality assessment experiences to students while helping them learn and develop academic skills. The framework aims to scaffold progressive online completion and submission of tasks related to the assignment.

Students are reminded that the overall workload for a full time student as stated in the University of Adelaide Calendar is an average of 48 hours per week per teaching period (i.e. semester). This includes contact and non-contact hours and includes placement, general study and research time for assignments. This course is a 6 unit course and thus represents half of a full time load. You should thus be putting in an average of 24 hours of study each week (including contact hours) for this course.

This course essentially gives students an opportunity to be a part of a research environment. This learning is then supported by online material covering research core competencies, and practical competency workshops where the content which the students come across in their placement, is discussed to enhance their understanding and learning.

Students will need to complete a laboratory induction compliant with the requirements of the University of
Adelaide/ Institute where the research placement will be conducted.

In some instances, students may require police clearances, specific vaccinations, or immunisations for
placements. These special requirements will be discussed between the student and supervisor during their first
meeting.

Role of the academic supervisor
It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and maintain correspondence with their placement supervisor in order
to get feedback on their placement. Students will be offered the opportunity to meet individually with the course
coordinators throughout the semester to discuss their progress with their placement and project.

Code of practice
Students should be aware that the host organisations including the University of Adelaide have busy working
environments and that students should act at all times with respect for the normal daily activities of the host
organisation. As well as a general requirement for appropriate standards of behaviour, decorum, and dress,
there are a number of specific protocols that must be observed.

Confidentiality
All students should be aware that any organisation may be operating in a sensitive environment. It is essential
that students adhere to a code of absolute confidentiality and discretion. All information gained through access
to the papers and other materials of host organisations should be regarded as confidential unless otherwise
notified. The long-term success of the Program depends on students acting in accordance with this
understanding. Confidentiality also extends to the participants involved in the clinical trials as per the principles
of Good Clinical Practice.

Status on placement
Each student should accept the same disciplines and constraints to which salaried staff are committed. It is
important that students should not allow anyone to believe that they are members of staff. During their period of
internship, students at all times remain enrolled members of the University of Adelaide and are expected to
abide by the usual policies and by-laws of the University.

Correspondence
While it may be appropriate for some correspondence in connection with your role to come from the office of
the host organisation, nothing should be sent under the letterhead of an organisation without prior permission.

Expenses
Any travelling costs to the placement site, or other incidental costs incurred by students as part of the
placement will remain the responsibility of the student. Neither the University nor the participating organisations
have any funds to meet such expenditure. Any other arrangements must be directly negotiated and agreed
upon between student and supervisor.

Police check
The placement organisation(s) may require that the student acquires a National Police Certificate prior to
commencing the work placement. In that case, it is the student's responsibility to apply for the police clearance
and present the certificate to his/her workplace organisation. In order to reduce delays, it is advisable that
students obtain a Police Certificate in advance, if there is any doubt about the need for one. If the organisation
requires such police check, that will be recorded in the Placement Agreement.
Australian citizens and permanent residents can apply for a police check at either:
National Crime Check: https://www.nationalcrimecheck.com.au/police_check_south_australia_sa
Or through SA Police at https://www.police.sa.gov.au/services-and-events/apply-for-a-police-record-check
International students can apply for a certificate through:
https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/criminal-records/national-police

Assessment task	Assessment type (Formative or summative)	Assessment weighting (%)	Hurdle requirement (yes or no)	Course learning outcomes being assessed
Practical core compentencies	Summative	10%	Yes	2, 3
Research core compentencies	Summative	10%	Yes	1 - 7
Introductory seminar	Summative	10%	No	1, 3, 5, 6, 7
Poster abstract	Formative	0%	No	1 - 7
Poster and presentation	Summative	20%	No	1 - 7
Final report	Summative	35%	Yes	1 - 7
Supervisor assessment	Summative	10%	No	1 - 7
Attendance diary	Summative	5%	No	2, 3, 6
CV formation	Formative	0%	No	5, 6

Students will need to successfully complete the outlined competencies to pass the course as well as the final
report (hurdles).

Practical core competencies (weighting 10%): The students will need to show an understanding and ability
to perform wet and dry laboratory skills through set tasks conducted in workshops and research settings.
Competency in each specified skill will be assessed as satisfactory by workshop leads or research supervisors.

Research core competencies (weighting 10%): Students will individually complete end of module quizzes on
MyUni. Modules may relate to but not be limited to safe working practices, professional workplace behaviour
and teamwork, ethical considerations in research, scientific writing and academic integrity, effective
communication, statistical analysis. Some of these modules will be summative while others will be formative.

Introductory seminar (weighting 10%): The purpose of the introduction seminar is to have students
assimilate and introduce the subject of their research along with the methods and ethics. This is a group
assignment, based on each allocated project. The background to the study should be concisely presented
providing a rationale for the knowledge gap and how it will be addressed. The aims and hypothesis should be
clearly stated. Importantly, the methodological approach and experimental design should be described,
including statistical analysis; with emphasis on elaborating how the aims will be achieved, and the hypothesis
tested. The ethical and cultural issues associated with the research project would also be outlined. Students
will present for no longer than 10 minutes. Students will record the presentation for submission on My Uni.
Poster abstract (formative): The final research abstract aims to provide a clear summary of the project,
methods, results, and conclusions in a short concise manner. Although formative, the abstract will be used
within the conference abstract booklet. Students will be provided feedback on their ability to write clearly and
concisely.

Poster and presentation (weighting 20%): Students will produce a printed poster containing information on
the project background, hypothesis/aims, methods, results, and conclusion. This poster will be created within
the project groups and one single mark will be given. This poster will be presented at the Florey Undergraduate
conference during the mid- or end of year session. Students will be required to present up to 10 minutes with 5
minutes of questions.

Final report (weighting 35%): The final individual written report reflects the achievements of each student in
conducting a research placement requiring research and practical competencies, analysis and interpretation of
results. The abstract will be incorporated into this document. There will be a need for discipline knowledge to
enable students to write the introduction/background of the research proposal, as well as identify the gap in
knowledge and articulate an appropriate hypothesis/ aims. The students will describe a strategy to fill the gap
in knowledge and test the hypothesis in a problem-solving exercise; by providing detailed methods. Finally
students will analyse their data, create figures, complete a results section, and form a discussion/conclusion
relating to the finding and the broader field. Students will be required to support their statements with
appropriate referencing.

The final report is a hurdle assessment and students will need a grade of 40% or higher to be eligible to pass
the course. Students will be supported through the development of a stepwise framework of preparing a
research report. This may look like 1. Downloading the instructions, 2. Uploading a database search string, 3.
Uploading 5 key reference papers, 4. Uploading a draft, 5. Uploading a draft with supervisor comment and 6.
Uploading the final assignment for marking. Poor engagement and not meeting these checkpoints before
submission of the final version can provide evidence to support any academic integrity cases, and it also gives
the course coordinators the information needed to identify a lack of progress and touch base with individual
students who may be struggling in a timely manner.

Supervisors assessment (weighting 10%): This mark will reflect the student’s ability to work effectively and
professionally in a research environment.

Attendance Diary (weighting 5%): Students will need to record the activity, date and duration of each activity
relating to the project on a prescribed form. This will be submitted with the final report.

CV formation (formative): Students will create a curriculum vitae based on the information provided in the
module. The CV will be evaluated by the Careers Hub confidential CV assessment tool (eg VMock).

All assignments including final report will be submitted via MyUni.