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MDSA30280

Academic Year 2025/2026

SSRA Research Elective I (MDSA30280)

Subject:
Medicine Systems One
College:
Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
Medicine
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Melinda Halasz
Trimester:
Summer
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
Module Type:
Research/Capstone Module
How will I be graded?
Distinction/Pass/Fail (GPA Neutral)

Curricular information is subject to change.

This is an 8-week research module offered to UCD School of Medicine (SoM) students involved in supervised laboratory, clinical, computational, patient advocate centered, or medical educational research initiatives during their undergraduate course in UCD SoM. Projects may be conducted at UCD, its affiliated hospitals, or internationally.

Student supervision will be carried out by staff within and associated with the UCD SoM and affiliated hospitals, and International hosts. Project selection for this research elective and the mechanism of student assignment to each project is the responsibility of the module coordinator and the SSRA committee and relevant project supervisors.

Applicants will be expected to:

1. Source their own project AND/OR review "Available Projects" (SSRA Student hub website).
2. Email Supervisors of projects they are interested in, including completed Student Project Application Form (found on the SSRA website).
3. Students may be selected on academic record AND/OR may have to present for interview with the relevant Supervisor(s).
4. Appreciate the ethics aspects of research and organise the necessary ethics documents for the project.
5. Once selected, undertake an 8-week research project from June to August (Summer).
6. Write an abstract in the style of the Irish Journal of Medical Science (IJMS).
7. Submit a research report in the format specified on Brightspace.
8. Obtain a good supervisors report.
9. Submit a pdf of research poster on Brightspace.

Outside of the assessment process:
All students will be invited to present their research activity as a poster which will be adjudicated by a panel of academics for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals for excellence in Research with the winners to be announced at the Annual Student Summer Research Award (SSRA) Gold Medal Night held annually in the following Autumn trimester.

IMPORTANT: Please be advised that the module is GPA neutral and the final assessment for this module will appear as DISTINCTION/PASS/FAIL.


About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students are expected to have fulfilled the following learning outcomes:

1. Adhere strictly to designated guidelines for completion of application forms for project selection.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of research report writing which MUST be submitted as part of the assessment process.
3. Display an authoritative understanding of the research question in hand and design a coherent experimental strategy to critically evaluate the research question.
4. Understand why particular experimental approaches have been used to address the research question in hand.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the requirement of ethical approval if appropriate to the project.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the statistical tests used in determining the significance of the findings if appropriate.
8. Following a strict set of author guidelines, submit an abstract in the style of IJMS. Assessment will be based on adherence to journal style, word count and designated journal format.
9. Demonstrate an understanding of how to generate a research poster.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

120
Total

120

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Project based

Permission to use AI may vary depending on the nature of your project; please discuss it with your supervisor.

The use of generative AI in your assessment tasks is not permitted. Your submissions (abstract, poster, and research report) should be authored entirely by yourself.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Equivalents:
SMMS Research Elective II (PATH30090)


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Research Report Week 10 Pass/Fail Grade Scale Yes
40
 Yes
Assignment(Including Essay): Research Poster (submission as PDF) Week 10 Pass/Fail Grade Scale Yes
20
 Yes
Assignment(Including Essay): Research Abstract Week 10 Pass/Fail Grade Scale Yes
20
 Yes
Participation in Learning Activities: Report submitted by project supervisor Week 10 Pass/Fail Grade Scale Yes
20
 Yes

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will get feedback from their Supervisors during the 8-week of research project.

Name Role
Dr Melinda Halasz Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
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