Students will carry out an individual, desk-based (non-experimental) study on a topic of relevance to their programme, under the supervision and guidance of a lecturer as a 'mentor'. The mentor and student will identify and frame a scientific question together which will become the focus of the literature project. Students will aim to meet with their supervisor for 20 minutes per week to discuss the planning and progress of the project. They will also attend a one-hour 'communications for scientists' tutorial in most weeks of the semester on a variety of topics related to the process and communication of research. At week 6 of the teaching term, the students perform an oral presentation of the literature research and findings to date. The work will finally be submitted during teaching week 12/13 of the term as a typed Literature Review (5,000 ± 500 words). Students will be informed that ‘Turnitin’ or some other plagiarism-search software will be used to assess their work. The Departmental Plagiarism committee will review any cases of plagiarism identified, however as the students are in their award year and are guided on the issue, this is not expected to occur. Students will be given semi-formal feedback on their performance and draft submissions during the semester from their mentor to assist with their on-going personal and professional skill development.

Tutorials are provided weekly to the student groups to facilitate enhancing their experience and performance in the literature project. Topics covered include the following: * An overview of the module, explaining the roles of all involved. Due dates and submission requirements are also outlined. * Sourcing literature electronically: An overview to the online sources available to DkIT students. This tutorial takes place in collaboration with the library and outlines the books, journals and articles available through the electronic portals. Students are also given guidelines on using sciencedirect.com and pubmed.com. In addition, the college's eBrary is outlined. *Harvard referencing: An overview of the college's preferred referencing system is provided in addition to a short tutorial on how the Mendeley software can make referencing an easy task is performed. Again this tutorial is co-delivered with the library. * Evaluation of literature and its use in the Literature Review. * Structuring a literature review, the importance of preparing and presenting a plan. * Science writing skills - avoiding common pitfalls. * Presentation skills - students are presented with guidelines on structuring a powerpoint presentation in addition to receiving advice on delivering a presentation to a group. * Recommended electronic tools. For example, using Microsoft Word to prepare your table of contents, perform spelling/grammar checks as you work while also linking with referencing software. * Plagiarism - an interactive overview of plagiarism and how it is identified through software such as 'Turnitin'. The importance of writing in your own words is presented. * People communication skills, personality profiles, working in a team, CV and interview Skills are also covered.

Students will be encouraged to utilise international peer-reviewed journals and publications in addition to international society, and news, resources during their research.

Students will have access to a virtual learning environment (VLE) where they can perform formative assessments in punctuation, the use of paragraphs and referencing for example. The VLE will also provide the students with access to DkIT's Harvard Referencing Resource and also a guideline document to Academic Writing. Articles and YouTube video clips that may assist students in their literature projects will also be posted to the VLE. Students will have 24/7 access to the VLE allowing them to download and study at their own pace and in their own time. This will facilitate learning and understanding for all students, but in particular the international students who may not possess fluent English.

Students will engage with online search engines for peer-reviewed literature (e.g. www.sciencedirect.com / www.pubmed.com / DKIT multisearch). The Literature Review submission will be created electronically using Microsoft Word while the students' presentations are performed using Microsoft PowerPoint. The online referencing manager 'Mendeley' will be demonstrated to the class in order to assist with collation/storage of peer reviewed articles in addition to helping adhere to the DkIT Harvard Referencing Guide.

• A feasibility study on the use of coppice willow chips as a bio-filtration medium. • Assessment of the feasibility of using human urine as a liquid fertiliser in a closed-loop hydroponics system. • A comparative assessment of methods used for the determination of protein concentration. • A comparison of the physical, chemical and therapeutic properties of anti-hypertension drugs. • MRSA: the how, why and where can we possibly go from here? • A discussion on the discovery, development and worldwide social impact of the penicillin group of antibiotics. • Malaria: the greatest scourge of mankind. • Phytochemicals: the role of plant extracts in human medicine from ancient times to the present. • The use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) for the development of therapeutic agents. • Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO): safety, use and public opinion. • Impact of the Human Genome Project on the development of novel, therapeutic agents. • Use of animal models in basic research. • The search for antibody based treatments for HIV infections. • Alzheimers - a degenerative condition • Immunotherapy in cancer treatment