Oral Sciences MSc
Oral Sciences Research Skills DENT5095
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Medicine Dentistry and Nursing
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Semester 1
- Available to Visiting Students: No
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course aims to provide a training in generic research skills for dentists and allied professionals, including critical analysis of literature, how to write and publish a research paper, managing data and its integrity, bioinformatics and entry level statistics, and the principles underpinning the selection and implementation of practical laboratory methods. Students will also critically analyse, interpret, organise and scrutinise their own data sets generated during the in-person laboratory sessions.
Timetable
The course will be delivered in Semester 1 over a ten week block.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
■ Abstract written examination assignment - 120 minutes - 300 words (25%) (covers ILO2 and 3)
■ Data analysis lab report - 1000 words (25%) (covers all ILOs)
■ Oral defence of lab report - (25%) (covers ILO2)
■ Contribution, presentations at biweekly journal club - students will be graded each session on evidence of engagement with literature, participation, and overall interaction (25%) (covers ILO1 and 3)
Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? No
It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.
[No exceptions]
Course Aims
The aim of this course is to provide a training in generic research skills for dentists and allied professionals, including critical analysis of literature, writing and publishing of research papers, managing data and its integrity, entry level bioinformatics and statistics, and the principles underpinning the selection and implementation of practical laboratory methods.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Critically interpret literature related to the oral sciences and develop research paper writing skills, e.g. journal clubs.
2. Appropriately analyse and discuss results from variety of data outputs generated in the field of oral sciences using statistical analysis and various software packages.
3. Critically discuss the principles underpinning the selection and implementation of different laboratory techniques that can be used in the field of oral sciences.