Feasibility Study | FEEG6047 | University of Southampton

Module overview

This module will commence during the induction week during which students will conduct an Academic Needs Analysis (ANA) and their supervisory team will be established. The supervisory team involved in this module will normally be the same team working with the student through the research phase of iPhD project.

The exact format of the project will be determined as part of the ANA and may generally take two forms: an industrial placement to gain industry context or an academic feasibility study, in both cases the study will include a literature review.

The module is in the form of a feasibility study project and will establish important groundwork for their research. The students will need to conduct a literature review and aims and objectives (semester 1), in order to generate research questions and a draft research proposal/outline (semester 2) or undertake an industrial placement (summer). Students will be able to utilise the skills and techniques developed within the training provided via the Doctoral College, in semester 1 students will be required to take courses under the themes of ‘research governance’ and ‘getting started with research design’ and in semester 2 courses under the theme of ‘moving beyond the proposal: research methods and data collection’ will be required (see: PGR Training and Development Opportunities (https://sotonac.sharepoint.com/teams/PGRDevelopmentHub/SitePages/PGR-Training-and-Development-Opportunities.aspx) ). With the guidance of their supervisors, the student will identify a set of possible research questions, place these in the context of the state of the art and broader interdisciplinary context, elucidate the key challenges associated with them, and conduct some preliminary modelling/development to underpin the feasibility of the proposed approach.

This module will follow the guidelines for the transitional research project set out in the iPhD framework:

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/quality-handbook/Integrated%20PhD%20Framework.pdf.

Linked modules

Special Features of Module ________________________________________ Through this module, students have the opportunity to conduct an initial study on the chosen field of study to be investigated through the research phase of the programme. Students who are not working for an industrial partner will have the opportunity to participate in a 4-12 week placement one of the industrial project partners most relevant to their project (subject to project-specific security requirements and partner availability).

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Conduct and apply interdisciplinary research strategies and skills
Communicate the value of research contributions to a technical audience
Communicate complex information to a non-technical audience

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Formulate research questions appropriate to the chosen field of study
Critically appraise a body of literature
Define research questions, objectives and/or hypotheses

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

Principles of data security and Intellectual Property as appropriate to the chosen field of study
Theoretical and application of research techniques at the frontier of chosen field of study
Principles of responsible research and innovation
Conducting a literature review

Syllabus

Provisional student-supervisory teams will form during the induction week at the start of semester 1. The topic(s) covered will be agreed by negotiation between the student and the supervisory team who are allocated to support the student with their project. It is anticipated that some projects will be clearly defined by industry and some will be self-proposed by the student (or academics) and refined with academic/industrial support. All projects will be subject to approval by the CDT management team.

By the end of week 2, semester 1, students will be required to submit a one-page project proposal document detailing provisional title, names and contact details of academic and industrial supervisors, and a 300 word (maximum) overview of the idea. During the induction week, the module lead will provide the module briefing to students about the nature, purpose, and requirements of the module, including an overall of the self-directed parallel training to be conducted via the Doctoral College. Project supervision will occur on a weekly basis between students and their supervisory teams, during which students will be required to update the team on their progress, discuss ideas, and define actions for the following week. The module lead will provide an assignment briefing session at the start of semester 2 to introduce students to the requirements of their formative report. The feasibility study will conclude with a report and presentation to the cohort. Formative feedback on the report will be provided by the supervisory team within two months of submission and the project, together with this feedback, will form part of the first progression review. As the student will not receive credit or a numerical mark for the Feasibility Study, they may elect to include it (or where appropriate, a modified version) in the PhD thesis that is submitted for examination.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Project supervision and guidance.

Study time
Type	Hours
Independent Study	570
Lecture	30
Total study time	600

Assessment

Assessment strategy

Each student will be supervised by two or more academic supervisors who are relevant to the chosen field of study. Supervisors, in conjunction with the CDT management board, will be responsible for ensuring that all examination procedures are correctly followed.

Formative assessment:

1.300-word project proposal (10%), to include:

Working title
Supervisory team (academics and industrial partner)
Overview of project idea

To be submitted to the supervisory team end of week 2, semester 1.

Verbal feedback will be provided to the student in supervision following submission.

2.8,000-word feasibility study – 90%, to include:

background,
literature reviews,
aim/objectives/research questions,
overview of research phase of project,
considerations of responsible research and innovation,
considerations of data security and intellectual property
training log book and training needs analysis,
risk analysis and mitigations

Submission will be at the end of the summer period, as detailed in the iPhD framework, and students will be required to present/demonstrate the results of their feasibility study to their supervisory team, peers, and other members of the CDT management board.

Verbal feedback will be provided at the end of the presentation and written feedback will be provided to the student within two months of report submission. If the supervisory team raise any concerns about student attainment then this will be reviewed with relevant members of the CDT Management Board (e.g., Training Lead, Theme Lead, Director(s)) and/or Doctoral College and a plan of action implemented.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Technical report	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Technical report	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal