Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- Dutton Park
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 6
- Administrative campus
- Dutton Park
- Coordinating unit
- Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences School
This is a supervised independent research project which requires reading relevant literature, writing a hypothesis and aims, involvement in experimental design, performing the research, analysis and interpretation of the data. The results obtained are used to prepare a research article following the style of a journal appropriate to the field of research, and an oral presentation to academics and peers.
This course is the independent research component within the Major in Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics of the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) degree.
In this course you will work on a research project under the supervision of an experienced researcher. Closely working with your research mentor, you will firstly explain the experimental design and significance of your project, you will review the literature relating to your project area and write a research plan, you will conduct your research project and analyse the data, and you will prepare a research paper in the format of a manuscript ready for submission to a journal. You will also reflect on the oral presentation style of experienced researchers during the School of Pharmacy seminar series, and at the end of the year you will present your own project outcomes in an oral presentation to a group of your peers, researchers, and academics in the School.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students will have successfully completed all year 3 courses of the B.Pharm (Hons) degree prior to enrolling in PHRM4080
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
PHRM4015, PHRM4025, PHRM4061, PHRM4021, PHRM4022
Restrictions
Available to year 4 Bachelor of Pharmacy students only. The maximum number will vary each year and be based on the number of available projects.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
To provide students with the experience of conducting an independent research project over two semesters of the final year of their Pharmacy degree. This includes the common steps of a typical research study, including reviewing the relevant literature, developing a research aim (and, where relevant, hypotheses), collecting data, analysing and interpreting results, and preparing a manuscript for publication in a chosen journal format. This is completed with an oral presentation of the research outcomes.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Critically evaluate research literature
LO2.
Write aims and hypotheses such that they can be tested
LO3.
Design and undertake a research study
LO4.
Write a research publication contextualising research findings in light of the established literature
LO5.
Reflect on your experience of oral presentations given by established researchers
LO6.
Present outcomes of the research study to an academic audience contextualising your research within the relevant research field
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Research project proposal | 20% |
7/04/2025 2:00 pm |
| Reflection | Seminar Reflection | 10% |
15/09/2025 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Publication-style research paper | 45% |
20/10/2025 2:00 pm |
| Notebook/ Logbook | Research data records and performance | 10% |
27/10/2025 2:00 pm |
| Presentation | Final Oral Presentation | 15% |
27/10/2025 - 31/10/2025 |
Assessment details
Research project proposal
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Project
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
7/04/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
In this assessment task you will provide a summary of your research project in a format commonly used in grant applications. Refer to the task description on the Learn.UQ course site. The references cited in the application must use the Vancouver reference style (https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/referencing/vancouver) with numerical in-text citations. Submit in Microsoft Word (.docx) format.
The marking criteria/rubric for this assessment task is available on Learn.UQ
Submission guidelines
Electronic submission via Blackboard site
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Seminar Reflection
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Reflection
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
15/09/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L05
Task description
Attending research seminars is not only an opportunity to find out what is currently happening in research, and appreciate the scope of research in pharmacy, but also to consider what you like or don’t like about how different researchers choose to orally/verbally present their work to their peers – i.e. their presentation style.
In this course, you will reflect on your experience of TWO seminars presented prior to the assignment due date in person. For each of these two research seminars:
1. Use the PHRM4080 final presentation rubric to assess the seminar presenter
2. Based on this, reflect on your experience of the presentation using the 4 Rs of reflection:
- Reporting
- Responding
- Relating
- Reconstructing
3. Write a question that you have or could have asked to the presenter at the end of their presentation.
The PHRM4080 seminar reflection marking criteria will be used to mark each of the TWO reflections that you provide. The average mark from the TWO reflections will be used towards your final grade.
The marking criteria/rubric for this assessment task is available on Learn.UQ
Submission guidelines
Electronic submission via Blackboard
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Publication-style research paper
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 45%
- Due date
20/10/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L03, L04
Task description
Following the year-long supervised independent research, you will prepare a journal article that describes the experiments and results that you obtained. Prepare the paper in the style of a manuscript ready for submission to a journal within your field of research, following the 'Instructions to Authors' for the chosen journal, including the style of reference citation. Submit in Microsoft Word (.docx) format.
The marking criteria/rubric for this assessment task is available on Learn.UQ
Submission guidelines
Electronic submission via Blackboard
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Research data records and performance
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Notebook/ Logbook
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
27/10/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L03
Task description
Submit all of your data and research records produced during your major research project to your supervisor by the deadline. This should include any laboratory notebooks, consent and data collection forms, electronic files, etc. The lead supervisor or their nominee will assess the submission against the criteria in the rubric.
The supervisor will then complete the rubric and submit it to the course coordinator.
The marking criteria/rubric for this assessment task is available on Learn.UQ
Submission guidelines
Physical submission of data, records, notes and other material (including files in folders) to the supervisor prior to the deadline.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Final Oral Presentation
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Presentation
- Weight
- 15%
- Due date
27/10/2025 - 31/10/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L05, L06
Task description
Having completed your year-long research project, present what you did, the outcomes and their relation to the literature to an audience of academics and peers. The presentation will be 10 minutes, with 5 minutes for questions. See the Learn.UQ course site for details of the assessment.
The marking criteria/rubric for this assessment task is available on Learn.UQ
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 1 - 29 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 30 - 44 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 45 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Not scheduled |
Not Timetabled |
Perform Research Studies Design a project, be aware of ethical research decisions and processes, conduct a study, record research data, critically appraise the literature in the context of your project, present your research findings in an oral presentation, and prepare a journal manuscript. Meet regularly with an academic supervisor, who will mentor you through the research and advise on the written and oral presentations. Note that YOU must drive your project - you are responsible for arranging meetings with your supervisor, asking questions, and communicating with other members of the team. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06 |
Multiple weeks From O-Week (first semester) To Week 3 |
Lecture |
Safety briefing Attendance in person is required by all students who are conducting their research within the PACE building and/or require swipe card access to the doors at PACE. Students conducting projects in the lab will attend for longer than non-lab students due to additional safety requirements that need to be covered. For those missing the sessions offered during the summer break, there will be additional sessions offered on Mondays 2-3pm. Learning outcomes: L03 |
Week 1 (24 Feb - 02 Mar) |
Lecture |
Introduction Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Week 2 (03 Mar - 09 Mar) |
Workshop |
How to do a literature search This session will provide training on Database search and using Endnote. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Workshop |
How to use Word This workshop will provide training on how to use advanced features of word to prepare your research publication Learning outcomes: L02, L04, L05 |
Week 4 (17 Mar - 23 Mar) |
Workshop |
How to construct hypotheses and aims This is an interactive session to learn how to construct a research hypothesis and aims to test it. Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Week 5 (24 Mar - 30 Mar) |
Workshop |
How to use Excel This workshop will provide training on how to use excel to process your data Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L06 |
Multiple weeks From Week 6 To Week 13 |
Seminar |
Seminar attendance You are invited to attend the seminars organised for PHRM4080 students in person. Learning outcomes: L05 |
Week 18 (25 Aug - 31 Aug) |
Workshop |
How to write a research paper This is an interactive session to answer questions you may have on how to present your research in a format that is suitable for submission to a journal. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 23 (06 Oct - 12 Oct) |
Workshop |
How to do an oral presentation This is an interactive session to answer questions you may have on how to present your research to an audience with mixed expertise. Learning outcomes: L05, L06 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course: