Epidemiology

Project Guidelines

2011-12

1This document has been revised following the November Exam Board meeting and

student evaluations.

This booklet for the MSc and Postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology has been prepared by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) as part of the External System of the University of London.

December 2011 Version 1.1

Acknowledgements

In compiling these guidelines, we are grateful to past advice from teaching staff of the Masters in Public Health, University of Liverpool, UK.

Published by University of London Press Copyright © London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 2010 Printed by Central Printing Services

University of London

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CONTENTS Section Page 1. Aims of the Project Report.............................................................................................. 5 2. Contact and project information ..................................................................................... 6 3. Types of projects ............................................................................................................ 7 4. Choosing a project topic ................................................................................................. 8 5. Key deadlines for the Project ......................................................................................... 9 6. Past project reports by LSHTM students ..................................................................... 10 7. Deferment of projects and extensions on your final submission ................................. 10 8. Preparation for the project ............................................................................................ 11

8.1 Purpose of the project outline ................................................................................. 11

8.2 Reviewing the literature .......................................................................................... 11

8.3 Format of the project outline ................................................................................... 11

8.4 Review of outline..................................................................................................... 13

8.5 Ethics approval ....................................................................................................... 13

8.6 Maintaining confidentiality ...................................................................................... 15

8.7 Risk assessment ..................................................................................................... 15

8.8 Copyright and intellectual property issues ............................................................. 15

8.9 Constructing a timetable ......................................................................................... 15 9. What you can expect in terms of supervision ...................................................................... 16 10. Additional resources to help you carry out your project ............................................... 19 11. Producing the project report ......................................................................................... 20

11.1 Content of report according to project type .......................................................... 20

11.2 Resources to help you structure your project report ............................................ 20

11.3 Report structure .................................................................................................... 21 11.3.1 Title page .................................................................................................. 22 11.3.2 Abstract .................................................................................................... 22 11.3.3 Table of contents ...................................................................................... 22 11.3.4 Statement of author‟s role ........................................................................ 22 11.3.5 Introduction and Background ................................................................... 23 11.3.6 Materials and methods ............................................................................. 23 11.3.7 Results...................................................................................................... 24 11.3.8 Discussion ................................................................................................ 24 11.3.9 Conclusions / Recommendations ............................................................ 24 11.3.10 Glossary and list of abbreviations .......................................................... 25 11.3.11 References ............................................................................................. 25 11.3.12 Appendices............................................................................................. 25 11.3.13 Copy of Ethics approval(s) ..................................................................... 25

11.4 Proof reading and help with writing or language............................................................ 25

11.5 Word limit and file format for the submitted project report............................................. 26

11.6 Submitting the project report .......................................................................................... 27

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12. Marking of project reports .................................................................................................. 28

12.1 General Marking Criteria ...................................................................................... 28

12.2 What the examiners will be looking for ............................................................... 29

12.3 What happens after submission?......................................................................... 29

12.4 What happens if I fail the Project Report? ........................................................... 30 13. Plagiarism and assessment irregularities .................................................................... 31 Appendix 1: Examples of freely available data........................................................................ 33 Appendix 2. Project Outline submission form.......................................................................... 34 Appendix 3: Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues.......................................................... 36 Appendix 4: Notes on presentation and referencing ............................................................... 39 Appendix 5: How to quote correctly ......................................................................................... 43 Appendix 6: Guidance for markers: Criteria according to type of report ................................. 46 Appendix 7: Preventing plagiarism and the Turnitin detection service ................................... 49

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Welcome Welcome to the Project Report module (EPM500). We hope you will enjoy working on your project this year. We have prepared these guidelines to help guide you as you prepare, carry out and write up your project. Please take the time to read them carefully. These guidelines should be read in conjunction with the Academic Writing Handbook which can be found at: http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl/programme/student/ep/student/general.htm We suggest you save these two important documents in a place where you can easily refer to them as questions arise throughout the year. Also note that copies are posted on the Projects website: http://dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/student/ep/student/projects.htm

1. Aims of the Project Report The project gives you the opportunity to work on a real epidemiological issue, and to develop and deepen epidemiological concepts and skills learned during the MSc course. You are expected to show competence in either the analysis of epidemiological data or the systematic review of epidemiological literature (see Section 3 below for more details about the two types of projects). You will also be expected to demonstrate an awareness of the practical aspects of epidemiological research, and the final document will require you to demonstrate skills in report writing. The project report will be assessed on the written report, with emphasis on your understanding of the key epidemiological methods and their implementation. The report will be judged not only on scientific content but also on evidence of your appreciation of its strengths and weaknesses, and on the appropriateness of the style and presentation of your report. The learning outcomes for the project are listed below. Learning outcomes of the MSc Project

In general, your project report should indicate to the markers that you are able to:

Demonstrate independent research skills.

Demonstrate understanding of a substantive portion of the body of knowledge covered by the course curriculum.

Demonstrate the ability to think critically and develop original ideas, e.g., develop a research question, formulate a hypothesis, critically evaluate the literature.

Demonstrate an awareness of the practical aspects of planning and conducting a study, including potential problems and pitfalls.

Be aware of intellectual property issues, risks, and ethical issues.

Apply skills including methodological, analytical skills and knowledge gained while applying skills and content gained in the advanced modules to a real world problem.

Analyse data or literature and form conclusions based on this analysis.

Demonstrate familiarity with research-reporting styles, including project layout and referencing; write a scientific report according to prescribed standards.

Present, describe and interpret study findings in a clear and systematic way

Produce an extended piece of writing that is clear and coherent.

Demonstrate the ability to present implications and recommendations in a clear format.

Where appropriate, reflect on social or ethical issues relating to the research.

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Given the wide variety of projects undertaken at the School, project work should aim to fulfil these objectives in general terms, without necessarily fulfilling each individual statement. In addition, students completing an MSc Epidemiology project module should be able to:

Demonstrate competence in either: (1) the design and application of statistical methods of analysis, appropriate to an epidemiological study question; or (2) a systematic search and critical evaluation of literature related to an epidemiological research question.

Demonstrate an awareness of the practical aspects of epidemiological research.

Identify and explore important sources of systematic and random error, including bias and confounding, either in an analysis or systematic literature review.

2. Contact and project information All important messages about Projects will be posted via Moodle web conferencing on the forum EPM500: Project Notice Board (Students). Once registered for the Project, you will be automatically subscribed to receive these messages but it is essential that you access Moodle at least once to activate the subscription. Please also log on regularly to view the Project Notice Board, and check that you are receiving the messages by email. To log on to Moodle, go to http://dlble.lshtm.ac.uk/ and use your University of London username and password. Under „My Courses‟ in the menu along the left side of the screen, click „LSHTM_EPM500_2011‟ for all project-related forums (described in further detail in Section 10 below, „Additional resources‟). If you see Project NoticeBoard messages that have not reached you by email, please contact EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk. Also, for any queries that are specific to your situation, and not relevant to the web forums, please email EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk Following submission and approval of your project outline, you will be allocated a supervisor. The supervisor should be your first point of contact for any specific queries about your project. If you experience any difficulties in contacting your supervisor, please email EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk and we will investigate on your behalf.

Useful resources specific to the project are described in Section 10 below.

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3. Types of projects Whatever project you choose it must fall within the following definition of epidemiology:

“Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states and events in defined populations and the application of this knowledge to control of health problems.” (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, OUP, 2001)

All projects need to be original and not something nearly identical to existing work. (See end of Section 4 for further details about originality and duplication of work.) Your project may be one of two types: a) Analysis of a dataset You may have access to a dataset for analysis from your employment or another source. If you intend to use such a dataset, you must ensure that it will provide you with sufficient opportunity to demonstrate your epidemiological skills, for example by investigating an association whilst allowing for confounding. You will need to ensure that the data are available to you within the time constraints of the project, and that it will not require a large amount of time to „clean‟ the data before you can begin coding and analysing (i.e., no more than 5 days for data cleaning). It is essential that you get full written agreement from the owner of the dataset to use it for your project, e.g., in a letter from the data owner, or a Data Sharing Agreement. If you are working on a study as a member of a team, the data analysis and formulation of the research question must be your own independent work and you should clearly state in your report the contribution that was made by others. It is essential that you have studied the content of EPM202 Statistical Methods in Epidemiology before carrying out any data analysis project, and we recommend you also choose and study the optional module EPM304 (Advanced Statistical Methods in Epidemiology) before doing such a project. If you do not study EPM304, note that EMP304 material will be available for your reference, via the CAL download system: https://www.lshtmdldownloads.co.uk b) Critical Literature Review This should be a comprehensive, systematic and critical review in which you will be expected to demonstrate your understanding of the epidemiological issues involved, present a concise synthesis of the „state of the art‟ in that field, and state clear recommendations for future research direction. Suitable topics are new or controversial interventions, or risk factors over which there is current disagreement. Review projects should address quantitative outcomes or indicators, rather than purely qualitative ones. Although it is common to use a second researcher to double-screen and code studies (e.g., when seeking to publish a systematic review), you should carry out your own search, screening and review for your project report. Students will be expected to conduct a meta-analysis if the data from relevant studies are suitable. However a meta-analysis is not always possible so do not be discouraged from this type of project if you cannot generate the data required. The meta-analysis session from EPM304 (Advanced Statistical Methods in Epidemiology) is available to download and provides details of carrying out meta-analysis using STATA. Also note that material from EPM105 on systematic reviews and searching the medical literature has been updated this year, and is available from the Project website. Frequently asked questions: Q: I am unable to identify a suitable project from my own sources, what should I do? A: As you are thinking through your project idea and potential datasets, you can post

questions to the Project Outlines forum on Moodle (open from early September through

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1st November). The Project Organisers (POs) and fellow students may have feedback and advice that is helpful to you and other students. If you are still struggling to identify a topic and/or dataset, the POs can provide guidance on using a freely available dataset (such as Demographic and Health Survey data, and other datasets such as those listed in Appendix 1) and guidance on developing a research question, in exceptional circumstances. Individual requests must be made to the Project Organisers (via EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk) by 15 October in the year in which you

are undertaking your project. However, it is best to contact them before this to help you formulate your ideas.

Q: I am doing an analysis of data (or literature review) as part of my job; can I use this for my project topic?

A: Your project should contain work which is done specifically for that purpose. It is not acceptable to revise or reformat work you have already done, as that would be considered „duplication of work‟. It is up to you to choose the appropriate methodology including formulation of the research question and analysis. However, we encourage you to do a project which is relevant to your current or future work and, if appropriate, to publish your work in a peer reviewed journal following submission (see Appendix 3 for more details).

4. Choosing a project topic

During your MSc you will have found some areas more relevant to your career and some more enjoyable than others. It is best to go with your interests when choosing your topic as you will be working on the project for nearly one year and an interesting topic will help to keep you motivated. A good starting point is to conduct a literature search using some keywords of your research interests. This will help you synthesise your ideas while also assessing existing studies. Ask work colleagues or contacts working in relevant institutions (e.g., health ministries, universities, hospitals, etc) if they have any datasets you can use. You are welcome to approach members of LSHTM staff for datasets as well. While a work-related project can be easy to access and interesting for you, be careful not to agree to anything that is too ambitious (e.g., conducting and running a large-scale survey). You also need to consider the feasibility of any project, given the time and resources available to you and we urge you to avoid being over-ambitious. If you are interested in doing a data analysis project but do not have access to a dataset from your employer or contacts there are some freely available data sources which the project organisers can recommend. The DHS datasets (country-specific) are available to download (with permission) from http://www.measuredhs.com/. If you are interested in a

cancer topic, the project organisers can arrange access for you to the Thames Cancer Registry http://www.thames-cancer-reg.org.uk/. (See Appendix 1 for more details and

examples.) In both cases, you will need to formulate your own epidemiological question based on available data. There are separate guidance notes on working with DHS datasets on the project website. Although you may seek advice from many sources, it is up to each student to select the subject she or he wishes to study and to determine the methods that are appropriate. In selecting the subject you wish to study, you should think about a question that is specific and relatively narrow in focus, and consider a clear and direct method to achieving the answer(s) to your question. Some common reasons projects are considered unsuitable by the project organisers are:

The topic is too broad

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The topic is too clinically specialised The topic seems too complicated, time-consuming or resource intensive

There is no clear research question If you are feeling completely lost over what topic to choose, you can browse through the titles of past project reports done by students at LSHTM for ideas (see Section 6 for details). Originality and duplication of work As previously mentioned, your project must be original and not something nearly identical to existing work. If work has already been published using the same data that you plan to use and with a similar research question, please ensure that you make this explicit in your outline, and explain what has been done before and what you plan to do differently (and justify why a further study is warranted). If your outline is subsequently approved by the Project Organisers, please ensure you also discuss this fully with your supervisor and, within your final report, ensure you clarify what work has been done before and what you have done that is different (e.g., within the Statement of Role and Methods sections).

5. Key deadlines for the Project You should undertake the project in the year in which you enter for your final module examinations, or after all examinations have been completed. This ensures

that you can use all the skills and knowledge that you have learned during your MSc in your project. Please ensure that you adhere to all the deadlines given below. The reason for the deadlines is to ensure that your project report has been completed and marked by the time of the exam board meeting in November (they meet just once a year). If we did not set these deadlines this goal becomes more difficult to achieve. We therefore need your co-operation in adhering to this timetable.

The table below describes the overall sequence of project tasks throughout the academic year commencing 1 October and ending 30 September. We recommend that you write these deadlines into your personal or work calendar. All deadlines refer to the end of the day in question UK time (either GMT in winter or GMT+1 in summer months), i.e. by 11.59pm.

STAGE TASK DESCRIPTION DEADLINE

1. Choose project topic

Consider your interests, both in your current career and for the future. Ask your contacts if they have any

datasets for analysis. Think of possible studies you may want to carry out to write a protocol. Think of any topics

you find interesting for a systematic review. Post questions to the Project Organisers and fellow students via the

Moodle forum on „Project Outlines‟.

If you require guidance from the Project Organisers on choosing your project topic (after

exhausting other possibilities) contact EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk by 15

October 2011

2. Submit project outline

Draft & submit your 500 word project outline using the „Project outline template‟ in MS Word (see Appendix 2

or download from the Projects website). Revise based on reviewer and supervisor‟s comments (Jan-Feb).

First draft submission by 1 November 2011 by email to

EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk

3. Include on

exam entry form

Include the project report on the

examination entry form

Must be received by the

Examinations Office (University of London) by 1 February 2012

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4. Submit the

Combined Academic, Risk assessment and

Ethics approval (CARE) form

You must complete the CARE form

and first send to your supervisor for comment, before submitting by 1

st

March. All students must consider the

risks and feasibility of their project work. See section 8.7. For data analysis projects, complete

the ethics section of the form. You will also need to ensure local ethics approval has been granted or is being

sought. See section 8.5.

Submission via email to

EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk by 1 March 2012. The DL office will forward forms requiring ethics

approval to the LSHTM Ethics Committee

5. Carry out most of the work for the project.

You may work on your project before the summer, but it will be up to your supervisor whether they can offer any

project supervision time before June.

Main supervision period: June to September

6. Submit draft report

You are permitted to submit one draft of your final report and will receive one set of detailed comments and

suggestions from your supervisor.

Agree deadline with supervisor but allow at least two weeks prior to final submission (1 week for

them to read it and 1 week for you to make revisions).

7. Submit final report for marking

After you have made final revisions, proof-read your document and

checked that your references and citations are correct, submit your final draft (including accompanying figures

and tables) for marking (preferably in PDF format). This should be done via the Assignment Management System

(see Section 11.6 for further details).

Submit by 30 September 2012 (i.e. by 23.59pm GMT+1 on 30th

September, and, before the start of 1st October)

6. Past project reports by LSHTM students Past MSc project reports can be viewed on the LSHTM library page http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/databases/msc_projects_online.html. We can only

make project reports publicly available if the students who wrote them gave permission for this, hence the DL projects are limited in number at present. Please note that the reports should not be considered 'model' reports and will be of varying standards (although all will be a grade 2 or higher). You will also be able to see past reports from the in-house Epidemiology course, but again these will be of varying standards. Please note the word limits for DL and in-house projects have been different in past years and may differ from the current guidelines. Furthermore, the guidelines are updated each year and so past projects may differ in certain areas. You should not use any of the work of past students without appropriate citation as that would be considered plagiarism and will be treated very seriously.

7. Deferment of projects and extensions on your final submission

If you have made an examination entry for the project report, but then find you are unable to submit the completed report that year, you must receive approval from the Project Organiser(s) for a deferment. This should be done well before the submission deadline. When you continue your project in the following year, you will be entitled to any unused supervision time. If a deferment has not been approved and no report is submitted, then you will be considered to have made a first attempt and will fail the project report completely.

You will be eligible for a second attempt.

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Extensions to submit the project report after the 30 September deadline may be considered by the Course Director for extenuating circumstances only and such requests must be made well before the deadline.

8. Preparation for the project

8.1 Purpose of the project outline

Your project outline enables us to assess whether the proposed project is both appropriate and feasible given available resources and if it is likely to result in a well-conceived, sound project report. The reviewers and your supervisor will therefore consider such issues as appropriateness, clarity and feasibility of the objectives, the originality of the research question, the quality, size and availability of the dataset, and the overall ability of your proposed project to provide a good learning experience. It is to your benefit to put significant effort into the preparation of your outline as it will form the foundation of your project and allow the reviewer to provide constructive suggestions to improve your proposed study. Unless a satisfactory outline is produced, you will not be able to undertake your project during that year.

8.2 Reviewing the literature

Before you start writing your outline, you should review the relevant literature to inform your research question, study aim(s) and objectives. This will ensure that you are familiar with the current state of knowledge in your chosen subject area, that your proposed topic has merit, and that you are aware of possible alternative methods for performing your project. Reviewing the literature will also provide you with the evidence-based information to include in the background section of your project outline and ultimately your project report. Note this is the case whether you are planning to do a data analysis or systematic literature review.

8.3 Format of the project outline

The word limit for the outline (not including references) is 500, and it should be written into the Project Outline Template (Appendix 2). The majority of your word count should be spent detailing your methods and analysis. Further details about each section follow: Title of your proposed project. (Requested on page 1 of the template) Write a title that

clearly indicates the subject of your study. The title should make it easy for the reader to understand quickly what problem or question you intend to address. If the work will be undertaken in a specific location (e.g., city, country, clinic), it is a good idea to include this in your title. Background. The background section is where you offer your justification for the study,

based on the literature. This is where you must demonstrate that you have looked at the literature on the subject and generally understand what is already known. Here you must convince the reader why your proposed study is useful or needed. While it is not expected that you will have done a thorough literature review (you will do this during your project), you should very briefly cite key articles and/or reports related to the topic you are proposing.

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Research question, clearly stated. The research question is the question you intend your

study to answer, in part or in full. It should follow on from the previous research questions identified by the studies in your literature review and should provide an overview for the study aim and objectives that you identify. Please ensure your research question is clear, specific and stated in the form of a question. Main aim(s) and objectives of the study. The study aim(s) should state the overall

purpose of the project and the objectives should outline specific elements (not methods). Keep the objectives concise and restricted in number. Objectives may be smaller or more detailed components of your aim, and should be achievable with the data available Methods: Whether you are doing a data analysis or systematic review, you need to

describe the methods you will use to achieve your proposed aim and objectives. If you plan to conduct a literature review, for example, you should list the resources (e.g., Medline, Cochrane library) you will use for your search and possible search terms. You should also state how many studies you expect to include for review, and what data will be extracted. If you are planning to analyse a dataset, you should give a brief description of the dataset, sample size and characteristics, and key variables for your analysis. You should also confirm that you have authorisation to use the data, and that it will not require extensive time and effort for cleaning. Your methods must be written clearly and demonstrate that you understand the standard scientific methods to investigate your subject in a systematic way. They should also allow you to demonstrate skills you have learned in the MSc, including advanced courses. You should also indicate how you intend to analyse the data or literature that you collect. For data analyses, you should describe the data you plan to analyse, and how you will define the outcome and explanatory (exposure) variable(s) and measure associations between them. Data analysis projects must generally include some form of multivariable analysis. If you are undertaking EPM202 in the same academic year as you will be doing your project you may feel unsure about how to describe your multivariable analysis methods. Resources to help you include: course materials from EPM102 and EPM105, published journal articles in your topic area, and the reading list (books) for EPM202. Resources required. Please describe any resources that your study might need (e.g.,

published literature, electronic journals, data set) and your means of accessing these. In the Project Template, we also ask that you describe any local support you may receive for the project. If your project is part of the work of a team, you need to state precisely what your own contribution will be and the proportion and nature of the work contributed by others, if any. If you are working as part of a research team please note that the final content of the project report is your responsibility alone; it must be your own work, reflecting your own abilities and the skills and knowledge you have acquired during the MSc course, and it should be written by you alone. Please note that your outline must be submitted in the Template form to the Project Organiser(s) via email (EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk) by the end of 1 November. Outlines

submitted after this deadline will not be accepted unless an extension has been agreed with the Project Organiser(s) prior to the deadline date.

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8.4 Review of outline

Your project outline will be reviewed by one of the Project Organisers or another LSHTM staff member to ensure it is suitable to be referred to a supervisor. Specifically, the reviewers will determine whether the outline is:

Approved and ready to forward to a supervisor;

Approved with recommendations for change (to be shared with the student and supervisor); or

Returned to the student for revisions (before allocation of a supervisor). Once your outline has been approved and a supervisor has been allocated (in December or January), the supervisor will also review your outline and may provide additional comments or suggestions for changes. Please read the feedback carefully and consider whether you understand what has been suggested. We ask that you respond to comments within a week where possible, unless otherwise specified. The reviewers and supervisor will be trying to ensure that you have a research design that will lead to a well-conceived, successful project and there may be several revisions until the proposal is likely to lead to a successful project report. The process of reviewing outlines and allocating supervisors takes several weeks. It is a complex task of matching student and supervisor interests and skills. Note that you may not receive comments directly from the Project Organisers unless there is a specific issue with your project that they need to raise early on, e.g. for any of the reasons mentioned in Section 4 (Choosing a project topic). The final version of your outline will be included in the „Academic‟ part of the CARE form, due 1st March.

8.5 Ethics approval

All MSc projects based on human subjects, and data involving human subjects, must obtain LSHTM ethics approval. Exceptions are for those which use data in the public domain (i.e. data which can be obtained by lay people as well as professionals , such as published statistics on births and deaths, notifications of infectious diseases or hospital activity indices that do not enable – directly, or by linking to other data – the identification of living people). In general, data analysis projects will need to be submitted for LSHTM ethics approval via the CARE form. Even if the original study has received ethics approval from another body, the LSHTM ethics committee would still expect to review your proposal to ensure that the way that you use the data does not infringe the rights of participants to confidentiality and privacy. You therefore need to make it clear in your CARE application that any reporting of the results will be done in such a way that individuals cannot be identified e.g., not just by removing the names of individuals but also by ensuring that tabulations group part icipants in a way that individuals are not identifiable. Individuals' identities may inadvertently be revealed if a table contains a very small number of individuals in a cell, for example. (See Section 8.6 below). Frequently asked questions: Q. My project uses data from a project which has already received ethics approval: do I

need to seek LSHTM ethics approval? A Yes, unless the full data are in the public domain and freely available to all, you will

need to seek LSHTM ethics approval for the analysis you are proposing.

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Q. My project is a review: do I need to seek LSHTM ethics approval? A. Only if you will use non public-domain data, e.g., re-analysis of raw data which are not

publicly available. Q. If I am not sure whether my project needs ethics approval, what should I do? A. Please contact the Project Organisers in the first instance (via

EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk). Advice from the Chair of the LSHTM Ethics Committee

may also be needed. Q, What evidence of LSHTM ethics approval must I provide with my final project? A. A statement of ethics approval(s) received must be made in the Methods section of

your project report, including any from LSHTM, with accompanying approval numbers. Note that you should not attach approval letters as appendices to your project report. This causes problems with blinding your report for the markers.

Q. How do I apply for ethics approval?

A You will need to fill in the Ethics section of the Combined Academic, Risk assessment and Ethics (CRE) form which you will find on the Projects website – see http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl/programme/student/ep/student/projects.htm This should be approved by your supervisor and submitted by 1st March (see Section 5 above, for details). Please also refer to the Guidance notes for making applications and EP Project Ethics policy which are also on the Projects website.

After entering your final outline, and reviewing the ethics approval section of the CARE form with your supervisor, please ensure your supervisor has reviewed and dated the CARE form before you submit by 1st March. To submit, the form should be copied to your supervisor and sent to EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk who will submit it to the Secretary of the

Ethics Committee on your behalf.

Ethics approval IS REQUIRED for projects involving:

• Human subjects: All projects that involve human subjects or human data require ethics clearance from the LSHTM Ethics Committee, with final approval dependant on local ethics approval having also been obtained.

• Unpublished data: Ethics approval is required if your project involves the use of data not in the public domain (e.g., unpublished data from earlier studies).

Ethics approval is NOT REQUIRED for projects involving: • Literature review: A review of published or unpublished literature, unless this

involves human subjects or human data. • Published data: Analysis of data in the public domain (ie data which can be

obtained by lay people as well as professionals and that cannot identify living

individuals). Please also be aware that in most cases where ethics approval is required, you will need

to obtain both LSHTM ethics clearance and clearance from a local body or organisation. The process of applying locally can overlap with the CARE application. If that is the case, you do not have to submit the local approval with your CARE form, but state which local

body is simultaneously reviewing your proposal. Note that LSHTM ethics approval, if

granted, will be null and void in the event of local approval bei ng refused.

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8.6 Maintaining confidentiality It is not only studies gathering biological data that require ethics approval, but also studies collecting questionnaire information – including ones mainly or only involving interviews with health professionals. Such interviews can be as stressful as those with patients and others. Students should pay particular attention to preserving confidentiality in studies involving small numbers of participants even when data have been anonymised. Anonymity does not guarantee confidentiality. For example, if data on participants are cross-tabulated by smaller sub-groups with resulting small numbers, it may be possible for someone who knows the background to the study to identify individuals. To give an extreme example, if there is only one person in a sub-group shown as a man, of a particular age, working in a particular area, identifying that person could be very easy. There are three main ways of avoiding this possibility: (i) ensure that there are never less than, say, five individuals in a sub-group; or (ii) describe the results for the initial group as a whole, i.e., not subsequently broken

down into sub-groups; or (iii) give each participant the option in the consent form of not being quoted at all,

anonymously or otherwise, or included in any of the analyses. This approach does mean that some data may be unavailable for analysis but experience has shown that this option is rarely adopted.

8.7 Risk assessment

It is now a requirement of LSHTM that all students complete a Risk Assessment, even if only conducting a literature review from home. Included within the CARE form, the risk assessment is designed to make you think about and assess any risks you may encounter during your project work and the feasibility of your work. Try to consider strategies for minimising risk and explore alternative options („back-up‟ plans) in the event that your project does not progress fully according to your original plan. Your supervisor will review your form and it will be held on file in the DL support Office, but the final responsibility for ensuring safety during project work rests with you, the student, and not with LSHTM or LSHTM staff.

8.8 Copyright and intellectual property issues Copyright and intellectual property rights are important issues to be aware of when utilising the work of others in your project report. This is not just about ensuring that you correctly reference everything you make use of (see separate guidance in Section 13 – Plagiarism and cheating – on referencing, citing and avoiding plagiarism); but you also need to be sure that you are allowed to make use of this work. You should be certain about whether any restrictions may apply in the way you communicate, disseminate or even publish work that you have produced based on that of others. See Appendix 3 (Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues) for further details.

8.9 Constructing a timetable The Project Module is equivalent to three advanced/elective modules and worth 45 credits. This means that the notional learning time for a standard length project is suggested as 450 notional learning hours (since each advanced/elective module is worth 15 credits and estimated to take 150 study hours including study, revision and reading). The project is expected to take about 13 weeks (full-time) to complete, if a full-time week is considered 35 hours. This includes approximately three weeks for preparation

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(identification of question, draft and finalise outline, check feasibility of data, complete CARE form, etc), and up to 10 weeks for the research and writing. Most of the work will take place between June and September. While you may prefer to spread the work over a longer time, you should expect most of your supervision support to take place over the summer. You should make a timetable at the beginning of the year and decide on specific landmarks. We suggest you share these with your supervisor and review these landmarks at the beginning of June, and then check on your project progress at the end of July to see if you are „on track‟. For example: Data analysis project By mid July 2012, I expect to have:

Systematic review project By mid July 2012, I expect to have:

Finished the literature review

Drafted the Introduction

Drafted the Introduction

Defined my search strategy

Cleaned the data Defined Inclusion/Exclusion criteria Outlined the Methods section according to aim/objectives Defined Quality grading criteria Derived empty (dummy) tables for the Results section

Have an overall total of papers to review/score

Note that these are examples only, you need to think through your own timetable and specifics of your own project.

One of the first tasks you should undertake with your supervisor is to review your timetable and ensure that it fits around your supervisor‟s availability.

9. What you can expect in terms of supervision

We aim to allocate you a tutor to supervise your project by January and we allow a total of 18 hours of supervision time up to the end of September which includes two hours for reviewing and finalising your project outline. The supervisor‟s time will include not only email discussion with you but time spent reading and commenting on drafted work. The role of your supervisor is to provide you with guidance and advice, and to support your learning during the project report. However, the final content of the project report is your responsibility alone; it must be your own work, reflecting your own abilities and the skills and knowledge you have acquired during the course and during the period of supervision. The specific responsibilities of the supervisor are as follows:

Provide feedback to the student on their project outline by 31st January

Ensure student obtains ethics approval (where necessary), and completes a risk assessment for their project. Review and comment on the Combined Academic, Risk assessment and Ethics approval (CRE) form before submission on 1st March.

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Maintain regular contact with the student throughout the summer supervision period (June to September) guiding the student through the following aspects of the project: performing a literature search, data management, data analysis, interpretation of results, writing up the report.

Keep a written log of all communications with student (note that emails / chat transcripts may need to be made available to the Course Director and other appropriate staff in certain circumstances).

Respond to student queries within three working days (unless absence agreed with Project Organiser(s) and the student is aware). Note that if the query is complex e.g. review of your project outline then the supervisor may take longer than this to provide a full response.

Read and provide feedback on one full draft of the project report. Set a deadline with the student for the draft so that there is sufficient time before the submission date to do this. If English is not the student‟s first language, the project must be legible, but the supervisor need not attempt to correct all the errors and problems with English. It is the students‟ responsibility (and not that of the supervisor) to correct spelling, grammatical, and typing errors in the report and to ensure accuracy of data and references.

Checklist – role of the supervisor

Things the supervisor can do –

The supervisor can advise on development of the project outline, including giving feedback and making specific suggestions for how to complete the CARE form.

The supervisor should approve the final project outline, to be included in the CARE form.

The supervisor should provide guidance over the course of the project, and also on specific aspects where appropriate.

The supervisor may insert „comments‟ electronically.

The supervisor will usually provide feedback on a penultimate draft of the project report (provided this is given to them in good time, according to a jointly-agreed timetable).

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Things the supervisor should not do –

The supervisor is not expected to correct the student‟s English.

The supervisor is not responsible for deciding the final content of the project report.

The supervisor must not write the project outline.

The supervisor must not specify the analytical approach.

The supervisor should not tell the student what to do.

The supervisor should not tell the student what to write.

The supervisor should not write text/commands for the student.

The supervisor should not track-change text electronically.

The supervisor should not run STATA analyses for the student.

The supervisor is not responsible for ensuring that the project is of at least a “pass” standard.

The supervisor should not rewrite a project report. The supervisor should not be out of email contact for more than two weeks at a time during the supervision period (15 June to 30 September). In addition, they should be contactable by email for at least one of the two weeks prior to the submission deadline (30 September). If this is not possible, the supervisor should make alternative arrangements for cover beforehand, with agreement of the Project Organisers. During the course of the project, your supervisor will normally provide guidance, but should not tell you what to do or what to write, or carry out specific actions such as writing text/commands or running STATA analyses for you. However, where you encounter specific challenges, you may find it helpful to contact your supervisor, and then apply what you learn from such a discussion to your project report. Sometimes the data you are analysing will belong to your supervisor. However, your supervisor should not direct the analysis beyond your level of ability. In some cases your supervisor may carry out further analysis after the project report has been submitted, but the project report must be your work alone. You should quite clearly understand that it is not your supervisor‟s responsibility to make sure that the project report submitted is of at least a „pass‟ standard. Rather, their responsibility is to provide guidance and support to ensure your best efforts can be directed into appropriate work, so that your final project report will be a good example of your ability and knowledge. The primary responsibility for maintaining contact with your supervisor rests with you as the student. You should consult them from early on about your plans, and jointly agree on how they will give input as your work progresses. There may be periods where your supervisor is unavailable, e.g. if travelling or undertaking their own research; they should let you know when this is the case. We hope that your supervisor provides you with the appropriate support as described above, but if for any reason you feel that this is not the case, please let the Project Organisers know, by writing to EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk.

Disabilities You may wish to inform your supervisor if you have a disability or ongoing medical condition – e.g. physical or sensory impairments, learning disabilities such as dyslexia or

dyspraxia, or difficulties affecting emotional or mental well-being. Even if you have already declared a disability to the School, such information is treated confidentially and supervisors will not automatically be advised. Supervisors are likely to be able to support you better if they are aware of your specific circumstances.

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10. Additional resources to help you carry out your

project General guidance on academic writing is provided by the Academic Writing Handbook which contains useful information on referencing and avoiding plagiarism; it can be found

at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl/programme/student/ep/student/general.htm.

General guidance on data management is provided by the course manual for the "Data Management using Epi-data and Stata" in-house course, which you can find at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl/programme/student/ep/student/general.htm. This is an

additional resource for you, but we cannot provide any specific support related to this manual. In terms of module material for your reference, students who are registered for the project have access to CAL material for the current core modules, as well as EPM202 and EPM304. Moodle forums During the initial stages of the project, while developing your project idea and outline, there will be an „Project Outlines‟ forum, where you can post questions for the tutors or discussion with your fellow students. For those of you doing a data analysis project using Stata, you might find the Moodle forum “Stata support for project” useful. This is for questions and discussion on any technical issues related to the statistical package Stata (but not for issues on how to analyse your specific data set, for which you should contact your supervisor). For those of you analysing a DHS dataset you might find the Moodle forum „Support for DHS projects‟ useful. This is for questions and discussions relating to the analysis of survey data. Note there are also DHS introductory notes (covering DHS datasets, sampling and Stata) available to download from the Projects page on the student website: http://dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/student/ep/student/projects.htm Library support We are aware that some students have difficulty in accessing academic literature to use for their project report. The LSHTM Library can assist you as DL students now have full access to LSHTM library services. A Moodle forum „LSHTM library support‟ is also available for any library related questions (under the EP General Forums on Moodle). Please also refer to the „DL library handbook‟ available at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl/programme/student/ep/student/general.htm. The services

are summarised below:

Search the Library catalogue for e-journals and e-books http://unicorn.lshtm.ac.uk , and access databases from the webpages www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/databases/databasesall.html . You will need the login details you use to access your Student Portal.

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DL students who are able to visit the Library can make use of the printed collections and study space. You can also apply for a Library Access Card to allow you to borrow books. Please see the DL Library handbook for full details.

DL students registered for the project option are also entitled to become members

of Senate House Library (www.ull.ac.uk/). This includes access to their e-journals and databases remotely, from your own computer. Please see the DL Library handbook (on the student website) for full details. http://dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/Library/DL%20Library%20Handbook.pdf

If the material you require is not available via LSHTM, or only available at the

Library in print, it can often be sent to you directly using the Document Delivery Service www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/iloans/ddstudentremote.html

SCONUL Access Cards can be provided (www.access.sconul.ac.uk/) which allow

you to use the print collections of most other UK academic libraries. They can also give advice on local library services that may be available to you.

An increasing amount of information is now freely available online, the Library has

collated some key resources. www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/databases/free.html

There is lots of information to help you use the Library www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/help/ and a selection of guides on effective literature searching www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/help/help.html.

Additionally the University of London International Programme provides you with access to the Online Library, via the Student Portal. It is recommended that you try to access material through LSHTM Library first. Their collections are dedicated to tropical medicine and public health so will be more relevant to your studies.

11. Producing the project report

11.1 Content of report according to project type Data analysis projects should:

- Synthesise current knowledge in the field and define the objective(s) of the study - Describe the study design and the analytical methods - Conduct and present appropriate analyses - Critically discuss the results and their limitations.

Review projects should:

- Synthesise current knowledge in the field - Carry out a comprehensive, critical review (should be a systematic review if possible)

including at least five eligible studies - Critically appraise results of the review, and its limitations - Conduct a meta-analysis (if your topic allows it you must do this) - State clear recommendations for future research.

11.2 Resources to help you structure your project report For data analysis projects:

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There are published articles which provide guidance on what to report for either: randomised controlled trials (the CONSORT statements http://www.consort-

statement.org/);

non-randomised evaluations (the TREND statement http://www.cdc.gov/trendstatement/); and

observational studies (the STROBE statement http://www.strobe-statement.org/). The EP105 module course materials and textbooks can also provide guidance, particularly the sessions on writing a scientific paper. For review projects:

The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions is a useful guide. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/homepages/106568753/handbook.pdf The EPM105 sections on systematic reviews may also provide guidance, and the most current versions of those sessions are available on the Project page of the student website: http://dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/student/ep/student/projects.htm These two journal articles are also relevant: “Traditional reviews, meta-analyses and pooled analyses in epidemiology” by Blettner et al, 1999 International Journal of Epidemiology 28:1-9; and “Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology: a proposal for reporting. Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) group” by Stroup et al 2000 JAMA 283: 2008-12. The LSHTM library has also produced some guides for students conducting systematic reviews which may be of help, see http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/help/help.html . Under advanced guides that there is a document you can download called Planning and Conducting a Literature Search. This outlines each step of the search process – and includes exercises to help you develop your strategy. If you need any help with a specific stage there are individual guides focusing on these too. For all projects:

You may find The Sciences Good Study Guide by Northedge et al (1997) useful. If you do not have access to the Endnote reference manager, there are three freely available software packages that you could use as an alternative:

Mendeley is available at: http://www.mendeley.com/how-it-works/ although you

need to register online for all its features. LSHTM IT services have produced a guide to help you get the most from it 'Mendeley: quick start guide' (pdf) available at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl/programme/student/ep/student/general.htm.

Zotero http://www.zotero.org/ is similar, but is for use with the Firefox web-browser. For further help please see this guide 'Zotero: quick start guide' (pdf) available at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl/programme/student/ep/student/general.htm.

Some students also use Wizfolio www.wizfolio.com to manage their references.

11.3 Report structure The following sections provide a framework for the structure of your submitted project report. A literature review project may deviate from the framework, for example separate sections devoted to different aspects of the literature may be required instead.

Title page

Summary or Abstract

Table of contents

Statement of author‟s role

Introduction

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Background (review of literature)

Materials and methods

Results (or Observations made)

Discussion

Conclusions or Recommendations

Glossary and Abbreviations (optional)

References

Appendices

General points to note on the structure of the report:

Good presentation is important. When writing and editing your report, consider the person reading your work for the first time. Careless presentation may raise doubts in the reader‟s mind about the quality and accuracy of the work itself and may obscure the main messages even where the content if good. Presentation covers not only the structure of your report but also the material you include and exclude.

Be concise in your use of tables and figures. You should rarely need as many as 10 of these in total. See also Appendix 4 – Notes on presentation and referencing.

11.3.1 Title page

This should show the title, the sub-title, if any, the candidate number, the date, and the word count (see Section 11.5 for details about the word limit). The title given should always be to the point, compact and should communicate the main concepts/findings of the paper including the type of project you have undertaken.

11.3.2 Abstract

This should be a concise but comprehensive summary of the report. Select this text carefully as the abstract allows the reader to „dip in‟ and find out the main purpose, design, outcomes, key results (with supporting evidence, as appropriate), and conclusions of your report. The abstract should contain key-words that might be useful in an information retrieval system. The abstract should not usually be more than 500 words. Write your abstract using a structured format (or semi-structured format, as appropriate) such as that used in the British Medical Journal. 11.3.3 Table of contents

The list of contents sets the scope of the project report quickly into the reader's mind. The headings of the table of contents should be the same as those used in the body of the report, with the same numbering system (if used). You may find it helpful to draw up an outline table of contents early in the writing process, since this can aid the formation of the report into logically sequenced sections. 11.3.4 Statement of author’s role

Many projects are undertaken as part of a wider collaborative group, or through the student‟s place of work. In this case, especially, it is important to specify what role you played in the project and what role others played in your project. For a data analysis project this includes: who put forward the idea, designed the study, undertook fieldwork, planned the analysis etc. For a project proposal or literature review this includes: who set the research question, designed the study, decided the way the review would be done or carried out the review. Furthermore if a scientific committee (such as a monitoring committee) is involved, you should also state their role. Any literature search or statistical

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analysis that you present in the project should be your own work and the entire project report should be written in your own words. In this section, you should also consider and declare any possible conflict of interest (e.g., if you are employed by a project being evaluated in your study, or received funding support from the company/organisation that owns the data you have analysed). The point of such disclosure is to encourage you to consider any challenges to your neutrality and objectivity as a researcher, and not to deduct marks for your report. 11.3.5 Introduction and Background

The purpose of this section is to explain why you have undertaken the study, what has been done before, and what your project might add to current scientific knowledge. One approach could be to subdivide your thoughts into the sections: Introduction, Literature Review, and Aims and Objectives. In each section you can start with a general statement and then move to more specific statements. Cite literature that takes into account the “bigger picture” first, and then move on to cite literature related to your topic, which could be similar studies conducted in different study populations, or in related disease areas. Highlight missing information; where previous results have been conflicting, or where poor methods lead to difficulties in interpretation. Describe how the current study might fill some of these gaps. The Background should conclude with a clear statement of the study aim(s) and objectives, and the specific research question you will be addressing. 11.3.6 Materials and methods

The Material and methods section should tell the reader exactly how the study was undertaken so that they could replicate your project. Usually presenting the information in

chronological order is the best way to achieve this. For a data analysis project this should include: a justification of the sample size, a description of the data collection, details of any tests or techniques used (for example, laboratory analysis of blood), data management, and the methods of statistical analysis.If you were not involved in the design of the study or the data collection you can keep these sections brief. In that case, give sufficient information for the reader to understand what the data represent, and place greater emphasis on the methods of analysis. Highlight the ethics considerations and processes even if ethics approval is not required. One approach is to subdivide into the following sections: (i) Materials Data - Give all the relevant details of your study population, for example, how the

population was selected, any inclusion/exclusion criteria. Design - Describe the study design, for example, observational study - case-

control design, clinical trial etc. Justify your sample size providing power calculations if appropriate. Describe all aspects of your data collection and ways in which you addressed sources of bias, for example, by random sampling.

Tools - If a questionnaire was used, summarise its main features. The

questionnaire itself is usually best put in an appendix. If any laboratory tests have been undertaken describe how they were carried out. If measurements were taken, describe what was used to take them.

Ethics - You should list all ethics approvals received for the data collection and

analysis, with approval numbers. (ii) Methods This section should detail the analysis strategy, and justify the choice of the

analytical steps used. It should describe how the data were validated and verified,

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for example, how missing values were handled, how continuous variables were grouped (or not grouped). It should also detail the statistical methods, for example, which univariate methods were used, which multivariable methods were used, the modelling approach (handling of confounding, handling of interactions, handling of multiple statistical significance testing, etc). The reader should be able to replicate your analysis if they had access to your data. For a review project, this section should include how you went about your literature search, for example your search strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, databases searched etc.

11.3.7 Results

This section includes the main bulk of your work and is normally presented using a mixture of text, tables and figures. Any tables, figures or text-boxes you present should be self-explanatory, meaning they should „stand alone‟, requiring no reference to the text for the reader to understand them. You should guide the reader through your analysis, starting with univariate results and moving to multivariable results (for a data analysis project), indicating which tables or figures or text-boxes illustrate a particular statement. Avoid duplication of your material, e.g. presenting the same data in a table and a figure. You need only highlight the key results in the text. Note that negative results are acceptable and should be reported if they relate to your key aims and objectives. See Appendix 4 (Notes on presentation and referencing) for specific guidance on the presentation of tables and figures. Comments and interpretation of your results are best left to the discussion section of your report. 11.3.8 Discussion

This section should include a critical analysis of the material you have presented and the results you have obtained. One approach is to start with a summary of the key findings followed by comments on any problems encountered in the study or on possible biases. You should place your findings in the context of wider scientific literature and suggest how improvements could have been made to your work. You must not present new results in this section, but you may need to refer back to tables or synthesise your emerging ideas. When interpreting the results you should try to include some comments which generalise them, some which attempt to explain them, and some which compare them with other studies. Ensure that you comment on the strengths and limitations of alternative approaches, the methods you have chosen and the results you have reported, including alternative interpretations, and how this all relates to your original research question and study aim(s). The latter part of the discussion can focus on further research needed, possible applications of the current findings and implications for the future. Thus the section develops from more specific to more general points. Above all, this section should demonstrate your ability to interpret and argue the importance of your findings in an epidemiological context.

11.3.9 Conclusions / Recommendations

It may be helpful to conclude with a short section summarising the conclusions or making a list of recommendations which have arisen as a result of your work, e.g., recommendations for further work (where these clearly follow your findings) or changes

that you would make if the study were to be repeated. These may be written in numbered points and do not necessarily require long paragraphs.

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11.3.10 Glossary and list of abbreviations

If you are writing on a specialised topic such as, for example, genetic or veterinary epidemiology, you should consider including a glossary of any terms which might not be familiar to someone with only a general background in epidemiology. All abbreviations should be defined on first usage, but specialised ones may still be worth including in a list of abbreviations. 11.3.11 References

This should list all written sources referenced in the text. You should only quote references that you have consulted and verified. You may cite bibliographic references either by number or by author/date. See Appendix 4 (Notes on presentation and referencing) for more details on the format of references. Be careful when interpreting ideas from an author‟s text into your own words. It does not suffice to alter one or two words in a sentence or paragraph to adopt someone else‟s writing as your own. This will be seen as plagiarism. If you like what someone else has written, it is preferable to keep the original sentence and put quotation marks around it and cite the source. When using ideas from someone else‟s work that you put into your own words, you still must cite this correctly, but you do not need to use quotation marks if the phrasing is sufficiently different. Anytime you are making a claim or referring to existing work, you must give the reference(s) that supports the claim or identifies the work. Be especially careful when you use the words „study‟, „research‟, „evidence‟, „expert‟ when it is not about your own work. Generally, the rule is that you will need to cite which study, which expert, what evidence. In any case, it is always better to err on the side of caution and cite a reference for information that you are offering in your text (See also Section 13 – Plagiarism and cheating – and Appendix 5– How to quote correctly – for more guidance). 11.3.12 Appendices

Appendices should only include material which the examiners are not required to read in order to examine the project, but to which they may refer if they wish, e.g., they may contain additional information such as a questionnaire, statistical calculations, data collected (non-identifiable), correspondence, but they should not contain results. They should be kept to a minimum and each item included must be justified. 11.3.13 Copy of Ethics approval(s)

Previously we required you to attach copies of ethics approvals as either appendices or separate attachments. Due to issues with blinding (preserving your anonymity for blind marking) this is no longer required. Instead you are asked to detail all ethics approvals you have in your Methods section with approval numbers.

11.4 Proof reading and help with writing or language The report you submit should be your own work, comprised of your own ideas and judgments, expressed in your own words. However, many students will wish to seek some further assistance with use of language and grammar. It is appropriate to ask a fellow student, family member or friend to 'proof-read' a final draft to help identify any spelling or grammatical mistakes or similar, or give comments on your choice of words. You may also ask a peer (e.g., a fellow-student) who knows the academic subject area to give comments on the content of the project. However, you must always make the final decision about what is included and how it is expressed, and you should give appropriate acknowledgement to the assistance you have received in producing your final report.

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You should NOT have anyone else extensively edit or rewrite your project for you, for example, in such a way that the language used no longer represents your own expression of the work done, or so that another person than yourself has made decisions about the content or presentation of the work put forward. In particular, you should be aware that the use of 'professional' (paid) editors is strongly discouraged by the School. If English is not your first language, please be reassured that you will not be marked down for minor imperfections. You are being asked to produce a readable scientific report that puts your points across clearly. Well-structured organisation (such as distinct main sections), clear presentation (such as uncluttered short paragraphs and sensible use of lists, bullet points or tables) and straightforward unambiguous phrasing (eg using short descriptive sentences) are all much more important than demonstrating a 'high' standard of English. However, whatever your standard of English, you should make sure you proof-read your report before submission and correct any obvious errors. If markers see evidence of unnecessarily 'sloppy' writing that demonstrates insufficient attention to accuracy in reporting your work or checking what you have written, they may deduct marks.

11.5 Word limit and file format for the submitted project report

The total length of the project report should be no more than 10,000 words.

The word count should be stated on the Title page of the project report.

The electronic version of the submitted project should include all substantive content and numeric data in a form electronically recognisable as text (e.g., as paragraphs or tables) which can be word-counted by standard software packages so paragraphs or tables should not be included in the form of „pictures‟. However this is not meant to be inflexible – e.g. if you include a graph or figure as a „picture‟, it would be expected to have a title and legend that doesn‟t need to be picked up as text. Numbers in tables should be counted as corresponding to one word each, as per standard software packages.

All the main content of the project (from the Introduction to the Conclusions) should be included in the word count – this also covers any tables or footnotes. Preliminary pages such as the Title page, Acknowledgements, Abbreviations, Abstract (up to 500 words) and Contents are excluded. The Reference list is also excluded from the word count. Appendices are excluded and should only include material which the examiners are not required to read in order to examine the project, but to which they may refer if they wish.

Most standard word-processing packages will allow you to highlight the text you want, then click on a „word count‟ option to check how many words it contains.

Reports that are over the word limit will be automatically given a 0 grade.

You may be marked down for the following formatting:

Including your student number, name, or name of supervisor(s) in the report. If you do include any of these, you may no longer be anonymous and you will not be marked blind. To remain anonymous and be marked blind include only your exam candidate number.

Including text outside the printable margins of the page. Your markers will probably print off your report in order to mark it so you do not want them to miss any key text.

Using paragraph formatting that is difficult to read. The main body of the report and the references must be double-spaced. Tables should also normally be double-spaced, but if single spacing is clearer for a particular table, eg because double-spacing would

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extend them onto two pages, then it would be acceptable to single-space them. Material not written for the project, or intended for another purpose, eg questionnaires, should be included (as appendices) in their original format, ie they may appear as single spaced.

Using a font size that is too small to read. The minimum font size is 11 point.

Not numbering your pages. Again page numbers make your report easier to read.

Not including references. References are used to compare your work to current scientific research and are important to put your work into the context of current knowledge.

11.6 Submitting the project report

Submit your final Project Report via the Assignment Management System (AMS). Remember to remove your name from the project report, including document properties so that your identity is not known by the markers.

The completed project report (including accompanying figures and tables) must be uploaded to AMS as one document only. Any other documents, that you want to include as appendices should be included in the report document. If you are unable to include additional documents within your main project report, then you must ensure you zip these files together with the main project report and upload the zipped file to AMS. You are only able to submit one document or one zipped file. Additional documents cannot be accepted via email. Once you have uploaded your project to AMS, you are able to view this document from your AMS homepage. You will not receive an email confirming receipt of the project. NOTE: Only one version of your report can be accepted for marking. Once you have

submitted your final project report we cannot accept any further late revisions. Therefore you must make sure the report you submit is the correct and final version, and includes all relevant supporting documentation, that you wish to be sent for marking.

If you do not submit your project, and a deferment has not been approved, then you will be considered to have made a first attempt and will fail the project report – see Section 7 (Deferment of projects and extensions on your final submission). To ensure that your formatting is seen exactly as you have finalised it, we strongly recommend that you send your report as a PDF file. If you send as a word document

(.doc, or .docx) the file may print differently on different computers or with different printers which can change the format of your work for example your tables, pagination, figures etc.

See below for guidance on saving as a PDF:

- In Microsoft Word 2007 it is possible to save your Word document as a PDF by changing the file type under the “save as” option using the Office Button (at the top left hand corner of Word), and selecting „PDF or XPS‟.

- To generate a PDF file from an older version of Microsoft Word you will need to download and install free software that allows you to “print” your file as a PDF. Examples of this software are cute PDF writer or PDF creator http://www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/Writer.asp http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/ After you have installed the

software you will need to open your Word document then navigate to „File‟ then „Print‟ and select „Cute pdf writer‟ or „pdf creator‟ as the printer name. Finally select „OK‟ and then „Save‟ in the appropriate folder.

- If you are using the open-source (free) Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/) as your word processor, you can use the

“Export to pdf” option under the File menu.

If you are unable to save as a PDF file please check that you have deleted all your comments and track changes (or select „Accept All Changes in Document‟). That may

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solve the problem. Please also ensure that you cannot be identified through the file properties.

12 Marking of project reports When carrying out and writing up your project report, it is very important to understand how it will later be assessed. Please see Appendix 6 for the specific marking criteria that apply to this course, according to type of report.

12.1 General Marking Criteria

Your project will be marked by members of academic staff who are not your supervisor. Projects will be double marked anonymously and written feedback will be given. The markers will jointly agree a grade on the School‟s standard scale from 0 to 5,. Please ensure you understand how your project will be marked from an early

stage, as you start planning your proposal. You should also particularly pay careful attention to the marking criteria (Appendix

6) when you reach the writing-up stage. The following table indicates the qualitative descriptors which relate to each grade point, ranging from 5 (Excellent) through to 0 (Very poor). Please be aware that the specific criteria for your course in Appendix 6 will be more definitive.

Grade point

Descriptor Typical work should include evidence of…

5 Excellent Excellent engagement with the topic, excellent depth of understanding & insight, excellent argument & analysis. Generally, this work will be

„distinction standard‟.

4 Very good Very good engagement with the topic, very good depth of understanding & insight, very good argument & analysis. This work may be „borderline distinction standard‟.

3 Good Good (but not necessarily comprehensive) engagement with the topic,

clear understanding & insight, reasonable argument & analysis.

2 Satisfactory Adequate evidence of engagement with the topic but some gaps in understanding or insight, routine argument & analysis.

1 Unsatisfactory / poor (fail)

Inadequate engagement with the topic, gaps in understanding, poor argument & analysis.

0 Very poor (fail)

Poor engagement with the topic, limited understanding, very poor

argument & analysis.

0 Not submitted (null)

Null mark may be given where work has not been submitted, or is in serious breach of assessment criteria/regulations.

Results are normally available by the end of November after the Exam Board meeting.

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12.2 What the examiners will be looking for The specific criteria which will apply for marking project reports on your MSc are set out in Appendix 6. This describes the scientific, academic and critical skills being assessed. In all cases of MSc projects (unless specifically stated to the contrary), examiners will be looking to see:

Evidence of learning: Your project report should be your own work, and include

original thinking, though you should discuss and review your ideas with your tutor. If you make use of any work conducted by others, this should be appropriately referenced (see Section 13 below for details).

Evidence of scientific and academic standards: Including – Whether the main project report is structured in an appropriate way; How well you make the case for your study design in the light of your research

question; Whether the project meets the stated aims and objectives set out in the project

report; Appropriate and competent use of methods for data collection or generation and

analysis; Convincing well-argued conclusions; and A full reference list of all sources of knowledge, data and ideas in the project

report, whether these were published in paper form or obtained via the internet.

Evidence of critical skills: Your project report should demonstrate your ability to

integrate your skills in conducting an independent piece of research, including – Critical thinking; Analysing data and drawing conclusions; Clear and coherent writing; and Presenting your findings in an appropriate way.

12.3 What happens after submission? Soon after the project hand-in deadline, you will be emailed and asked for your feedback about the project experience. Projects are a hugely important part of MSc study at

LSHTM, and feedback about any areas where the School has scope to make improvements or enhancements is very helpful for future students. Your comments will be much appreciated. We are likely to ask questions about:

general administrative support and support prior to supervision.

communication with your supervisor (response time, quality of answers) initial guidance on workplan and objectives

general guidance (literature search, data management, analysis strategy and data analysis, interpretation of results)

technical help (methods, statistics, software etc.). After your project report has been marked, your LSHTM supervisor will be sent a copy of your grade and feedback. All students whose projects are of pass standard or above will be asked if they are willing for the Library to make their project available on the LSHTM website for future students. Where you have achieved a good mark and your project report has particularly interesting or original features, you may be encouraged to consider submitting it for publication in a peer-reviewed journal (see Appendix 3). Your supervisor or Course Director may be able to offer you further advice on this.

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12.4 What happens if I fail the Project Report? If you obtain either a 0 or 1 grade at your first attempt of the Project Report, you will need to re-sit the Project. This re-sit will be capped to a maximum grade of 3. The Board of Examiners will decide on one of the following 3 options: (i) „Revise and re-submit‟: In this case, the re-sit student will need to make

corrections and submit a revised project, by 31st March 2013. This will then be marked and the grade submitted to the July 2013 Board of Examiners meeting .

(ii) „Collect further data ‟: In this case, the re-sit student will need to collect new or further data and revise/update the project, for submission by the following year‟s deadline.

(iii) „New project‟: In such cases, re-sit students will need to do a project on an entirely new topic, for submission by the following year‟s deadline

If re-sitting the project, you will also need to ensure you re-register for the Project Report for the following academic year. If you fail the Project Report a second attempt, you will not be permitted a third attempt and you will fail the MSc.

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13.Plagiarism and assessment irregularities When writing up MSc project reports, it is vital that you are aware of the School‟s rules on plagiarism and related issues, and understand how to avoid breaching these rules. Please ensure you are familiar with this guidance on plagiarism, cheating and other assessment irregularities given in both your MSc student handbook and in the Academic Writing handbook (both in http://dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/student/ep/student/general.htm ) – these both include a worked example on how to use and cite sources correctly. The following notes recap key guidance about plagiarism. For specific issues where you are unsure about what is permissible, please ask your supervisor, Project Organiser or Course Director for advice.

LSHTM definition of plagiarism Plagiarism is the copying or use of the work of others, whether intentionally or

unintentionally, as if it were your own. Such work may come from any source whether published or unpublished, in print or online – including words, images, audio recordings, diagrams, formulae, computer code, performances, ideas, judgements, discoveries and results. To avoid plagiarism:

Where any use or mention is made of the work of others, it should be acknowledged. A recognised citation system should be used.

Quotations must accurately refer to and acknowledge the originator(s) of the work.

Direct quotations, whether extended or short, must always be clearly identified.

Paraphrasing – using other words to express the ideas or judgements of others – must be clearly acknowledged.

Work done in collaboration with others must appropriately refer to their involvement and input.

Use of your own past work should be referenced as clearly as the work of others.

Based on this definition, you should apply the following principles in your work: Sources: You must acknowledge all sources from which you have drawn – whether

published works such as journal articles or books; grey literature such as conference proceedings, reports from organisations and government agencies etc.; material from the internet, whether or not it has a named author; unpublished materials such as lecture/tutorial notes or other students‟ work; and even exchanges such as emails or conversations with other people – be they staff, students, friends or others. If you wish to make use of any of your own previous work, e.g. elements of essays done for other assessments, you should indicate and cite this as clearly as any other source.

Quotations: You must always clearly identify any directly copied quotations (such as

sentences, phrases or even striking expressions), e.g. by placing them inside quotation marks. A series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged long quotation from a single source.

Paraphrasing: You must equally clearly indicate where you have paraphrased or

summarised another person‟s words, ideas or judgments – referring to that person in your text (e.g. by giving a reference in a footnote or bracket after the paraphrasing) and including the work referred to in your reference list.

Referencing: You should use a recognised citation system throughout your project

report and provide a full reference list at the end. Note that failure to observe the rules, even unintentionally, may constitute plagiarism and be penalised. Most cases of plagiarism are not due to students deliberately copying the work of others and trying to pass it off as their own, but because information they used was not appropriately acknowledged or referenced. The School recognises that

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occasional slips in attribution or similarity of text may happen with even the most diligent student, and all relevant factors will be taken into account in consideration of any case. However, please do not be tempted to copy material; plagiarism is easy to detect (the School checks all student project reports using the plagiarism detection service Turnitin UK – see Appendix 7) and the risks are very high. It is not unusual for one or two students a year to fail their project report due to plagiarism. Other forms of potential assessment irregularities are described in the Academic Writing handbook http://dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General%20resources/academicwritinghandbook.pdf You should also be very careful to avoid any possibility of research misconduct – this means things like not following appropriate research protocols/procedures for avoiding unreasonable risk or harm to humans, animals or the environment; or not exercising due care in handling of privileged/private information collected about individuals. Please see further details in the School‟s Guidelines on Good Research Practice, at www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/policies/guidelines_on_good_research_practice.pdf Declaration on plagiarism and cheating Earlier in your course, you will have been required to sign the School‟s standard form to confirm that you have read the School‟s definitions of plagiarism and cheating; that all work submitted is and will be your own; and that you understand that failure to comply with the School‟s policies may be penalised.

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Appendix 1: Examples of freely available data

1. Demographic & Health Surveys (DHS) are nationally-representative household surveys that provide data for a wide range of monitoring and impact evaluation indicators in the areas of population, health and nutrition. For more details, and lists of countries that have conducted one or more DHS, please see: http://www.measuredhs.com/aboutsurveys/dhs/start.cfm

2. The Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) is a national data service providing access and support for an extensive range of key economic and social data, both quantitative and qualitative, spanning many disciplines and themes. ESDS provides an integrated service offering enhanced support for the secondary use of data across the research, learning and teaching communities. About ESDS: www.esds.ac.uk/about/about.asp

3. The UK Data Archive (UKDA) is curator of the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences in the United Kingdom, and includes health surveys. UKDA is part of the pan-European CESSDA Catalogue. From there you can locate data and variables from selected data collections stored at a number of European social science data archives. They also hold several key international survey series which can be found in their Data Catalogue. See http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/

4. The SEER (Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results) Program of the National Cancer Institute in the US works to provide information on cancer statistics in an effort to reduce the burden of cancer among the U.S. Population. Research data include incidence and population data associated by age, sex, race, year of diagnosis, and geographic areas, from 1973 (including July-December 2005 Hurricane Katrine Impacted Louisiana Cases). See http://seer.cancer.gov/data/

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Appendix 2. Project Outline submission form

MSc PROJECT OUTLINE DL Epidemiology 2011/12

Please complete the questions below, and write your outline in the template provided on Page 2. Please send to: EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk By 1st November 2011 (by midnight at the end of that day)

NAME: STUDENT NUMBER:

PREREQUISITES

Please sign or write your name to indicate the following statement is true before you submit your Project Outline:

“I have completed, or I am registered for, all remaining modules needed to complete the MSc in

Epidemiology, and plan to complete any remaining modules in the same year that I submit the project.”

Signature/Name: Date:

NB: it is also recommended that you study the optional module EPM304 Advanced Statistical Methods in Epidemiology before doing an analysis project or a meta analysis within a systematic literature review.

PROJECT TITLE:

TYPE OF PROJECT: (delete as appropriate) Data analysis or Systematic literature review

WORD COUNT

Total word count for your attached outline (not including references)

What resources will be required?

Will you have supervisory or research support locally? YES NO If yes, please describe who you will be working with, and what kind of local support will you

receive? (For example, data management? statistical support? literature search? etc)

Data analysis projects will require LSHTM ethics approval. Please describe any ethics approvals already received and ethical issues relevant to your project.

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Please write your outline in the spaces below,

using the suggested headings.

Tips

BACKGROUND

Is the research well justified, with rationale based on existing research

studies?

RESEARCH QUESTION Is the research question clear, and stated in the form of a question?

MAIN AIM

Are these clearly stated and suitable to epidemiological research? (e.g., rather

than clinical research or policy review) Are the objectives achievable with the data available?

OBJECTIVES (up to 3)

METHODS

Are the proposed methods clear and appropriate? Will they demonstrate a range of skills learned in the MSc Epi, including advanced courses?

Are the main exposure(s) and outcome(s) clear? E.g., how they will

be defined or measured? Is the project feasible given time and resources available?

If a data analysis: Is the data source clear? Has permission to use the data been

granted (or will it be by 1st

March 2012?)

Are the data described, including sample characteristics, key variables and sample size? Are the data suitable and sufficient for

the research question? If a systematic review: Is the search strategy clear? Are

databases specified? Are there likely to be sufficient number of studies to review?

What data will be extracted? What methods will be used to review studies?

REFERENCES

Please number your references, and cite the references by number in the

relevant sections above.

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Appendix 3: Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues

Taken from LSHTM In-house MSc Project Handbook 2011/12

Copyright and intellectual property rights are important issues to be aware of when utilising the work of others in your project report. This is not just about ensuring that you correctly reference everything you make use of (see separate guidance in Section 12 of this handbook on referencing, citing and avoiding plagiarism); but you also need to be sure that you are allowed to make use of this work. You should be certain about whether any restrictions may apply in the way you communicate, disseminate or even publish work that you have produced based on the work of others. Copyright subsists in any original work (or part of that work) from the moment it is

created. The rights holder (usually the author, but in some cases the employer) is granted certain rights which are protected by law over how the work may be used – this includes copying.

Intellectual property (IP) is an intangible asset whose broadest scope covers all

types of knowledge, but which is generally focused on patents, know-how, copyright, trademarks, brand names, designs & secrets. Most forms of IP can be protected legally (with the exception of know-how and secrets) and the resulting proprietary rights are referred to as intellectual property rights (IPR).

The copyright of your final project report, and related IPR, will normally legally belong to you as the author of the work. There may be exceptions to this however – usually where your research is subject to the terms and conditions of a specific agreement which covers these matters. Note that the School‟s standard registration form, signed by all students when registering, authorises the School (and the School Library) to make copies of student projects publicly available. If you are making use of the work of others in your project report (e.g. using data collected by a third party), their copyrights and intellectual property rights also need to be carefully respected. Especially if you are unfamiliar with these issues, please look through the guidance on the Library‟s web pages at www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/libraryinfo/copyright.html. An expanded version of the guidance presented here is also given in the Academic Writing handbook, at www.lshtm.ac.uk/edu/qualityassurance/academicwritinghandbook.pdf

Copyright and IPR agreements You should ensure that you talk to your supervisor about copyright and IPR as part of the proposal development stage of your project, i.e. when filling out the CARE form. You should also review these issues again around the point of submitting your final project report, when you know what work and data you have ended up using in your project, and whether any specific agreements may now apply or be needed. Copyright or IPR agreements won't be necessary for the majority of LSHTM projects, but may be appropriate in some cases – particularly: To clearly assign and specify ownership of IPR for data collected during the course of

the project (e.g. in the lab with help from LSHTM staff; or in the field, working with an external organisation).

To clarify permissions given for use of data or other copyrighted materials provided by the School or an outside party – which will usually remain the copyright property of the original party even where incorporated in your project report.

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Where research funding is provided by an external sponsor, a specific contract will normally apply; contract terms may often assign ownership of copyright or IPR to the sponsor, or impose specific restrictions such as on publication. Similarly, where your work is to be undertaken in collaboration with an external organisation (e.g. working with their staff or at their facilities), it is very helpful to reach a clear agreement with them before you begin about the copyright and IPR of the results. This can avoid problems later on, e.g. if you or they want to do something specific with the work. Likewise, where LSHTM staff (such as your supervisor) have supplied data or other key elements of your project and own the corresponding copyright or intellectual property rights, the position of both parties should be set out in a specific agreement.

Standard forms are available for this (available on Blackboard), which provide a template for formal agreements between student and supervisor.

These template forms may be edited as appropriate to create a specific agreement for each individual piece of work.

Once agreed, a copy of the final signed statement should be lodged with the Teaching Support Office, to be kept in your student file. You should also keep a copy for yourself.

Note that all students must notify the School, through their supervisor, of any invention, device, material, product, method or process, computer software or other potentially valuable result which it is considered might have industrial or technical signif icance, whether patentable or not, developed or invented during the course of a students' research or study whilst a registered student of the School and make assignment of their rights to the School. However, it would be unusual for MSc projects to generate significant new intellectual property meriting such notification.

Data Protection principles As a registered data user, the School must comply with the Data Protection Principles of the Data Protection Act in relation to any “personal data” held by staff or students – i.e. anything which relates to living individuals who can be identified from the data. Work involving personal data will almost invariably require approval via the LSHTM Ethics Committee. Broadly, the Data Protection Principles state that personal data shall be:

fairly and lawfully processed;

processed for limited purposes;

adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate;

not kept longer than necessary;

processed in accordance with the data subject's rights;

secure, and

not transferred to countries without adequate protection. Students needing to use personal data in connection with their academic studies or research must abide by the Data Protection Principles, and should seek the advice of their supervisor before constructing or maintaining files of personal data. Further information is available on the School's Data Protection webpage at http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/dataprotection. Guidance on maintaining research data/samples and records is also given in the School‟s guidelines on good research practice, at www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/policies/guidelines_on_good_research_practice.pdf.

Publication of project reports MSc student project reports may sometimes result in papers published in peer reviewed journals. As you prepare for submission, your supervisor will often be in a position to suggest whether your report is likely to be of publishable standard; or your supervisor,

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Project Organiser, or Course Director may advise you about this after the project has been marked. Normally, MSc project work should not be submitted for publication until after it has been marked. Further editing would then be required (e.g. adjusting to the house style of the journal concerned, revising to meet a different word limit, incorporating feedback from staff and further changes you yourself want to make), making the published paper different to the original project report. Before a project report is submitted for publication, you should also resolve any issues of authorship and obtain any relevant copyright/IPR permissions. Your Acknowledgements section should help answer questions about how primary and secondary authorship may apply for you and your supervisor/s. More detailed guidance is given in the Academic Writing handbook, at http://dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General%20resources/academicwritinghandbook.pdf

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Appendix 4: Notes on presentation and referencing Taken from LSHTM In-house MSc Project Handbook 2011/12

Presentation Remember that attractive presentation is no substitute for good quality content. You should aim to present your work in a clear, readable and consistent way. Don‟t spend undue time formatting your report that might be better spent improving your descriptions of the work or analysis undertaken.

The following points about how to present aspects of your report are worth specifically noting. Headings It is helpful to break up your text with headings and sub-headings at appropriate points, to assist the reader to grasp the subject matter and structure of the text. Such headings should be short and relevant, encapsulating the content of the text under them. If different levels of headings and sub-headings are required, work out a hierarchy of heading styles in advance using capitals, bold, italics and underlining as desired. Abbreviations You should ensure that any abbreviations or acronyms are defined in full the first time they appear in your project report. This is good practice, even if you think the term

is so obvious or well-known in the discipline that it can simply be given as an abbreviation and doesn't need an explanation. While your markers will be qualified experts, their background may be from a different part of the world or a slightly different strand of the subject area. Spelling things out should remove any risk of ambiguity or misunderstanding. Tables and figures Within your work, you may have a variety of non-text items such as tables (grids of data) or figures (such as photographs, diagrams, graphs and maps). These should be set out distinct from the text; numbered separately and consecutively, e.g. „Table 1‟ for the first table and „Figure 1‟ for the first figure; and referred to by these numbers in the text – do not use phrases like “Table above" or "Figure below". When presenting tables: Each table should have: a table number; a table heading; column headings; data in

columns; and a legend making the table understandable without having to read the text

Immediately beneath column headings put the units of measurement of the data, where applicable (e.g. % or years). If there is no room for complicated units (e.g. "number of infant deaths per 1000 live births and stillbirths") put these details in a footnote to the table.

If possible keep the column headings concise so that they can be written horizontally. They may contain obvious abbreviations.

Tables with adequate headings and captions should be self-explanatory, but they usually need comments in the text.

As a rule, tables should be presented vertically on the page; but if a table is too wide for this, it may be presented sideways. If a vertical table is too long to fit onto one page, put "continued..." at the bottom of the first page, and at the top of the second put "Table XYZ continued:" then repeat the column headings.

If the table has been reproduced from another document, the source should be cited. When presenting figures:

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Each figure should have: a figure number; a concise title; the figure itself with appropriate labelling; and a legend and explanatory notes so that the figure can be understood without reference to the text.

Graphs may only indicate approximate values. If precision is required, exact numbers should be given, either at annotated at points on a curve, or in the text or associated tables.

Graphs, diagrams and maps will usually be produced in appropriate computer software packages and “copied and pasted” into the electronic version of your project report.

Photomicrographs must include a scale bar or indicate magnification.

Figures with appropriate labels and notes should be self-explanatory, but they usually need comments in the text.

If you reproduce a figure from another document, always give a reference to the source.

Referencing A reference or citation is a way of properly acknowledging where you make use of the work of others, and the proper presentation of citations and references is an important part of any piece of academic writing. LSHTM MSc graduates are expected to be able to cite and reference correctly, and you should demonstrate this through your project report. The key requirements are that you should (i) take care to acknowledge the work of others wherever you make use of it; (ii) reference such items in a consistent manner using a recognised citation system; and (iii) give a well-presented reference list at the end of your work. Extensive further guidance on this is given in the separate Academic Writing handbook, which covers referencing and citing, avoiding plagiarism or assessment irregularities, and other more general useful points about writing skills and styles. This is available at www.lshtm.ac.uk/edu/qualityassurance/academicwritinghandbook.pdf You are strongly advised to read the Academic Writing handbook and ensure you fully understand LSHTM’s expectations about referencing. The following guidance represents only a brief introduction to this topic. Referencing systems You should always use a recognised citation system. This will determine how you present references in the main body of your work, and how you present the bibliography or reference list at the end. Whichever system you use should be used consistently throughout your piece of work – do not „mix and match‟ different referencing styles. The two most commonly-used and recognised citation systems are known as Harvard and Vancouver, and work as follows: Author/date (Harvard) system: In this style of referencing, the author's name and

date of publication should be quoted in the text, e.g. "as confirmed by Abrams (1969)" or "as confirmed by another study (Abrams 1969)". If there are two authors then both should be named, e.g. (Sewell and Foster 1976). If there are more than two authors use et al., e.g. "(Gillespie et al. 1983)". The reference list or bibliography should be arranged by alphabetical order of the author's name – an example (for a Journal Article) would be:

Ganapati R, Naik S S, Acharekar M Y and Pade S S (1976) Leprosy endemicity in Bombay: an assessment through surveys of municipal schools, Leprosy Review 47: 127 - 31.

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Numbering (Vancouver) system: In this style, references should be numbered sequentially in the text, either in brackets, e.g. "as confirmed by Abrams (3)", "as confirmed by other studies (3)" or as a superscript, e.g. "as confirmed by Abrams.3 " (note that it is usual to place superscripts after punctuation). Both the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Lancet describe the use of this system for references in their instructions to authors. The reference list or bibliography should list the references in numerical order, i.e. the order in which they appear in the text – an example (for a Journal Article) would be:

2. Ganapati R, Naik SS, Acharekar MY and Pade SS. Leprosy endemicity in Bombay: an assessment through surveys of municipal schools. Leprosy Review 1976; 47: 127-31.

Your MSc course may specify a particular citation system to use – please check if so in Part 2 of this handbook. Otherwise, the best system to use is likely to depend on the type of project you are doing and the conventions of the field you are working in. It may be helpful to note that – The Harvard system is commonly used in the social sciences, and tends to be a good

system to use for more discursive work.

The Vancouver system may aid clarity and readability where the same item is cited many times, since you just need to give the same numeric reference in each case rather than cluttering up your work with repetitions of the same author-and-date details. This tends to be a good system to use for more technical work, e.g. in relation to lab-based experiments. It is also well respected in medical writing, being the house style of the BMJ and the Lancet. While a potential drawback is that insertion of an extra reference will require the renumbering of all subsequent references, using reference manager software like EndNote (see below) will take care of this automatically.

Referencing tables and figures: Most tables and figures are likely to be your own work, but it is also perfectly reasonable to include items that are the work of others – e.g. tables of published demographic data, anatomical diagrams, photographs from field sites, etc. However these must be referenced as clearly as you would any direct text quotation. The reference list All references or citations given in the main body of your text should be compiled in a specific reference list at the end. This should be clearly and consistently presented, and follow a prescribed format. It should give sufficient details about each reference, above and beyond the citation given in the main text, enabling readers to look up the original source material if desired. Different types of source material will need to be referred to in different ways in the reference list. The citation system you use will also affect how the list is ordered and the types of details that need to be given in it. Comprehensive guidance on how to do this is given in the Academic Writing handbook; but be aware that different information and presentation will be required when referencing different types of source material, e.g. – Journal articles Books Part of an edited volume PhD theses Conference papers (where proceedings have otherwise been published) Official reports and other forms of „grey literature‟ or non-authored works Material from websites Material from other media – e.g. film/television/radio documentaries

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The Academic Writing handbook also gives guidance on sources which you should not normally include in a reference list – such as personal communications, encyclopedias (including open-content collaborative resources like Wikipedia, which are definitely not considered a reliable source of information for academic work), or other secondary sources. Using a reference manager You are strongly encouraged to use some form of reference management software when preparing your project report, and should aim to learn to use one (if you have not previously done so) by at least the time you come to start your literature search. The application recommended by the School is called EndNote, although there are other alternatives, described in the Academic Writing handbook, which will do broadly the same thing.

EndNote stores and manages bibliographic data, linking in to word processing packages like Microsoft Word. It will allow you to easily insert correctly-formatted citations throughout your report, and automatically prepare a reference list at the end.

EndNote will present references in whichever format you desire (e.g. Harvard or Vancouver – with the option to re-format from one to the other with a single button-click); and can automatically adjust for any later edits or alterations, for example renumbering in Vancouver style if an extra reference is added.

EndNote can retrieve comprehensive reference information directly from many online databases, saving you the time of manually reproducing them.

Once inputted, your references can be sorted and grouped, and you can add your own notes, tags and comments – e.g. so when writing up a particular section of your report, you can easily review sources you had earmarked during your literature search as being relevant to that topic.

Using EndNote can greatly simplify your referencing – maintaining accuracy while reducing the amount of timing you need to spend in inserting or updating references.

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Appendix 5: How to quote correctly Taken from the LSHTM Academic Writing Handbook 2011.12 (AWH) This section runs through some examples of how to cite and reference the work of others in your own work, to demonstrate what is and is not permissible. The author-date (Harvard) style has been used throughout, but the same basic principles will apply if using alternative referencing styles. Original material to be quoted Let‟s say you want to refer to a paper by El-Sadr concerning the treatment of tuberculosis. This is the original version, as written in her article: “One of the most important issues that remain controversial is whether 6 months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. The ability to use this short-course regimen for HIV-infected patients could allow programs to provide DOT to a larger number of patients, and it also would allow programmatic efficiency in the treatment of patients both with and without HIV infection with the same duration of therapy.” Full reference: El-Sadr WM, Perlman DC, Denning E, Matts JP, Cohn DL. A review of efficacy studies of 6-month short-course therapy for tuberculosis among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus: differences in study outcomes. Clin Infect Dis 2001;32:623-32. An acceptable approach – direct quotation with citation If you want to quote exactly what an author has said, you must include the quotation inside inverted commas followed by a citation. The most usual way to do this is as an embedded quotation: As El-Sadr notes, “One of the most important issues that remain controvers ial is whether 6 months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis.” (El-Sadr et al. 2001). Note that the section quoted word for word is inside inverted commas. An alternative way to present a word-for-word quotation (particularly a lengthy one) is as a separated indented paragraph: “One of the most important issues that remain controversial is whether 6 months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. The ability to use this short-course regimen for HIV-infected patients could allow programs to provide DOT to a larger number of patients, and it also would allow programmatic efficiency in the treatment of patients both with and without HIV infection with the same duration of therapy.” (El-Sadr et al. 2001). Other alternative forms of presentation use italics to indicate quoted text. This is also fine but the quotation should still be inside inverted commas. An acceptable approach – paraphrasing with citation If you want to refer to El-Sadr‟s idea but not to quote her entire sentence or paragraph then you can paraphrase (rewrite the text in your own words), but must also cite the source. When paraphrasing, you should always check your wording against the original

idea – to ensure that the author‟s original meaning is conveyed accurately and unambiguously. For example, this would be acceptable:

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There is debate concerning the use of short-course regimens to treat tuberculosis in people with HIV infection (El-Sadr et al. 2001). An unacceptable approach – direct quotation without indication If you quote a sentence word-for-word from another author, then you must make it clear that it is a quotation. The following would not be acceptable, because the word-for-word

quotation is not indicated by inverted commas: One of the most important issues that remain controversial is whether 6 months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. (El-Sadr et al. 2001). Note that even though a citation has been given, the lack of quotation marks is misleading and makes it appear as if you have paraphrased rather than quoted. This counts as plagiarism. The following would likewise not be acceptable:

One of the most important issues that remain controversial is whether 6 months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. The ability to use this short-course regimen for HIV-infected patients could allow programs to provide DOT to a larger number of patients, and it also would allow programmatic efficiency in the treatment of patients both with and without HIV infection with the same duration of therapy. This is a particularly poor use of the source material; not only are there no inverted commas to indicate a quotation, but the authors are not cited at all so you are effectively claiming that this is your original idea. An unacceptable approach – editing without indication or citation It is also not sufficient just to change a few words. The following would still be regarded as inappropriate: One of the key issues that remain controversial is whether 6 months of treatment with drugs including rifampin can effectively and safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. Use of this short-course regimen for HIV-infected patients could allow programs to provide DOT to more patients, and it also would allow programmatic efficiency in the treatment of patients both with and without HIV infection with the same duration of therapy. (El-Sadr et al. 2001) Note that the words used above remain effectively the original authors‟ words, and have not been paraphrased in your own words, just edited very slightly. The lack of quotation marks is misleading as it makes it look like you have put the authors‟ idea in your own words; this counts as plagiarism. Were such an edited quote to be presented without quotation marks and also without a citation at the end, this would be an even stronger case of plagiarism. What to put in the reference list In all the above cases, you should include an appropriately-formatted full reference in the reference list at the end of your work, e.g. like: El-Sadr WM, Perlman DC, Denning E, Matts JP, Cohn DL. A review of efficacy studies of 6-month short-course therapy for tuberculosis among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus: differences in study outcomes. Clin Infect Dis 2001;32:623-32

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Further details about how to do this are given in the AWH. Remember that the appropriate reference format should vary depending on the type of source – the above example is for a journal article, but this would look different depending on whether it was perhaps a book, or a webpage, or an NGO report, or some other type of material. Applying these examples to other types of source The above principles should apply when making use of any source that is not your own work, including published articles, material from websites, lecture notes, other grey or unpublished literature, material from other students etc. This may cover many types of material, not just text – e.g. photographs, diagrams, video, other types of images, audio recordings; or even more conceptual or idea-based items such as specific formulae, computer code, judgements, discoveries and results. The golden rules are that if you use material generated by anyone else then you should: (i) make clear whether you are directly reproducing the source material, or presenting your own edit or interpretation of it; and (ii) give a clear in-text citation to indicate the source or author(s), as well as including a full reference in the reference list If you need advice about what is or is not acceptable, please email in to the Student Support Office via EPProjects@lshtm.ac.uk.

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Appendix 6: Guidance for markers: Criteria according to

type of report DATA ANALYSIS

Abstract

Is the abstract an adequate summary? (rigorous, relevant to the question, clear and logical, up to 500 words )

Introduction/Background to study aim/research question

Is the background sufficient for the general reader to understand the study objectives?

Has the justification for the study (epidemiological context / public health relevance) of the study been made clear?

Has the literature been explored adequately and appraised critically?

Is the range of sources sufficient, relevant and adequately structured?

Have the work and contributions of others been summarised and referenced/attributed correctly?

Aims and Objectives (Research Question)

Study aim(s) [+/- overall research question]: Is it (are they) clear, and are the rationale and context explicit?

Study objectives: Are they clear and specific to the aim(s) and do they follow logically and from the aim(s)? Are the exposure and outcome adequately specified? Are the

objectives achievable?

Methods (Study Design/Setting and Data Handling)

Are the methods documented adequately and with enough detail, with a clear structure on design features, validity (i f applicable), data management, variable categorisation,

analysis method and analysis strategy?

Is the study design defined correctly?

Does the report follow a clearly defined, justified and adequate strategy of analysis?

Are the methods appropriate to the study design, outcome type (eg categorical, binary,

continuous)?

Will the methods/analysis approach fulfil the study aim(s)/objectives and address the limitations of the study design?

Have appropriate strategies for identifying and dealing with missing data been used?

Have the appropriate permissions/approvals been documented?

Results (Outcomes)

Relevant results (descriptive and analytical) derived from both uni- and multivariable analyses, including missing values, must be reported.

Does the commentary summarise relevant results, and present them appropriately?

For a multitude of results a selective approach may be appropriate – provided other results presented in the appendix are not essential for the report.

Are the presented data/analyses appropriate and aligned in contents and structure to

previous sections (eg to the study aim(s)/objectives/question/methods)?

Discussion (Critique) and Conclusions

Are the results well summarised?

Are the strengths/limitations/theoretical assumptions of the study design/analysis methods highlighted and choices/alternative approaches/ethical issues explored

appropriately? This includes an appropriate discussion of design/power, confounding/interaction, bias/validity, cut-off points.

Is the study discussed in the context of other relevant work and the study aim(s)?

Are the implications of the findings discussed, in particular within a wider epidemiology and/or public health context?

Are the conclusions and „lessons learned‟ clear and relevant? Do they reflect study results, limitations and the published literature.

Are the recommendations for further research and action clear and relevant, a nd justifiable given the research presented?

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Presentation of Report

Is the report well -organized and clearly presented overall? Do not mark down for language errors provided the meaning is clear.

Are tables and figures clear and appropriately labelled and titled?

Is referencing accurate and consistent (LSHTM accepts a range of reference styles)?

Are the appendices appropriate and justifiable?

Overall impression - understanding and synthesis at MSc level?

SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW Abstract, introduction, and background to the review

Is the abstract an adequate summary, within the word limit (500 words)?

Has the public health context of the review been made clear?

Has the need for a review been well justified?

Aims and objectives (research question) Review objectives:

are they clear

do they follow logically from the rationale presented in the introduction and background?

are they questions that can be answered by a systematic review?

do they adequately specify exposure (or treatment) and participants (or comparison groups)

Methods Are the inclusion and exclusion criteria for (a) studies and (b) participants:

well described

justified

adhered to? Is the search strategy:

well described

appropriate to the question (eg if RCTs did they search the Cochrane Trials Register)

likely to have identified all (or virtually all) appropriate studies (within the constraints of a summer project: hand-searching and a lot of grey literature may not be feasible)

Critical appraisal of studies:

if a quality scoring technique was applied, was this well justified and was appropriate caution exercised

if no formal quality scoring applied, was this well justified and were the criteria used to

assess quality well described and justified? Data extraction: was this done:

systematically (eg data extraction form used or some other method?)

were all relevant variables extracted

were there reasonable strategies for dealing with key variables not being available (eg sensitivity analysis) - it is probably not reasonable to expect primary contact with authors

Analysis:

If no meta-analysis undertaken:

was not undertaking a meta-analysis well justified

were differences between studies explored in detail, placing their results in the epidemiological context, and drawing inferences from the differences between studies

some attempt to explore small study bias should usually still be possible

If meta-analysis undertaken:

appropriate methods chosen and justified

heterogeneity assessed and explored

small study bias assessed and explored

appropriate caution interpreting sub-group effects, especially if using study level variables

Overall:

would the methods fulfil the review objectives?

were methodological guidelines (eg QUORUM statement, MOOSE, Cochrane Reviewer‟s Handbook) utilised if appropriate

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Results

Are the results presented appropriate to the objectives?

Are the results of the search, results of screening appropriate studies from the search, results of analysis of remaining appropriate studies presented?

Are the results (tables, graphs etc) well presented?

Does the text commentary summarise relevant results, and present them appropriately?

Discussion and conclusions

Are the strengths/limitations/ and assumptions of the methods highlighted and choices/alternative approaches explored appropriately?

Are the strengths/limitations of the results highlighted and alternative interpretations

explored appropriately, in the context of the assumptions made?

Is the review discussed in the context of other relevant work and the review aim(s)?

Is the wider relevance of the findings for the public‟s health appraised critically?

Are the implications of the findings discussed adequately?

Are the conclusions and „lessons learned‟ clear, reflective, and relevant?

Are the recommendations for further investigation and public health action clear and relevant, and justifiable given the research presented?

Presentation of project

Is presentation clear and well organised/well structured?

Are tables and figures clear and appropriately labelled and titled?

Is referencing consistent and accurate within the required style?

Overall impression - understanding and synthesis at MSc level?

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Appendix 7: Preventing plagiarism and the Turnitin detection service Taken from the Academic writing handbook 2011.12 Detecting plagiarism

LSHTM staff have a responsibility to ensure that all students' assessed work is marked fairly and equitably – this includes checking for plagiarism or other issues, to ensure that no-one gains an unfair advantage. Staff have considerable expertise in identifying plagiarism, and all markers look out for assessment irregularities and have access to a variety of tools to assist them. The School uses the plagiarism detection service Turnitin UK, which is widely used by universities across the country and recommended at national level by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Joint Information Systems Committee Internet Plagiarism Advisory Service. This is a subscription service delivered via a website (www.submit.ac.uk) run from Northumbria University and using software provided by a US company, iParadigms. Any work you submit for assessment may be cross-checked using Turnitin. Administrative offices (for Teaching Support, Distance Learning or Research Degrees) and marking staff all have access to upload LSHTM student work. 22 of 28 This is done anonymously, by candidate number, and this material cannot be seen by

others unless permission is given by School staff.

How Turnitin works

Turnitin compares students' work against a very extensive pool of journals, periodicals, books, databases, current and archived internet pages, and other published or grey literature, as well as previously submitted student work from subscribing institutions around the world (including from current and past LSHTM students). At the last count, in 2009, Turnitin covered 10.5 billion pages of web content, 67.8 million published papers, 75 million student papers, and continued to add content at a rate of 20 million papers per

day.

Turnitin creates an 'originality report' for each piece of work run through it, highlighting which elements have come from other sources in the database, and to what proportions. This also provides tutors with links to the source files, and the facility to compare matching text between the submitted work and the originals. As in the above screenshot, Turnitin is capable of matching text even where words, phrases or entire sections have been

changed, removed or re-ordered.

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What happens when suspected plagiarism is identified?

Turnitin is just a tool, and does not make any 'decisions' about students or their work. Rather, it provides information for members of academic staff to review any work that contains copied text, checking that this is referenced correctly and not presented as a student's own work. All submissions will normally contain at least some matches to the Turnitin database, e.g. properly-cited quotes, or items in the bibliography. There is no set percentage up to which Turnitin matches may be allowed or not allowed – in all cases, it is up to staff to check whether citations are legitimate or whether work has been plagiarised. Should potential plagiarism be identified, this will be followed up through the School‟s Assessment Irregularities procedures. If you would like to know more, information about Turnitin is available at www.submit.ac.uk