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Research Methods

Module code: MEU44E03 · Semester: Semester 1

Themes: MAI track · Theme 1: Energy; MAI track · Theme 2: Bioengineering/Manufacturing; MAI track · Theme 3: Mechanical/Manufacturing; BSc track · Theme 1: Energy/Fluids/Manufacturing; BSc track · Theme 2: Bioengineering/Manufacturing; BSc track · Theme 3: Mechanical/Manufacturing

Resources​

How it's assessed​

No end-of-semester exam. It's assessed through coursework.

Practical tasks that mirror real engineering research: analysing a physical experiment and a numerical problem, and proposing a new approach to a research challenge.

AssessmentWeight
Literature review25%
Research proposal20%
Video presentation of the proposal20%
Journal-style write-up35%

Summarised from the TCD module descriptor, checked 2026-11-09. Details can change from year to year, so check this year's descriptor and Blackboard.

From students who've done it​

No write-ups yet.

Questions by Year​

This module has no end-of-semester exam, so there are no past papers. See How it's assessed above.

Topics

  • Research vs design vs development LO1
  • Project planning and literature review LO2
  • Experimental and numerical research problems LO2, LO4
  • Research ethics and plagiarism LO3
  • Research proposals and journal-style write-ups LO2, LO5
Learning outcomes
  1. Understand the research process and how research, design and development differ in engineering
  2. Use the stages of research: planning, literature, experiments, analysis, documentation, reporting
  3. Understand research ethics, including plagiarism
  4. Do team research with cloud collaboration tools
  5. Present research results to peers for discussion
  6. Judge whether you want to do research at graduate level or in industry

Summarised from the module descriptor, checked November 2026.