MRPROJHF Masters Research Project Handbook 2026 | Hrper Adams University

MRPROJHF HARPER ADAMS UNIVERSITY

Module Descriptor

Overview of Module and Indicative Content: 

The Masters Research Project (MRP) is an opportunity for students to research challenges which appeal to curious heads, practical hands, and courageous hearts, and which contribute to communities growing together, whether that is a scientific community, the university community or, perhaps a professional community to which you belong.    

The Masters Research Project enables you to develop skills in research and the communication of ideas, while deepening your knowledge in a specialist area relevant to your programme of study. You will go through a journey of research, while developing your skills to support that process. 

This project module recognises that research takes many forms including traditional experimental design, investigating business problems and solutions, to product development. The module is intended to apply to any situation where rigorous research is undertaken using established methods.

All students will follow some key steps in planning, undertaking a research project, but each project will be individual. No matter what your topic of research is, or how you choose to present it, everyone on this module will follow a path to: 

• Generate ideas for the focus of the study. 
• Use literature and discussion to develop a plan for the project (please note plans must be formally approved for both ethics and feasibility). 
• Critically review literature to inform the project design and to help make sense of findings.
• Develop research questions that will guide the project and consider how your project may align to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Conduct an ethically approved research programme using recognised research methodologies e.g. experimental design, narrative inquiry, action research, case study, mixed methods, survey research, or systematic review. 
• Analyse results in an appropriate way to generate conclusions which are useful for specific audiences or stakeholders.
• Present the project in an effective and impactful way.  

The topic of the dissertation, the methods used to undertake the research, and the way in which projects are presented will be agreed with your supervisor. As you consider the development of a topic, consider a range of factors: personal interests, pressing challenges that exist around you or in wider society, consider engaging with ideas (theories, methods and published works) from different parts of the globe, and consider how drawing upon different areas of theory or even borrowing ideas from different disciplines may help you to address your research challenge. 

Learning and Teaching Activities: 

Supervision meetings on a one-to-one or tutorial group basis will be used to guide the following stages:

• Ideas generation.
• Literature review and (where applicable) the professional or industry context for the research project topic.
• Formulation and refinement of the research question.
• Selection of the appropriate research methodology.
• Development of an ethical framework for the research work that upholds academic integrity and has appropriate approval gained.
• Planning and completion of the research work.
• Interpretation and analysis of the findings.
• Consideration of how to communicate this work. 
• Presentation of the findings.
• Reflection of the impact of the findings, and the extent it addressed the original challenge/ research question/ hypothesis.
• Reflection on personal development. 
  Independent study is expected throughout which may involve reading, desk research, discussion, writing, and engagement with peers. The supervisor will guide progress, signpost resources (e.g. articles, theories, examples), and will provide feedback e.g. though discussion to support progress.  

Approaches to Digital Learning:

Through supervision you will be signposted to different tools, as well as different learning opportunities to support your individual project work.   

Graduate Attributes and the UN Sustainability Goals:

Details of the relevant graduate attributes and UN Sustainability Goals that will be reflected in assessments are detailed overleaf in the Assessment table. These will be reflected in the following ways through learning and teaching activities.

Graduate Attributes:

• Applied (Attribute A) All research will have a practice element in deploying research methods to investigate complex phenomena. 
• Digital (Attribute B) Technology will support the individual research journey for example using statistical or analytical tools, Boolean web searches, the use of artificial intelligence in research or using specialist technologies. 
• Inspire (Attribute C) As you review the literature and develop your own project you will need to look at the strengths and limitations of existing research, you may choose to follow previous approaches or choose to take a different approach. 
• Inspire (Attribute D) At various stages of your project, you will need to make choices about how to use and evaluate research tools in practice.
• Care (Attribute E) The selection of a project must take account of the wider context; research should contribute to the challenges of our time. 
• Care (Attribute F) Through your research you will engage with diverse stakeholders, and you will encounter diverse ideas. Students are encouraged to actively seek diverse literature, from different international settings as well as different disciplines to inform their research. 
• Growth (Attribute G) Throughout your project, you will reflect on your personal and professional development and pursue independent learning and activities that enable you to carry out projects that the address problems or questions of an ever-changing world.
• Global (Attribute H) You will be encouraged to review international studies and compare approaches across regions or cultures and consider how your findings relate to global challenges and policies (e.g. UN Sustainable Development Goals).

UN Sustainability Goals: This will depend upon your choice of topic. All projects will map to SDG 4 “Quality Education” through knowledge development. Consideration should be made at the planning stage of whether individual projects map to other SDGs. 

Preparation for Assessment and Feedback:

The details of formal assessment are provided in the table below alongside the module learning outcomes. The marks from each of these will contribute to the overall mark for the module. A grade of 40% is needed to pass the module. Students are prepared for assessment by discussing with their supervisor ahead of time. Feedback is usually provided through the Virtual Learning Environment after the project has been submitted.

Reading lists will be set by course teams. 

Module Learning Outcomes:

1.Critically evaluate existing sources to identify a researchable complex problem, question or hypothesis.
2.Design ethically sound, rigorous research approaches maintaining academic integrity and using recognised approaches which are suitable for the problem and context of research.
3.Undertake data collection to address the research problem, question or hypothesis, showing high ethical regard and effective use of specific research approaches. 
4.Communicate the project in a manner which is appropriate to the discipline and intended audience. 
5.Reflect on lessons from the project work in a way that can inform future research, work, and personal development. 

Assessment: Achievement will be assessed on one the following assessments, which will test the learning outcomes and graduate attributes below.  The assessment type must be set at the project approval stage. [Currently only assessment types Research Dissertation and Journal Article are available]

Graduate Attributes Key

Assessment strategy

The dissertation will be assessed against standard assessment criteria by an internal marker.  

The marking criteria will be based on the learning outcomes and will transcend the different types of submission available. Submissions will be marked on 

1.The extent to which the critical use of source material (of all types) informs the project development. 
2.The design an ethically sound, rigorous research approaches that maintain academic integrity using recognised approaches which are suitable for the problem and context of research.
3.The extent to which data collection addresses the research problem, question or hypothesis, showing effective use of specific research approaches. 
4.The quality of communication of the project in a manner which is appropriate to the discipline and intended audience. 
5.The reflection on lessons from the project work in a way that can inform future research, work, and personal development.