Research planning

The objective of this subject is to provide students with training on different basic tools necessary for the development of a research activity in its various stages, starting from the search for information, research planning and analysis of the results obtained, dissemination of results and request for financing to carry it out.

The contents developed in the subject are those indicated in the verified Report of the Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering and Bioprocesses:
• Statistical data analysis tools.
• Experimentation planning based on the design of experiments.
• Sources of information in Chemical Engineering.
• Preparation and review of research results papers.
• Preparation and evaluation of R&D&I project requests.

The subject is structured into three different sections that will be evaluated separately.
Topic 1.- TOOLS FOR PLANNING EXPERIMENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
• Correlation and linear regression. Comparisons between means (t test, ANOVA).
• Introduction to the statistical design of experiments. Comparison with the traditional method. Application procedure.
• Definition of factors and domains of interest. Design matrix.
• Experimentation planning. Choice of experimental design.
• First order orthogonal designs. Complete and fractional factorial designs.
• Second order designs. Central Composite Design (CCD) and Box-Behnken.
• Results analysis. Variance analysis.
• Response surface methodology.
The distribution of teaching in Topic 1 is as follows: Lectures (4 hours), interactive seminar sessions (2 hours), interactive computer classroom sessions (6 hours).
Teacher: Julia González Álvarez.

Topic 2.-TECHNIQUES FOR WRITING AND REVIEWING PAPERS AND REPORTS
· The stages of the scientific method and the importance of scientific communication of research results. Scientific writing. Style in scientific communication
· Understand the problem or issue that is the object of the research
· Establish a hypothesis and a deductive reasoning/decision procedure
· Identification of preliminary elements: Title, Authors and Summary.
· Introduction and Materials and methods.
· Results. Tables and graphs. Footnotes.
· Discussion and Conclusions.
· Bibliography (References) and supporting or supplementary information
· Search for bibliographic information on scientific works in Chemical Eng. through the use of databases and scientific journals
· Critical review of scientific papers
The distribution of teaching in Topic 2 is as follows: Lectures (4 hours), interactive seminar sessions (4 hours).
Teacher: Enrique Roca Bordello

Topic 3.- PREPARATION AND EVALUATION OF R&D&I PROJECT PROPOSALS.
• Techniques for the preparation of research and innovation projects. Individual and consortium projects.
• Preparation of a project. Ownership registration of results.
• Project evaluation. Evaluation mechanisms.
The distribution of teaching in Topic 3 is as follows: Lectures (2 hours), interactive seminar sessions (4 hours).
Teacher: Enrique Roca Bordello

Basic and complementary bibliography
Topic 1

Basic bibliography
Box, G.E., Hunter, W.G. and Hunter, J.S. Statistics for researchers. Introduction to experimental design, data analysis and model construction. Barcelona: Reverté, 2005. ISBN: 9688708405
Box, G.E., Hunter, J.S. and Hunter, W.G. Statistics for researchers. Design, innovation and discovery 2nd Ed. Barcelona: Reverté, 2008. ISBN: 9788429194234

Papers published in different journals.
http://sfx.bugalicia.org/san/az/

Further reading
Lazic, Z.R. Design of experiments in chemical engineering: a practical guide. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2004. ISBN: 3527311424
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/3527604162

Topic 2
Basic bibliography
Jalongo, M.R., Saracho, O.N. Writing for Publication. Transitions and Tools that Support Scholars’ Success. Switzerland: Springer, 2016. ISBN 978-3-319-31648-2 ISBN 978-3-319-31650-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-31650-5.
Ebel, H.F. (2004). The Art of scientific writing: from student reports to professional publications in chemistry and related fields. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2004 ISBN: 978-3-527-29829-7 ES:RB 28

Further reading
Peat, J. (2002). Scientific writing: easy when you know how BMJ Books. ISBN: 978-0-727-91625-9. EN: C 106

Topic 3
In this Topic we will work on a proposal for a call for research, innovation or demonstration projects, as a model.

Knowledge
(CN01) Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity to be original in the development or
application of ideas, often in a research context.
(CN02) Acquire advanced knowledge and demonstrate, in a context of scientific and technological research or
highly specialized, a detailed and informed understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects and the
work methodology in one or more fields of study in Chemical Engineering.

Competence
(CP02) Conceptualize engineering models, apply innovative methods in problem solving and
Appropriate computer applications for the design, simulation, optimization and control of processes and systems.
(CP09) Manage Research, Development and Technological Innovation, taking into account the transfer of technology and
property and patent rights.

Skills
(HD01) Have the ability to solve problems that are unfamiliar, incompletely defined, and have
competing specifications, considering possible solution methods, including the most innovative ones,
selecting the most appropriate one, and being able to correct the implementation, evaluating the different solutions of
design.
(HD04) Search, process, analyze and synthesize, critically, information from various sources for the
establishing the corresponding conclusions.
(HD07) Participate in research projects and scientific or technological collaborations, in interdisciplinary contexts and, where appropriate, with a high knowledge transfer component.
(HD09) Address problems from a scientific perspective, recognizing the importance of searching and managing existing information.

The USC Virtual Classroom will be used through the Moodle application with the following objectives:
•Provide information about the subject (teaching schedule, schedules, exams, other information, etc.)
•Provide the necessary materials for classes (presentations of the topics, scientific papers, etc.).
•Serve as a communication tool with students.
•Propose tasks.
•Propose evaluation tests.


Teaching is distributed in lectures (10 hours), interactive seminar classes (10 hours), interactive laboratory classes - Computer Class (6 hours) and group tutoring (1 hour).


Topic 1
The master classes will serve to present the fundamental theoretical concepts to acquire the CN01 and CN02 knowledge and develop the CP02 competence.
In the seminars, practical cases related to the planning of experimentation based on the use of experimental designs will be presented and analyzed, reinforcing the competencies indicated above.
The sessions in the computer room will serve to resolve practical cases of statistical analysis of results and optimization of processes through the application of experimental design techniques and response surface analysis, for which the IBM SPSS Statistics statistical program will be used and Excel. Skills HD01 and HD09 will be worked on. The reports of two practices that are part of the continuous evaluation will be delivered. The proposal of the tasks and the delivery of the reports will be done through the Virtual Campus of the subject.

Topic 2
For the teaching of the Scientific Text Writing Topic, master classes will be combined with interactive seminar classes. The search for sources of bibliographic information (HD04 skill) and the writing and review of scientific papers will be deepened to acquire CN02 knowledge and develop CP09 competence.

Topic 3
The methodology corresponding to Topic 3 will consist of analyzing in depth the main sections of an R&D&I project considering both the individual and consortium modality, the incorporation of a section on patentability and registration of ownership of results will be considered. A specific session on project evaluation will be held. We will work on the acquisition of CN02 knowledge and develop CP09 skills and work on HD04 and HD07 skills.

Topic 1
The reports of two practices will be delivered, which will allow the evaluation of the learning results indicated in the methodology of this Topic (CN01 and CN02 knowledge, CP02 competence and HD01 and HD09 skills).
The subject exam will be a practical case related to the application of experimental design techniques (CN01 and CN02 knowledge, CP02 competence and HD01 and HD09 skills). It will be carried out through the Assignments module of the Virtual Campus of the subject. It will be proposed and delivered through the Virtual Campus of the subject.
Topic 2
Students will review a scientific work individually where the use of bibliographic sources for review and the quality of the writing work will be analyzed. This task will be proposed and delivered through the Virtual Campus of the subject and will allow the evaluation of the learning results indicated in the methodology of this Topic (HD04 skill, CN02 knowledge and CP09 competence).

Theme 3
For the evaluation of this section, students will prepare and publicly defend, in groups of several students, a summary (in poster format) of an original research project. The complete sections of “Hypothesis”, “Summary”, “Objectives”, “Tasks” and “Expected TRL progress in the project” must be presented in another document. In this way, the learning results indicated in the methodology of this Topic will be evaluated (CN02 knowledge, CP09 competencies and HD04 and HD07 skills).
The presentation of the work will be carried out in the classroom, for which group tutoring will be used, and a poster and the report of the project prepared through the Virtual Classroom Tasks module of the subject will be delivered.

The distribution of the qualification will be as follows:
a) Exam, 25% (practical test of Topic 1)
b) Work/activities/practice reports, 70%: Topic 1, 10%; Topic 2, 30%; Topic 3: 30%
c) Tutorials/Teacher's report: 5% (active participation in classes)

•Attendance at computer classroom classes and group tutoring is mandatory.
•A minimum grade of 4 points out of 10 must be achieved in all the activities in sections a) and b) of the evaluation. If a 4 is not achieved in any of the activities, the overall grade for the subject would be the minimum grade obtained.
•In the second opportunity, the grades obtained in sections b) and c) are retained if the minimum required has been exceeded. In other cases, students will be informed of the possibility and form of recovery.
•The consideration of “not presented” will be considered if none of the activities under evaluation are carried out.

In cases of fraudulent completion of exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for evaluating the academic performance of students and reviewing grades will apply.

The subject has a workload of 3 ECTS, 1 ECTS credit corresponding to 25 hours of total work, distributed as follows:

Activity-In-person hours

Theoretical teaching 10.0
Interactive seminar teaching 10.0
Interactive computer classroom teaching 6.0
Small group tutorials 1.0
Subtotal 27.0
Exam and Review 2.0
Total 29.0
Student work hours 46.0

Fluent command of Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint is recommended.
As stated in the methodology, the virtual classroom will be Moodle.

The subject is taught in Spanish.

In Topic 1, IBM SPSS Statistics and Excel will be used.