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Project Development - ELE00140M

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  • Department: Electronic Engineering
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
    • See module specification for other years: 2024-25

Module summary

This module helps you to design and develop an original research project, assessing and evaluating current literature on the chosen topic. You will learn about project management and research techniques, and apply them to a personal research blog, conference presentation, and literature survey in your chosen area. You will also gain a broad understanding of the state of the art in audio and music technology research. We cover qualitative and qualitative methods of audio research through a series of focussed lectures delivered by AudioLab staff as well as other audio researchers within the University. You will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of audio experimentation, methods of perceptual audio evaluation, acoustic analysis and commonly encountered test paradigms. You will be introduced to a wide variety of research topics related to the fields of immersive and interactive audio, voice science, environmental sound, audio production and post-production and audio accessibility amongst others.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2023-24

Module aims

Subject content aims:

  • To give students an understanding of the state of the art in international audio research, and especially the audio research at the University of York

  • To give students an understanding of audio systems prototyping, measurement and testing, and perceptual audio evaluation

  • To investigate an area of interest within Audio and Music Technology and scope an extended research project in the context of state of the art audio research

  • To design and develop an original research project, assessing and evaluating current literature on the chosen topic.

Graduate skills aims:

  • To work individually to research a related topic in the field of audio engineering and present methods of evaluation.

  • To develop research skills, and experience of technical prototyping

  • To communicate research to peers and the general public

  • To participate in event management: including marketing, financial planning, management and reporting to clients, activity scheduling, communication, team working, client management, implementation

  • To hone skills in autonomous task planning and self motivation and management.

Module learning outcomes

After successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a high level of written communication

  • Select a current problem or topic in the field appropriate for an extended literature review for a research or programming project.

  • Scope, design and plan an extended individual research project

  • Find, evaluate, read and understand suitable and relevant research literature from a variety of sources.

  • Write an extended literature review on their chosen area of research

  • Design audio listening tests to fit specific research questions

  • Explain different listening test paradigms such as ABX, MUSHRA etc.

  • Contextualise current developments in audio technology with wider economic, societal and academic impact.

  • Discuss current audio research topics, in particular research undertaken at the University of York.

Graduate skills learning outcomes

After successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate successful team working, event and project management skills in a real-life situation

  • Demonstrate the skills of verbal/oral presentation and communicating technical research to peers and the general public

  • Produce a website/blog (with interactive content) to communicate their research project to the general public

  • Structure a lecture presentation

  • Plan and manage their own work and the work of others

  • Construct concise technical reports that critically evaluate and synthesise new information based on research, appropriate for the target audience

  • Present technical work in a clear and concise fashion

Module content

Personal, Project and Group Management & Communication
(2 hour session per week, weeks 1-7, and self-study videos)
[These are all co-taught with the School ACT, Music Dept]

  • Planning a research Symposium
  • Time Management
  • Research questions and approaches
  • Research and Information Sources
  • Planning a Literature Survey
  • Searching skills
  • Ethics
  • Expectations of a Masters project
  • Research Project Management
  • Writing a Research Blog
  • Preparing a Research Project Talk
  • Presentation of Research Findings

The following lectures are given on the topic of research methods:
Research Methods (1 hour session per week, weeks 1-7):

  • Quantitative Research Methods
  • Qualitative Research Methods
  • Perceptual Audio Evaluation
  • Audio Systems Measurement
  • Audio and Acoustic Simulation

Audio Lab Mini Keynote (3 * 1 hour sessions per week, Weeks 2-4)
The module includes (for MSc students only) a series of Mini Keynote sessions from various staff,
front-loaded at the start of the semester, with the aim of informing the student’s project choice. Topics
include:

  • Voice science,
  • Immersive Interactive Audio research trends,
  • Soundscapes,
  • Audio accessibility,
  • Audio for Health and Wellbeing,
  • Sonification,
  • Audio Forensics and Audio for Linguistics (single session)
  • Audio for Games and Music Production,
  • HCI for Music

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 20
Essay/coursework 60
Oral presentation/seminar/exam 20

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

There are 3 components to the assessment which allow you to explore how to communicate your developing project work:

  1. to experts (Literature review & project plan),

  2. to peers (Video of a research talk), and

  3. to the general public (Blog)

In addition there is a Formative Assessment in Week 5, where MSc students submit their Project
Proposals.

See the ‘Summative Feedback’ section below for more details.

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 20
Essay/coursework 60
Oral presentation/seminar/exam 20

Module feedback

Formative Feedback

You will have opportunities to debate the various topics in a class of peers from multiple departments.

An interactive website helps you to share your ideas and get feedback from your peers as well as from the Module Coordinator.

Emails to the Module Coordinator with Questions / Comments will be answered as soon as possible.

Questions can also be submitted at any time via the Question Box on the module Wiki page.

Summative Feedback

There are three very different modes of assessment for this module, each of which helps you to develop a different facet of your project.

  1. The Research Blog helps you to explain your work to a wide audience via the internet, and you will get written individual feedback from the Module Coordinator, and your first Project Supervisor, on the effectiveness of your blog, its content, its style, and its potential for engagement with a wide audience.
  2. The Conference Presentation gives you experience at preparing a talk for a peer-reviewed conference. As well as the Summative mark from the Project coordinator and your project supervisors, you will receive written feedback from the staff team on the effectiveness of your presentation, as well as formative feedback from your peers. By taking part in a joint departmental conference / symposium, you will get a chance to question others and to answer questions from staff and students on your own work.
  3. The Literature Review and Project Plan is a major piece of work where you describe the prior knowledge in your chosen project area, and lay out a strategy for managing your own work over the summer. You will receive detailed individual feedback from two subject specialists (your two project supervisors) moderated by the Module Coordinator, which will reflect the quality of your research, writing, planning and contextualisation.

Indicative reading

Hunt, A., Managing Your Project: Achieving Success with Minimal Stress, CreateSpace (2016)

ISBN-10 : 1537212206

ISBN-13 : 978-1537212203

(Extracts from this book will be made available to students taking this module).


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.