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Unit of study_
VETS6103: Research and Enquiry 1A
2026 unit information
Research and enquiry is implicit in every aspect of every career path in veterinary science. This unit will equip students with skills in generating research evidence as well as in searching and critically evaluating available evidence. The candidate will develop the skills necessary to formulate relevant questions and to collate, evaluate and synthesise evidence to answer these questions. The candidate will gain knowledge and develop fundamental skills in designing and conducting field experiments, including clinical trials, and evaluating journal articles about such experiments. Skills will be developed in using spreadsheets and conducting statistical analyses for data collected during simple experiments. Guidelines for publishing clinical trials will be discussed to enable candidates to critically evaluate methods (design, conduct and analysis) of clinical trials presented in journal articles and marketing brochures. Risk assessments are regularly conducted for units that require the completion of compulsory learning activities that may expose students to zoonotic diseases. These assessments aim to identify appropriate risk mitigation controls, such as vaccination against vaccine- preventable zoonoses. Vaccination against Q fever (Coxiella burnetii) is an inherent requirement for students enrolling in this unit of study. Students must be vaccinated against Q fever before commencing the unit or no later than week two of the enrolled teaching session. Q fever vaccination is only available in Australia with the vaccination process taking three weeks to complete. Students must also submit a Q fever Vaccination Declaration upon enrolment. Students who fail to receive vaccination by the specified deadline and/or submit a Q fever Vaccination Declaration are precluded from practical learning activities and will not be able to satisfactorily complete relevant units of study and/or progress in their course more generally. Please refer to the University’s website https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/q-fever-vaccinations.html for more information on student vaccinations.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Postgraduate |
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| Academic unit | School of Veterinary Science Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 3 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. formulate relevant questions and source, evaluate and synthesise evidence to answer these questions across a range of veterinary contexts
- LO2. design field trials including randomized control trials and critically evaluate the design of published trials
- LO3. analyse data from field trials, interpret and present the results; and interpret the statistical results presented in journal articles.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2026
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.