Assigning Level in Data-mining Exercises

Abstract

There is currently much interest in ascribing outcomes to Masters (M) level programmes. It is particularly difficult to define M level outcomes in bioinformatics for students on non-specialist programmes. An approach is described that attempts to discriminate undergraduate from M level in a data-mining exercise. Differentiation of level is based upon the taxonomic origin of a DNA sequence, the relative increase in gene complexity from lower to higher eukaryote and the initiative required to use a wider range of databases and analytical tools.