The value of independent study, of projects or small-scale research projects is well acknowledged for undergraduate degrees, and in postgraduate coursework degrees there tends to be at least one substantial piece of independent research. This paper discusses experiences with a research project which medical students at the University of Queensland have to conduct during their fourth and fifth year of study. It is based on a questionnaire to fifth-year students who had just completed the project, and on diaries which the following cohort of students filled out while going through the various stages of their research. The paper addresses the departmental expectations and objectives for the course, student experiences and opinions, and the provisions and processes which facilitate students' achievement of these objectives.