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HSC8050 Research Methodology for the Human Sciences

Semester 1, 2022 Online
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences
School or Department : School of Nursing and Midwifery
Grading basis : Graded
Course fee schedule : /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules

Staffing

Examiner:

Overview

Nurses and midwives need to be able to read and critique research. They therefore need to develop the ability to be a critical consumer of research and to be able to apply this to their own areas of practice. It is particularly important that nurses and midwives base their practice on research evidence and can provide health care consumers with researched evidence when they seek to make informed decisions.

This course will develop students' abilities to be critical consumers of research. Studies will focus on extending students' knowledge about the purpose of research, research design and various methodologies and approaches including quantitative, qualitative and critical and post-modern influences. Through examination of past research students will distinguish the hallmarks of effective research design including ethical considerations. They will learn about evidence based practice and write a critical literature review for their own area of practice.

Course learning outcomes

On completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. Critically analyse the current methodological debates taking into consideration the different philosophical bases of different approaches to research;
  2. Explain the varying ways the term "theory" is used in each of the research paradigms;
  3. Discuss the centrality of theory to research and describe how each paradigm claims to demonstrate the theory-evidence link;
  4. Discuss principles, benefits and limitations of the evidence-based practice movement in health care;
  5. Identify and refine an area of concern by framing it into a clear problem and developing a focused research question;
  6. Select an appropriate research methodology and method to answer a research question;
  7. Analyse and critically appraise literature in a field of specific interest;
  8. Discuss ethical considerations which arise in research design and conduct.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Methodological Debate - What is Science? and What is Research? 15.00
2. Theory-Practice-Research - Meanings of theory in each paradigm; Evidence-based practice 20.00
3. Elements of Research Design – Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods methodology; Research design frameworks and types of study designs; Overview of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods 30.00
4. Research Ethics - Informed consent; Safety; The researcher/participant relationship; The impact of the researcher 15.00
5. The Critical Practitioner - Critically reviewing the literature 20.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

Liamputtong, P 2016, Research methods in health, 3rd edn, Oxford ¾«¶«´«Ã½app press, South Melbourne.

Student workload expectations

To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.

Assessment details

Approach Type Description Group
Assessment
Weighting (%) Course learning outcomes
Assignments Written Critique (written) No 20 1,2
Assignments Written Online forums No 30 3,4,8
Assignments Written Workbook No 50 5,6,7
Date printed 10 February 2023