Health care professionals today must be able to justify their practice to maintain quality of service. Best practice requires practitioners to understand and to be able to apply the concept of evidence based practice. Knowing how and where to look for appropriate evidence is the first step in this process. The next step is knowing what to do with the evidence once it has been obtained and then being able to interpret it to formulate justifiable decisions applied to practice. It may be necessary to identify gaps in the evidence and therefore plan research to answer revealed questions. This module allows you to develop your existing knowledge and skills of applied research; enabling you to explore the application of this new knowledge and skills to your current area of work. It will develop an awareness of commonly used tools in healthcare in the development of best practice; for example; systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module you should be able to:
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Relate research evidence to a range of relevant issues
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Discuss a range of research approaches that could be used in health care
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Critically evaluate research reports that use a range of different research paradigms
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Demonstrate the ability to identify the impact of research in practice
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Understand the basic principles of data analysis
Credits
20 credits
Module Attendance Required
36 hours
Module Dates
2011/12 dates
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12 - 14 October
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10 - 11 November
Assessment
A 3000 word critique of an article appearing in a peer reviewed journal. You will be expected to choose an article which enables you to demonstrate that you have achieved the key learning outcomes. The article may be selected in negotiation with the module leader. It would be expected that this article will be in the your own area of interest. The critique should pay particular attention to the methodological aspects of the study reported, which have been covered in the module. A special session will be incorporated in the module to help you prepare for this assignment.
Academics involved in the delivery of this module
Mrs Chris Wright
Stand Alone Course
This module can be taken as a stand alone course if required. To apply, please contact the Programme Administrator:
Telephone: +44 (0)121 414 3126
Email: np-pgadmissions@contacts.bham.ac.uk
Fee if taken as a stand alone course
The Home/EU module fee is £517, the overseas fee is £1370.
Entry requirements if taken as a stand alone course
For information on requirements please contact the Programme Administrator.