module specification

Evidence Based Practice 2: Research Methods and critical appraisal module extends students’ learning and development in the research pillar of clinical practice.

In this module, students will be introduced to principles of scientific enquiry, research processes, critical evaluation of clinical practice, clinical audit, and quality evaluation. They will explore approaches for data collection in quantitative and qualitative research, and clinical audits. In addition, they will practice and develop skills to analyse collected data and interpret these in group workshops.

Furthermore, the module will provide opportunities to practice critical appraisal of different research designs used in evidence-based practice and quality assurance of clinical services.

Specifically, in this module, you will:

Acquire knowledge of the common approaches used to develop research evidence to engage in evidence-based clinical practice. 

Practice qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and interpretation to evaluate patient’s health and response to interventions.

Explore and practice using different tools them to evaluate the trustworthiness of findings from common quantitative and qualitative research designs.

Explore approaches used to evaluate service outcomes such as clinical audits and governance for quality management.

Consider the ethical and governance framework for clinical research.

Pre-requisite: All level 4 modules

Co-requisites: PT5000, PT5051, PT5052, PT5W51, PT5W52

Available for Study Abroad? NO

Knowledge 

Evidence based practice – what, why and how; what to know?

Research designs - Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies: ontology and epistemology, interpretivism and positivism, 

Data analysis approaches - quantitative: descriptive, inferential - correlation, regression, analysis of variance; qualitative: thematic, content, framework analyses, grounded theory 

Understanding Clinical Trials and Systematic Reviews 

Principle of hypothesis testing 

Evaluating research methodologies: critical analysis skills: clinical trials, qualitative studies, case-control studies; systematic reviews, clinical guidelines

Ethical considerations and governance

Quality assurance and clinical audit processes 

Skills 

Interrogating data to answer research questions.

Data collection methods – quantitative data

Data analysis approaches using a statistical analysis package (SPSS) to conduct different analytic tests for research decision making.

Data collection methods – qualitative semi-structured interviews 

Thematic data analysis of interview data.

Critical appraisal of quantitative, qualitative, systematic reviews and clinical guidelines

Data collection methods – clinical audits and service reviews

Attitudes 

Criticality

Evidence-based practice

This module will utilise a blend of face-to face teaching on evidence-based practice, quantitative research methodology qualitative research methodology, theories of statistical analysis, thematic analysis and quality audit processes. In addition to these, students will have the opportunities to collect primary data and use this to practice statistical analysis and thematic analysis in workshops. Furthermore, they will engage in group learning to further develop their understanding of critical appraisal and present their work in workshops.

By the end of this module students should:

Explain the principles of scientific enquiry underpinning different types of research designs used to generate evidence for evidence-based clinical practice, and systematically evaluate quality of practice.

Utilise knowledge of research designs and quality audit processes to critically evaluate quantitative and qualitative research evidence used in clinical practice and quality assurance.

Appraise statistical approaches used in a research paper and make decisions about their appropriateness and validity to answer questions posed in the research.

Demonstrate an awareness of ethical issues, governance and the need to engage service users in the conduct of clinical research used in evidence-based practice.

Formulate appropriate research questions, identify the best design to investigate a problem in practice and communicate this in a standardised way.

https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/B3E1D2DC-05CE-E14C-D53D-411B00B8CF03.html

Core Reading 

Bowling, A (2014). Research Methods in Health: Investigating Health and Health Services, McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. 

Field, Andy. Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. London: Sage Publications, 2009. Introducing Statistical Methods Ser. Web. 

Green, J and Thorogood N (2014). Qualitative Methods for Health Research. London: Sage 3rd Edition. 

Greenhalgh, T (2014). How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014. 

Portney LG and Watkins MP (2020). Foundations of Clinical Research: Applications to evidence-based Practice, Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company, 4th Edition. 

Policy Documents 

Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care (Department of Healthhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/139565/dh_4122427.pdf)