Course Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Judy Magarey Phone: +61 8 831 6055Email: judy.magarey@adelaide.edu.auSchool OfficePhone: +61 8 8313 3595Email: nursing.studentliason@adelaide.edu.auLocation: Level 3, Eleanor Harrald Building, RAH

1 Introduction to course Research evidence & searching the literature. Research Paradigms
2 Research ethics
3 Introduction to statistics, descriptive statistics and correlation
4 Hypothesis testing and Inferential statistics
5 Statistics: different tests for different purposes
6 Descriptive designs Mid-Semester Break Mid-Semester Break
7 Experimental & quasi-experimental designs and epidemiology
8 Critique of empirical & analytical research
9 Interpretive & critical designs- managing qualitative data
10 Ethnography / phenomenology
11 Grounded theory/ critical research
12 Action research & participatory action research
13 Critique of Interpretive & critical research

1. Conduct an effective search of the published literature using health science data bases.
2. Explain the ethical principles relating to the conduct of research.
3. Explain the philosophical underpinnings of the various approaches used in health research.
4. Distinguish between the empirical and interpretive and critical methods of research.
5. Explain the use of common statistical methods used for analysis in health research.
6. Explain interpretive and critical approaches used in health research.
7. Critique the research literature in order to assess its applicability to current professional practice.

Schneider, Z, Whitehead, D, LoBionodo, G. Haber, J. 2013, Nursing & Midwifery Research, 4th edn, Mosby, Elsevier, Sydney.

Burns, N & Grove, SK 2014, Understanding Nursing Research Building an Evidence-Based Practice,6th edn, Elsevier Saunders, St Louis.Polgar, S & Thomas, S 2013, 6th Edition. Introduction to research in the health sciences, Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier Edinburgh.Streubert Speziale, H & Carpenter, D 2011, Qualitative research in nursing advancing the humanistic imperative, 5th edn, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia.Burns, N & Grove, SK 2011, Understanding Nursing Research Building an Evidence-Based Practice, 5th edn, Elsevier Saunders, St Louis.Note: You are not required to buy recommended texts. However, they provide valuable supplementary reading on various aspects of the material covered within this course and you are encouraged to have a look at them.

Virtual Classroom and Workshops
There will be two optional on campus workshops in Week 8 and Week 13/Swot Week. Off campus students may attend virtual classroom sessions or sessions will be recorded and be available on MyUni.

MyUni
All students enrolled in a postgraduate coursework nursing program have access to the School of Nursing – Postgraduate Coursework Student Centre on MyUni. If you would like the opportunity to network with other students, you can use the Communication features in the site. This site will also feature information about the latest news and events at the School of Nursing.

Unified
http://unified.adelaide.edu.au/ UNIFIED is your one-stop shop for email, calendar, MyUni and Access Adelaide. It even allows you to search the Library. UNIFIED is available to all active students; with a single login you can access your student systems and personal information through a central website. Login with your Student ID ("a1234567") and Password. For more information, including easy to follow instructions visit https://unified.adelaide.edu.au/web/mycampus/home.

Library Resources
Help for Nursing Students The University of Adelaide Library has a website to help nursing students use the library and its resource (www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/med/nursing). Remote student library service The University of Adelaide Library provides a document delivery and loans service to non-metropolitan students who do not visit a University of Adelaide campus to attend classes (www.adelaide.edu.au/library/docdel/external.html).

This course will be delivered through the Flexible Learning Mode. Lectures will be available on MyUni as Podcasts or PowerPoint presentations and optional virtual classroom sessions and on campus workshops will be held during the semester. It is expected that you will listen to the lectures and if you have any queries contact me via email or phone. If you have difficulty accessing the lectures please contact the MyUni Help.

It is expected that you will need to spend about 12 hours of study a week to successfully complete this course. This includes reading, completing activities, attendance at the optional workshops and listening to podcasts. Thus some weeks it will be more and others less. It is recommended that you plan your time commitment to the course at the beginning of the semester.

This course is designed to familiarise students with the methodologies used in health research. Students will learn how to search the literature and evaluate the evidence they find relating to their practice. In addition the ethical issues relating to research will be considered. The various approaches to health research will be presented. These will include empirical methods such as clinical trials and epidemiology. In addition critical and interpretive approaches such as phenomenology and ethnography will be discussed. This will give students the knowledge and skills required to evaluate research they locate in the literature in order to decide whether to apply the findings to practice.

Lecture topics:
1 Introduction to course Research evidence and searching the literature Research Paradigms
2 Research ethics
3 Introduction to statistics, descriptive statistics and correlation
4 Hypothesis testing and Inferential statistics
5 Statistics: different tests for different purposes
6 Descriptive designs
7 Experimental and quasi-experimental designs and epidemiology
8 Critique of empirical and analytical research
9 Interpretive and critical designs - managing qualitative data
10 Ethnography / phenomenology
11 Grounded theory / critical research
12 Action research and participatory action research
13 Critique of Interpretive and critical research

The course is offered in a blended learning mode so students need to access materials on MyUni. All lectures and Pod-Casts are on MyUni. There are two optional workshops during the semster.

                                                                                      Weighting                 Length:

Search
of the Literature                                                          Formative 0%            250 words

 

Critique
of quantitative research                                                 30%                      1000 words
Weekly quizzes and
statistical calculations

None
for Weeks 1, 8 or 13.                                                    40%                             Equivalent to 1,750
words

Critique
of qualitative research                                                     30%                             1000 words

Literature search
Word count: 250 words
Write a simple research question related to your practice. Conduct a search of the literature using one of the data bases on the nursing website.

Critique of quantitative research
Word count: 1000 words
You are required to critique an empirical research paper.

Weekly online activity
Word count: 1750 word equivalent
At the end of most weeks’ learning there are activities. These will be a combination of quizzes and statistical calculations. The lectures, your prescribed texts and readings will assist you to complete these activities.

Critique of qualitative research
Word count: 1000
You are required to critique an interpretive or critical research paper.

Assessments, unless otherwise stated in your Study guide, are to be submitted electronically via MyUni on the due date identified in this Study guide. Instructions for assignment submission are available for all students under Tutorials at www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/. An assessment submitted via MyUni must be submitted as a .doc, .docx or .rtf file. If submitting a PowerPoint presentation for marking, the .ppt or .pptx must be submitted as .pdf file. It is also important to submit your file under your name, such as surname.firstname. MyUni stamps all the other details against your filename once you submit your assessment.If you have difficulty submitting your assignment, you can call the MyUni helpdesk from 8am to 6pm 08 8303 3335.Information on how to submit an assignment is avialble on MyUni.

Plagiarism
Students are reminded that plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty constitute a serious offence and can result in disciplinary procedures. Students are advised to read the policy Academic Honesty and Assessment Obligations for Coursework Students Policy & Coursework Students: Academic Dishonesty Procedures policy, available at www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/230/. The following definitions should be noted.
Referencing: providing a full bibliographic reference to the source of the citation (in a style as determined by the School).

Quotation: placing an excerpt from an original source into a paper using either quotation marks or indentation, with the source cited, using an approved referencing system in order to give credit to the original author.

Paraphrasing: repeating a section of text using different words which retain the original meaning.Please note: changing just a few words does not constitute paraphrasing.

MARKING GUIDES
Portfolio of Activities

Structure and writing style 10%
Structure • each section of the portfolio is structured in a logical sequence so that the content flows (headings may be used to develop the structure of the portfolio)
• where appropriate introduces/outlines/situates the activity/discussion
• where appropriate each section of the portfolio ends with a cogent, defendable conclusion that summarises the discussion within the body of the activity.
Writing Style
• the portfolio is written with clear sentence structure and the spelling and grammar are correct.

Content 80%
• demonstrates an understanding of the activities/discussions chosen by identifying the main components/issues/focus of the topic area
• where appropriate provides evidence of support from contemporary literature to support argument/points of view• has grounded the topic within the clinical area but also includes the broad scope of nursing• where appropriate for the activity demonstrates critical thought
• has completed activities/ discussion points as directed e.g. one from each week.

Referencing 10%
• the referencing style used throughout the paper is congruent with the School style guide and refencing manual
• the reference list is accurate (i.e. no missing page numbers, volumes, correct title etc), complete (i.e. no references in the body of the paper are missing from the reference list) and consistent with the School’s Student handbook and style guide• the references cited are contemporary (i.e. less than 10 years old unless seminal papers)• primary references are used where possible (i.e. the original reference has been cited rather than a secondary source) • there is evidence in the paper that the student has searched widely for information related to the topic/issue• the student has acknowledged all sources of information• direct quotations are only used to make crucial points or to support the discussion/argument.

Critique of research (follow this guide for each paper, Use the template available on MyUni)
Structure and Writing Style 25%
Structure (15%)
• Introduces the paper
• Clearly describes the way in which the critique will proceed.
• The critique is structured in a logical sequence so that the content flows (headings may be used to develop the structure of the paper).
• The critique ends with a cogent, defendable conclusion that summarises the discussion within the body of the paper.Writing Style (10%)
• The critique is written with clear sentence structure, clarity of argument and precision of expression and the spelling and grammar are correct.

Content and Critical Analysis 60%
• The student demonstrates a sound understanding of the chosen research approaches and a high degree of critical thought and insight.
• The following has been critiqued in a in a balanced unbiased manner (discussing both positives and negatives where necessary). Qualitative
• The title and abstract, the chosen topic (phenomenon) and its relevance to practice. • Use of the literature and underlying assumptions.
• The chosen theoretical framework and its presentation.
• The selection of participants.
• The method of data collection strategies and the relationship to the chosen methodology.
• How the researcher/s considered ethical issues.
• The analysis of the data (rigour –credibility, auditability, fittingness and confirmability).
• The presentation of findings, recommendations and implications for healthcare.

Quantitative
• The title and abstract, the chosen topic and its relevance to nursing.
• Use of the literature, definition of terms and underlying assumptions.
• Presentation of the hypothesis or research question. How the researcher/s considered ethical issues.
• Methods sampling method and size- data collection, rigour of the study -issues of reliability and validity. Data analysis
• Presentation of limitations of the research.
• The presentation of findings, recommendations and implications for healthcare.
Referencing 15%
• the referencing style used throughout the paper is congruent with the School’s Student handbook and style guide
• the reference list is accurate (i.e. no missing page numbers, volumes, correct title etc), complete (i.e. no references in the body of the paper are missing from the reference list) and consistent with the School’s Student handbook and style guide
• the references cited are contemporary (i.e. less than 10 years old unless seminal papers)
• primary references are used predominantly (i.e. the original reference has been cited rather than a secondary source) • there is evidence in the paper that the student has searched widely for information related to the topic/issue• the student has acknowledged all sources of information
• direct quotations are only used to make crucial points or to support the discussion/argument.

Assessments, unless otherwise stated in your Study guide, are to be submitted electronically via MyUni on the due date identified in this Study guide. Instructions for assignment submission are available for all students under Tutorials at www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/. An assessment submitted via MyUni must be submitted as a .doc, .docx or .rtf file. If submitting a PowerPoint presentation for marking, the .ppt or .pptx must be submitted as .pdf file. It is also important to submit your file under your name, such as surname.firstname. MyUni stamps all the other details against your filename once you submit your assessment.If you have difficulty submitting your assignment, you can call the MyUni helpdesk from 8am to 6pm 08 8303 3335.Information on how to submit an assignment is avialble on MyUni.

The course is offered to Honours students for the first ime in 2016 thus  SELT feedback is unavailable.