MEDIC ST 3104BOL - Research and Critical Appraisal Part 2

Course Details

Course Code	MEDIC ST 3104BOL
Course	Research and Critical Appraisal Part 2
Coordinating Unit	Medical Studies
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	Online
Units	6
Contact	Up to 4 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	MEDIC ST 3104A in previous Semester, MEDIC ST 2000A/B, MEDIC ST 2101A/B, MEDIC ST 2102A/B, MEDIC ST 2103A/B, MICRO 2506 and an approved level II elective; or by approval of the Dean of Medicine
Restrictions	Available to MBBS students only
Assessment	Refer to Course Outline

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Andrea Yool

Course Coordinator

Prof Andrea Yool
Professor of Physiology
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Adelaide
email: andrea.yool@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Lectures for this course are delivered as part of the integrated Year 3 MBBS Program.

Students will need to work in small groups outside the scheduled program to meet the course requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

To understand the role of research to inform excellence in clinical practice
Learn the principles, practices and processes of scientific enquiry
Plan a small research project involving experimental design or qualitative research methodologies where relevant.
Assess the strengths and weaknesses of a published paper, and its relevance to clinical pratice or medical science.
Learn how to keep up-to-date with research.
Carry out independent learning and work effectively

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1,2
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	2,3,4
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	3,6
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	1,5
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	3,4
Attribute 6: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency Graduates have an understanding of, and respect for, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, culture and knowledge.	N/A
Attribute 7: Digital capabilities Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.	2, 3, 4, 5
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	6

Required Resources

There are no required resources for this course.

Recommended Resources

esearch Design Resources
Bordage, G & Dawson, B 2003, “Experimental study design and grant writing in eight steps and 28 questions’, Medical Education, vol. 37, p. 376-385.
Grimes DA & Schulz KF, 2002, “An overview of clinical research: the lay of the land.” The Lancet, vol.359, issue 9300, p. 8.
Hansen, E 2006, Successful qualitative health research: a practical introduction, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest.Moher,
D, Schulz, KF, Altman, DG 2001, ‘The CONSORT statement: revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel group randomised trials. BMC Medical Research Methodology, vol. 1, p. 2
Riegelman, RK 2000, Studying a study and testing a test, 4th edn. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia PA.
Rossenfeldt, FL, Dowling, JT, Pepe, S & Fulleton, M 2000, ‘How to write a paper for publication’, Heart Lung and Circulation, vol. 9, p. 82-87.

Critical Appraisal resources
Introductory paper: “How to critically appraise an article” by Young and Solomonhttp://www.nature.com/nrgastro/journal/v6/n2/pdf/ncpgasthep1331.pdf
Sitewith checklist style worksheets for the critical appraisal of different types of research
http://www.casp-uk.net/find-appraise-act/appraising-the-evidence/
Elwood, M 2000, Critical appraisal of epidemiological studies and clinical trials, OUP, Oxford, New York.
Greenhalgh, T 2010, How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine. Wiley BlackwellPublishing, Oxford.Research

Ethics
Emanuel,EJ, Wendler, D & Grady C 2000, ‘What makes clinical research ethical?’, Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 283, p. 2701-2711.Overview: www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-ethics
Ethical issues checklist for human research:https://webdev.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/human/guidelines/levels/HREC_Ethics_Checklist.doc
Ethical requirements in animal, genetic and human research: www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/
Indigenous health: www.nhmrc.gov.au/your-health/indigenous-health
Regulations on the procurement and use of human tissue/ cadavers:www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/Transplantation%20and%20Anatomy%20Act%201983.aspxInformed consent, use of case notes, de-identification, confidentiality and privacy:www.privacy.gov.au/publications/e26.pdf
Examples of Research Ethics approval committees and their requirements:
www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/human/guidelines/index.html
www.rah.sa.gov.au/rec/www.tqeh.sa.gov.au/public/content/default.asp?xcid=158Group

Work and Peer Assessment
Group Work: http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/24-groupwork.xml

PeerAssessment: http://sydney.edu.au/business/learning/students/study_research_writing/groupwork/finishing_well/self_peer_assessment

Statistics Resources

Bland, M 2000, An introduction to medical statistics, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Campbell, MJ & Machin, D 2000, Medical statistics: a commonsense approach, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Dawson-Saunders, B & Trapp, RG 1994, Basic and clinical biostatistics, Appleton & Lange, Norwalk.
Gore, SM & Altman, DG 1991, Statistics in practice, British Medical Association, London.
Petrie, A & Sabin, C 2009, Medical statistics at a glance, 3rd edn, Wiley-Blackwell, New Jersey.

Referencing Style
The University of Adelaide’s Harvard Referencing Style: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/referencing_guides/Endnote guide

The University of Adelaide library’s guide to Endnote:http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/mbbs

How to export from PubMed into Endnote, especially see section on how to convert to full Journal titleshttp://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/guide/med/end.html

Online Learning

There are a range of online resources available in the recommended resources.

Learning & Teaching Modes

There are two main components of this course: The Research Proposal and the Critical Appraisal. Both activities have a strong focus on working collaboratively in teams. Each component is supported by a series of lectures.

Research Proposal
Students work in small groups under the supervision of a Academic staff member or Clinical titleholder to produce a research proposal. Students will form their own Research Proposal Groups (comprising 4 students) and approach potential supervisors to coordinate their project.

Critical Appraisal
Students work in small groups to critically appraise a published research paper with respect to its rationale, methodology, interpretation of results, conclusions and contribution to medical knowledge or clinical practice.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Provided students work systematically through the two activities within their groups, the workload for this course is manageable.

Learning Activities Summary

The primary mode is small group learning for the development of the Research Proposal and the Critical appraisal. Students will need to demonstrate the ability to self direct their learning with support, and time manage their projects.

Further details will be provide in the Course Handbook.

Specific Course Requirements

The course requires students to participate in small groups for both the research proposal and critical appraisal task. These tasks cannot be completed individually.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

The final mark (out of 100) is based on assessments carried out over the full year (in Part 1 and Part 2Ass

Assessment task	Type	Timing	Weighing	Learning Outcome assessed
Core skills online modules	Summative	Sem 1	12% (8 x 1.5%ea)	1,2,5,6
Final Research Proposal	Summative	Sem 2	50%	1,2,3,6
Critical Appraisal oral presentation	Summative	Sem 2	25%	1,2,4,6
Groupwork log	Summative	Sem 2	5%	3
Supervisor assessment	Summative	Sem 2	8%	2,5,6

TOTAL MARKS = 100

To pass this course and the Third Year MBBS Examination Annual Examination Part 2 course, students must obtain:

• a satisfactory result in each of the components of the summative assessment in semesters 1 and 2; and
• a satisfactory performance in the examinations overall

If an overall borderline grade is achieved in the examinations, a student may be offered an opportunity to sit a Replacement/Additional Assessment examination.

Academic Progression Requirements
Progression from one year to the next in the MBBS is dependent on the student successfully completing a compulsory annual examination course in which a full year’s learning is assessed.

To successfully complete the MEDIC ST 3000A and MEDIC ST 3000B Third Year MBBS Examination Part 1 and Part 2 courses, the student must pass the end of year examinations and have successfully completed all year level component courses (24 units).

IF a student fails the compulsory examination course no passing grade will be received for any core medical studies courses.

IF a student has not completed all required MEDIC ST units of the year they must successfully complete an appropriate remedial course of the same or greater value as specified in Term 4 of the same academic year.

Assessment Related Requirements

A marking grid will be privided to all students which indicates how their final overall band will be determined.

The final individual band is based on their final proposal band, groupwork (satisfactory, borderline, unsatisfactory) and Supervision Attendance (group Work Logs).
Students attendance and contribution is an important element of the assessment.

Details of the assessment grids are provided within the course.

Assessment Detail

Complete assessment requirements for the MBBS Program and this Course are set out in the year level assessment documents distributed at the start of each year.

Submission

Details of the submission requirements will be provided in the Course.
Students may be required to submit the work through Turnitin.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

GS8 (Coursework Grade Scheme)
Grade	Description
CN	Continuing
FNS	Fail No Submission
NFE	No Formal Examination
F	Fail
NGP	Non Graded Pass
P	Pass
C	Credit
D	Distinction
HD	High Distinction
RP	Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

For the purpose of feedback to students a banded result will be provided. This result will not appear on students’ academic transcripts. Bands of achievement are:

A    Above expected competency for year level
B    Clearly at expected competency for year level
C    Just reaches expected competency for year level
D   Below expected competency for year level
E   Far below expected competency for year level.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Students should familarise themselves with the University Policy on Additional Assessment/Replacement Assessment.

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

The MBBS Program has a regular program of evaluation. In addition, student representatives are appointed to MBBS committees and are encouraged to report on issues of importance to students.

Students may access the University Health Practice, 61+ 08 83135050 http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/health/
The MBBS Program website has details on Student well-being resources which can be accessed.

This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.

Please read the MBBS Program Code of Conduct

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator