PMM1RP-Medical Research and Enquiry

Module Provider: Pharmacy
Number of credits: 30 [15 ECTS credits]
Level:7
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring / Summer module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites: Only for PA MSc students
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2022/3

Module Convenor: Prof Becky Green
Email: rebecca.green@reading.ac.uk

Module Co-convenor: Dr Simone Magee
Email: s.magee@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module provides postgraduate Physician Associate students with the opportunity to engage in research aligned with their own clinical interests. The module provides training in different research skills and methods relevant to those encountered by medical professionals, to enable students to develop skills needs to plan, design, conduct and present a piece of original research. Students will learn how to make use of spreadsheets to capture information and learn how to sample and collect qualitative and quantitative data using statistic approaches where appropriate. The module also provides students with the opportunity to carry out a brief piece of research and present their findings to their colleagues.

Aims:

This module aims to:

• Provide students with knowledge and skills on how to plan, design, conduct and present research


• Equip students with a critical and reflective approach to research practice

Assessable learning outcomes:

Students will be able to:

• Formulate an appropriate research plan for the purposes of conducting a research project to answer a specific research question


• Carry out a short piece of original research as a preliminary study towards their wider research proposal


• Make appropriate use of current literature and knowledge to support planning and presentation of their own research topic.


• Be able to appropriately analyseand present their research findings both in writing and orally.


• Show evidence of independent research skills, enquiry and scholarship.

Additional outcomes:

Students will develop communication, writing and reflection skills through consideration of the concepts within their own working environment or area of interest. Students will also learn about the research lifecycle.

Students will learn about how to obtain ethical approval for research where this is needed, for example for research involving patient data.

Outline content:

Students will build on existing knowledge from their undergraduate training by learning about research skills for qualitative and quantitative research that is relevant to medical professionals using a distance learning approach. This material will provide students with a resource for learning about research design for qualitative and quantitative methods used in clinical research. It will also provide practical advice on how to undertake audits, service evaluations, systematic and critical reviews.

Students will develop a research proposal based on an original research question that is on a topic that is in line with their own interests or that of their academic or clinical project supervisor. With support from their supervisor, students will identify a preliminary study linked to their full research proposal for them to carry out as a mini-project and will create a time-line plan for completing this piece of research.

Students will gain ethics approval for projects where this is needed

Students will carry out a short research project linked to the topic of their research idea. This is likely to act as a preliminary study or piece of scoping research towards a larger research project idea, but their short project does not have to be fully aligned to their previous proposal.

Students will present their finding as a short report and as a poster presentation. 

Global context:

Students may select to undertake research projects in clinical and health sciences that have wider international significance.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

Students will develop a research idea and undertake a short original piece of research in an area relevant to medical science. Distance learning material will be provided to support their development of a research project and help them identify an appropriate research question. With the support and guidance of a project supervisor, students will lead the design and execution of the project. Support will be provided throughout the project through regular one-to-one meetings with the project su pervisor.  An opportunity to receive feedback on the written assignments before their submission will be offered.

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures	1	1
Project Supervision	6	6	3
Guided independent study:
Wider reading (independent)	30	20	10
Preparation for presentations		10	10
Carry-out research project	18	60	20
Dissertation writing	20	28	42
Reflection	5	5	5
Total hours by term	80	130	90
Total hours for module	300

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Written assignment including essay	15
Report	60
Oral assessment and presentation	25

Summative assessment- Examinations:

None

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

Three assessed pieces of work:

1. Project proposal (800-1200 words): 15%


2. Project report (succinct report of 6000-8000 words): 60%


3. Project poster presentation: 25%

Formative assessment methods:

Formative feedback will be provided for all summative pieces of work either through verbal feedback (project proposal and poster) or written feedback (project report).

Penalties for late submission:

The below information applies to students on taught programmes except those on Postgraduate Flexible programmes. Penalties for late submission, and the associated procedures, which apply to Postgraduate Flexible programmes are specified in the policy £Penalties for late submission for Postgraduate Flexible programmes£, which can be found here: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmissionpgflexible.pdf
The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

Students must achieve a mark of 50% to pass this module.

Reassessment arrangements:

Reassessment will be by written assignment.  Students requiring reassessment will have their module mark capped at 50%.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books:  None

2) Specialist equipment or materials:  None

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear:  None

4) Printing and binding:  None

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification:  None

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence:  None

Last updated: 22 September 2022