Welcome to the course NURS 3044: Research Methodologies! The aim of this course is to develop your understanding of research principles and processes that support professional nursing / midwifery practice. This course will enable you to recognise what good research is by providing an entry-level guide to the main research methodologies used in nursing and midwifery.

 

This course also puts research into context, explaining how to use the skills of critiquing and evaluating research and how this is linked to evidence-based practice.

The Course Outline provides all information about the course including objectives, assessment requirements, relevant legislative requirements, University policies and the course calendar. Please read this Course Outline carefully and ensure you understand what is required of you so that you can gain maximum benefit in completing this course.

Most communication will occur through the on-line News Forum on the course home-page, so please access it regularly. I will send student emails through your university account only and will make the assumption that students read their emails on a regular basis.

I hope that you find the course a challenging and rewarding experience, and look forward to working with you throughout the study period.

Kind regards

Dr Amanda Bobridge
Course Coordinator

 

NURS 2033 Experiential Learning Activity: Acute Care Practicum 3

There are no corequisite courses to be completed in conjunction with this course.

To develop students' knowledge and understanding of the research process, research methodologies and research methods.

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

CO1. Explain the relationship between knowledge, research and practice.

CO2. Describe the different approaches to research methodologies

CO3. Discuss the ethical principles that underpin research

CO4. Using a research question, access academic databases to source contemporary research literature

CO5. Apply a critical approach to reviewing the literature

CO6. Analyse research findings relevant to a research question

Upon completion of this course, students will have achieved the following combination of Graduate Qualities and Course Objectives:

A graduate of UniSA:

GQ1. operates effectively with and upon a body of knowledge of sufficient depth to begin professional practice

GQ2. is prepared for life-long learning in pursuit of personal development and excellence in professional practice

GQ3. is an effective problem solver, capable of applying logical, critical, and creative thinking to a range of problems

GQ4. can work both autonomously and collaboratively as a professional

GQ5. is committed to ethical action and social responsibility as a professional and citizen

GQ6. communicates effectively in professional practice and as a member of the community

GQ7. demonstrates international perspectives as a professional and as a citizen

Relationship between knowledge, research and evidence-based nursing / midwifery practice; nature of research and research process; research terminology; qualitative and quantitative research methods; alternative approaches to research (including mixed method and systematic reviews); identifying a research problem; process of literature review; approaches to critical literature reviews; research data analysis; ethical issues and conduct; role of human research ethics committees.

4.5 units

There are no additional assessment requirements identified for this course.

Communication with Students
The University’s primary method of communication with students is electronic, through the UniSA student email account and the student portal. For further information refer to Guidelines on Electronic Communications with Students at the following website: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/codes/miscell/ecomstudents.asp

Student Workload 
4.5 unit workload
The assumed student workload for a 4.5 unit course is 35 hours per unit which is 157.5 hours for a 15 week study period. This equates to approximately 10 hours/week of contact and non-contact hours and includes approximately:

• 7.5 hours/week for activities such as attendance at lectures, tutorials, workshops, participation in online activities, self-directed and independent course related reading and reflection to enable deep engagement with the course materials.
• 2.5 hours/week for researching, further reading and completing course assessments for submission.

Student Access Plans
Student should contact the Course Coordinator before the start of each course if they have a current student access plan and believe they may need any adjustments to the course. This includes extending timelines for assessment tasks, predicted absence from course activities or accommodations in the Horizon Hospital and Health Service (HHHS). The Student Access Plan and course requirements will be reviewed with a course specific plan developed before the student commences the course.

Academic staff illness
Academic staff and visiting speakers may be unable to attend their scheduled teaching session due to illness or unanticipated life events. When this occurs the Course Coordinator will make every effort to ensure that the teaching session takes place supported by an appropriate member of staff. In the event that cancellation of the session becomes necessary, students will be notified by email and alternative arrangements made. To avoid an unnecessary journey, as a result of cancellation, students need to routinely check their student emails PRIOR to lectures, tutorials and workshops.

There are no textbooks listed for this course.

Health databases
 
MEDLINE (Ovid MEDLINE) or PubMed
CINAHL (EBSCO CINAHL)
EMBASE (Ovid EMBASE)
PsycINFO (EBSCO PsycINFO)

Several nursing and health care databases can be located in UniSA Library at http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/services/databases/dbsubjectlist.aspx#N

Referencing

Follow the Roadmap to referencing at http://roadmap.unisa.edu.au/ to help you decide what your source is and how to reference it according to Harvard-UniSA style.

All other course related materials can be accessed through your learnonline course site which you will be able to access from the my Courses section in myUniSA.

All study related materials can be accessed through: https://my.unisa.edu.au

Details of assessment submission and return are listed under each assessment task. Assessment tasks will be returned to you within two to three weeks of submission.

If the Course Coordinator allows submissions in hard copy format, you will be required to attach an Assignment Cover Sheet which is available on the learnonline student help and in myUniSA.

The feedback proforma is available on your course site.

 

The aim of this Assignment is to assist you to develop knowledge and skills in assessing the quality of evidence.

Course Objectives being assessed:

CO2: Describe the different approaches to research methodologies
CO3: Discuss the ethical principles that underpin research
CO5: apply a critical approach to reviewing the literature

Assessment details

Step 1: Select a research paper.

Students should choose ONE of the two research papers available from the ‘Assessment’ folder accessible via the course homepage.

Step 2: Download and complete the relevant critical appraisal tool -  which is also available in the ‘Assessment’ folder accessible via the course homepage.

Using the template provided, work through and answer each section.

 

When providing your answers you should support your statements with evidence from the chosen research paper. Other research journal articles, textbooks, credible online sources can be used to support the answers to each section.

Note the weighting of each section on the marking rubric will guide you regarding the word count for each section e.g. 30% is approximately 600 words, 50% equals 1000 words and 20% weighting is approximately 400 words.

Step 3 – Submit your completed assignment online via Gradebook (2000 words)

Referencing
Please note that you should use correct referencing using the UniSA Harvard referencing system.

Re-submission

Please note: Re-submission is NOT available for this assessment.

Feedback form

The feedback form for this assessment is located in the Assessment’ folder accessible via the course homepage.

 

Course Objectives being assessed:

 

CO1: explain the relationship between knowledge, research and practice
CO2: describe the different approaches to research methodologies
CO3: discuss the ethical principles that underpin research
CO4: using a research question, access academic databases to source contemporary research literature
CO5: apply a critical approach to reviewing the literature
CO6: analyse research findings relevant to a research question

Assessment details:

The Research Question and it’s Importance (600 words)

1. Develop a research question from the relevant Nursing or Midwifery Clinical Scenario - available in the 'Clinical Scenarios' tab on the Course Homepage.

2. State your research question including the Population, Intervention, Comparison (if relevant) and Outcomes (PICO) or Population, Intervention/Issue, Outcomes (PIO)

 

4. Describe each element of the research question, using the relevant PICO or PIO framework

 

5. Provide an explanation using appropriate references as to why this research question is important to Nursing/Midwifery practice

 

Key Words and Their Combinations (200 word equivalent)

 

6. Develop and present appropriate key words based on your research question to be used in online Health databases to search for peer-reviewed research articles related to your research question

 

    The key words should demonstrate the following, if relevant:

 

    - Truncation
    - Abbreviations
    - Wildcards

 
7. List the key word combinations (using appropriate Boolen operators) you used to search online Health databases for relevant research articles

 

 

 

 

Search Strategy

 

8.  List the database(s) where you used the key words and their combinations to search for relevant research articles to answer your research question

 

The Peer Reviewed Articles (700 words - equivalent)

9. List the 4 peer-reviewed, primary research articles you found using the UniSA Harvard referencing style

 

10. Use the 4 research articles you found to complete the relevant table(s)

Discussion (1,000 words)

11. Using the critiquing skills acquired in Research Methodology-Assignment 1, choose the BEST and WORST articles from the 4 relevant articles in terms of their methodological quality and explain why they are the best and worst

 

You are required to use the Assignment 02 Template which is available in the Course ‘Assessment’ Folder

Re-submission
Please note: Re-submission is NOT available for this assessment.

Feedback form
The feedback form for this assessment is located in the 'Assessment' folder on the Learnonline Course site.

Academic Writing Requirements
Please refer to information in the assessment folder on the learnonline course site

Re-marking
Re-marking will occur as per section 5.1 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manua http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/

Assessment Extension Request Policy
Extensions to assessment task will follow the University of South Australia Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) clause 7.3 - Extension to complete an assessment task.
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/

All assessment extensions requests must be: 

• submitted via the Learnonline site to the Course Coordinator
• lodged two (2) working days prior to the time and date that the assessment item is due
• include a reason for the extension request plus supporting documentation for example, medical certificate.

Requests for an extension greater than 7 days will only be granted under extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the Course Coordinator and relevant Program Coordinator and/or Program Director.

Late applications for an extension will be rejected.

Late Submission of Assignments
Late submission of assignments will result in a penalty. The penalty for late submissions will be:

1. a deduction of 10 marks per day or part day, for each day that the assignment is late up to a maximum of 5 days.
2. assignments which are more than 5 days late will not be marked and will be assigned a zero grade inclusive of non-graded pass work.

Example 1: If you submit a paper one and a half days late you will receive a penalty of 20 marks. Your paper will be marked and the 20 marks will be deducted from the mark which you would have obtained if your paper was submitted by the due date. A paper which was given a mark of 70/100 but was submitted 2 days late will receive a final mark of 50.

Example 2: A paper due 11.45 pm on Monday and submitted after 11.45 pm on Saturday will not be marked and assigned a zero grade Considerations of unexpected or exceptional circumstances are as per Assessment and Policy Procedure Manual Sections 7.8 – 7.11

Once an extension is granted, the extended due date is final.

Re-submission

PLEASE NOTE: Re-submission is NOT available for this assessment.

N/A

Supplementary assessment or examination offers students an opportunity to gain a supplementary pass (SP) and is available to all students under the following conditions unless supplementary assessment or examination has not been approved for the course:

1. if the student has achieved a final grade between 45-49 per cent (F1) in a course
2. if a student who has successfully completed all of the courses within their program, with the exception of two courses in their final study period, a supplementary assessment or examination may be granted where the final grade in either or both of these courses, is less than 45 percent (F1 or F2)

More information about supplementary assessment is available in section 7.5 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual.
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp

Supplementary assessment will be available for this course.

For further information and criteria regarding supplementary assessment refer to the section 7.4 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual

All students must adhere to the University of South Australia's policies about assessment:
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp.

Student with disabilities or medical conditions or students who are carers may be entitled to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements.  See Section 7 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual (APPM) at:  http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp

Students can register for an Access Plan with UniSA Disability Service. It is important to make contact early to ensure that appropriate support can be implemented or arranged in a timely manner. See the Disability Hub for more information:  http://www.unisa.edu.au/Disability/Current-students

Students are advised there is a deadline to finalise Access Plan arrangements for examinations. Further information is available at:  http://i.unisa.edu.au/campus-central/Exams_R/Before-the-Exam/Alternative-exam-arrangements/

 

Deferred assessment or examination is available for the course

 

 

Special consideration is available for this course. Note: Special consideration cannot be granted for a deferred assessment or examination, or a supplementary assessment or examination. APPM 7.7.6

 

 

Variation to assessment methods, tasks and timelines may be provided in:

Unexpected or exceptional circumstances, for example bereavement, unexpected illness (details of unexpected or exceptional circumstances for which variation may be considered are discussed in clauses 7.8 - 7.10 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variation to assessment in unexpected or exceptional circumstances should be discussed with your course coordinator as soon as possible.

Special circumstances, for example religious observance grounds, or community services (details of special circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clause 7.11 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variations to assessment in expected circumstances must be requested within the first two weeks of the course (or equivalent for accelerated or intensive teaching).

 

  

Extra time in exams (ENTEXT) and the use of a dictionary may be available to some students (for example, Indigenous Australian students and those of non-English speaking background) as follows:

• extra time for reading or writing. This will be an extra ten minutes per hour for every hour of standard examination time, and
• the use of an English language or bilingual print dictionary (without annotations). (APPM 7.2.2)

More information about variation to assessment is available in section 7.2 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual. http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (section 7)

Academic integrity is the foundation of university life and is fundamental to the reputation of UniSA and its staff and students. Academic integrity means a commitment by all staff and students to act with honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, respect and responsibility in all academic work.

An important part of practising integrity in academic work is showing respect for other people's ideas, and being honest about how they have contributed to your work. This means taking care not to represent the work of others as your own. Using another person's work without proper acknowledgement is considered Academic Misconduct, and the University takes this very seriously.

The University of South Australia expects students to demonstrate the highest standards of academic integrity so that its degrees are earned honestly and are trusted and valued by its students and their employers. To ensure this happens, the University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. For example, work submitted electronically by students for assessment will be examined for copied and un-referenced text using the text comparison software Turnitin http://www.turnitin.com.

More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section 9 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM): http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp. The Academic Integrity Module explains in more detail how students can work with integrity at the University: https://lo.unisa.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=252142

See above under Assessment details.

At the completion of this course, you will be asked to complete the myCourseExperience questionnaire. This questionnaire asks for your opinions and evaluation of the course and your lecturer’s teaching methods. It is important for you to complete these evaluations as modifications are regularly made to courses on the basis of student feedback.

These questionnaires will be available via a link on the online learning resources page and course home page normally during the final three weeks of the study period. You will need to enter you domain/username and password to access the questionnaires.

The information below show the suggested alterations/considerations for assessment items dependent on the duration of the unplanned outage

 

less than 1 hour outage: No impact on either assessment

 

1 to 4 hour outage:      Assessment  - Consider an extension. Examination - No impact.

 

4 to 24 hour outage:    Assessment - 24 hour extension.

 

Over 24 hour outage:  Assessment - 48 hour extension.