Healthcare Research Skills and Methods

You should normally have, or be expected to achieve, a minimum of a second class degree (2:2). For healthcare graduates a pass is required. All degrees must be awarded before 1^st August on the year of entry.

Prior training in quantitative or qualitative research methods is not required.

Alternative professional qualifications, or previous related experience, may be considered and we encourage you to apply.

We accept equivalent qualifications gained in other countries and use UKNARIC to assess. Please see our International Student Support pages for more information. If you have any questions, you can contact us at study@sgul.ac.uk

For details on English Language requirements, please see here. This is a Group 1 course.

You will be asked to outline your reasons for applying for the course in a brief personal statement on the application form. You will also need to provide two satisfactory references. See the ‘Apply’ tab for more information.

This module will introduce you to a range of research approaches and methods. You will learn how to:

• critically evaluate the characteristics of high quality, ethical research

• set realistic and appropriate aims, objectives and research questions for research projects

• identify different types of study design, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and select appropriate designs in practice

• critically evaluate the importance of a range of study design issues including those related to evaluating and ensuring rigour in research

• systematically review the published research evidence for a specific research question.

Indicative teaching and learning time requirement

• Lectures: 16 hours (face to face or option to access distant learning lecture recordings)

• Presentations: 12 hours

• Seminars: 12 hours

• Self-directed study: 110 hours

Dates: Each Thursday, Term 1 (October to December)

This module will introduce you to the underlying principles and structure of statistical thinking, along with the latest methods for analysing data collected using quantitative study designs. It will help you develop the skills to critically appraise the statistical methods used in research papers, interpret the results, and evaluate the conclusions. It will give you confidence in interpreting and discussing methods and statistics in biomedical, healthcare, and clinical literature, and when utilising statistics and statistical methods in your own research.

When you have successfully completed of the module, you will be able to:

• critically appraise the statistical methods used in research papers

• analyse and interpret the results of the statistical analyses presented in research papers

• critically appraise the inferences made based on the statistical analyses presented in research papers

• choose and critique modern-day statistical techniques in order to analyse quantitative data when undertaking research projects at the postgraduate level

• propose and synthesise suitable inferences based on the results of the statistical analysis of your own research data.

Indicative teaching and learning time requirement

The module content is delivered via ten lectures. Most lectures are followed by a tutorial in which you will be presented with short-answer questions based on the teaching material.

The first six lectures constitute the curriculum for the quantitative component of the Data Analysis module.

• Lectures: 10 hours

• Group work/discussion groups: 10 hours

• Self-directed study: 130 hours.

Dates

Each Thursday, Term 1 (October to December).

This module will enable you to develop skills in understanding, critically interpreting and extracting data. You will be taught appropriate qualitative and quantitative data analysis methodologies, and how to communicate and present results appropriately in plain English. You will learn about both quantitative and qualitative data. Topics covered include graphs and descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, tests, regression, and the practical collection of qualitative data using interviews and focus groups.  

This module will give you the skills to:

• critically analyse and apply a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches to data analysis, and select the most relevant approach for a given research question scenario

• plan and implement practical analyses of both qualitative and quantitative datasets using a range of techniques, and using computer packages where appropriate

• critically interpret the results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, with reference to underlying methodology, study design, method of data collection, rigour and validity

• synthesise theories of research designs with the relevant data analysis

• identify, evaluate and select appropriate methods for presenting the results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

Indicative teaching and learning time requirement

• Qualitative tutorials/workshops: 7.5 hours (five 1.5 hour workshops)

• Quantitative lectures: 6 hours (six 1 hour lectures)

• Quantitative tutorials/computer workshops: 6 hours (four 1.5 hour tutorials)

• Self-directed study: 130.5 hours

Dates

Each Thursday, Term 1 (October to December)

This module will teach you how to critically appraise research literature relevant to your field of study, covering the principles of critical appraisal, techniques and models for critiquing papers, as well as reviewing relevant research designs and analysis methods and appraisal of key papers in the relevant specialist field, including educational research.

When you have successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• identify the research paradigms and theoretical foundations underlying published research papers

• critically evaluate the design, methods, analyses and conclusions of published papers

• identify the strengths and weaknesses of contrasting approaches to research questions adopted in published papers

• critically assess the contributions made by published papers they have evaluated to the current state of knowledge in their specialist field

• make recommendations for further research resulting from an analysis of published work which they have evaluated.

Indicative teaching and learning time requirement

• Group work: 12 hours (journal clubs/teaching time)

• MOOC*: 18 hours (3 to 6 hours per week study)

• Self-directed learning: 120 hours

Seminars will be led by subject specialists within the specific course team and will be used to review papers relevant to the students’ field of study.

*3 week critical appraisal mass open online course (MOOC) created by St George's and faculty, where you work through the contents, comprising the indicative curriculum as outlined above, at a time convenient for yourself and at your own pace, before going into face to face supervisions and face to face/webinar journal clubs to practice implementing the skills and methods learned.

Term Dates

Each Thursday, Term 1 (October to December)

This module covers the knowledge, attributes and skills required to succeed as a professional researcher as defined in the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF), which is endorsed by organisations including Research Councils UK.

The module addresses the key RDF domains:

• personal effectiveness

• research governance and organisation

• engagement, influence and impact.

It will help you further develop the critical responses and skills necessary to plan and execute projects successfully and in a timely manner, as a first step to seeing yourself as a researcher helping to advance your area of study.

This module will give you the skills to:

• appraise the framework for research governance and legislation affecting research

• examine the need for ethical and other approval before commencing research

• communicate effectively with supervisors, research participants, research team members and those giving permission for research

• critically evaluate the implications of their work to health and safety and intellectual property legislation

• communicate effectively by reflecting on the different perspectives in the research.

Indicative teaching and learning time requirement

• Lectures: 11 hours

• Self-directed study: 139 hours

Dates

Each Thursday, Term 1 (October to December)

This module examines the practice of generating evidenced-based innovations and approaches to facilitating and sustaining effective implementation of policy and interventions in practice. It draws on theory and practice from a broad range of other professional disciplines (eg sociology, management, behavioural psychology, science and technology).

This module will enable you to critically explore a range of strategies to help translate research findings into practice, considering them in the context of an ever-changing working environment and policy landscape.

When you’ve successfully completed this course, you will be able to:

• critically discuss the concept and role of Implementation and Improvement Science in the context of health and social care, from patient and public, national and international perspectives

• critically appraise the relevance and value of a range of implementation and improvement methodologies, frameworks and strategies, comparing and contrasting their relative merits and limitations

• analyse situational context, critically evaluating how external factors, organisational culture, leadership and systems influence and impact on the process of change and adoption within practice

• synthesise information from a variety of disciplines and sources, critically evaluating the best evidence for designing and delivering effective and safe care

• demonstrate critical application of principles, theories and frameworks and develop strategies to overcome the challenges to the effective implementation of research findings

• demonstrate the capacity to develop action plans, systematically measure outcomes, and effectively disseminate and reflect on ideas.

Indicative teaching and learning time requirement

• Key lectures: 25 hours

• Small group/problem-based workshop: 20 hours

• Student-led seminars: 10 hours

• Individual tutorial: 1 hour

• Self-directed study: 94 hours

Dates

10 sessions on Thursdays, Term 2

In this module, you will identify a topic that is of interest to you or pertinent to your practice or clinical role, in consultation with the module leader. This will form the foundation of the module. You will be assigned an academic tutor who will help you to formulate a personal learning plan, and will provide you with a series of tutorials along with the module leader.

The content of your study will depend on your topic, but you will complete a small series of tasks related to it which will help you to critically examine and apply key technological, clinical and theoretical principles related to your topic, synthesising information from a variety of sources and considering their implications for professional practice.

You will complete this module over a period of six months.

When you have successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate performance and critically appraise personal learning and development as a consequence of independent learning, establishing future learning needs through the process of reflection

• critically examine and apply key technological/clinical/theoretical principles associated with given area of learning

• synthesise information from a variety of sources and consider its implications for professional practice

• critically explore how the specified topic links to the context of health and social care and influences the development of professional practice

• critically examine concepts of competence and expertise, and explore their relationship with professional development and practice.

Indicative teaching and learning time requirement

• Key lectures: 3 hours

• Assessment briefing: 1 hour

• Individual tutorials: 6 hours

• Seminars: 2 hours

• Independent guided study: 98 hours

• Self-directed study: 40 hours

Dates

3 sessions on Thursdays, Terms 2 & 3

You will learn on this course via ‘blended learning’ which includes a wide variety of methods.  Face-to-face lectures and supervisions are interspersed with flipped classrooms, webinars, and online teaching (in a MOOC format).

Formal, teacher-led sessions will introduce new topics. These give you an overview of subject matter, and review difficult concepts and summaries. You are encouraged to ask questions, and will be set small problems that can be discussed interactively. Lectures are filmed, and recordings will be made available. The lectures are supplemented by tutorial sessions to make sure you have plenty of opportunity to ask questions and have discussions.

Online learning material for all modules will include lecture slides, recordings of lectures, reading lists and resources, links to videos and course information.

The core teaching for the Critical Appraisal module will be delivered via a three-week ‘massive online open course’ (MOOC), created by lecturers and hosted on the FutureLearn platform. This includes articles, videos, narrated PowerPoints, discussions and quizzes.  Given the practical nature of this very important research skill, the MOOC core teaching will be followed by interactive small group seminars and journal clubs where you are encouraged and supported to develop and refine your appraisal skills, and your confidence in reaching balanced decisions about quality of evidence.

Your work will be assessed with both ‘formative assessments’, which monitor your progress, and ‘summative assessments’, which assess whether you have fulfilled the learning outcomes for this programme. Assessment methods vary between modules, and will include presentations and written work.

When completing your application, you will be asked to provide contact details of two referees. Please ensure these details are accurate. As soon as you have submitted your application, your referees will be contacted by the university asking them to upload a reference to your online application.

One must be a recent academic reference. The other should be either a second academic reference or a professional/employer reference. They should cover your suitability for the course and your academic ability.

Your referees should know you well enough, in an official capacity, to write about you and your suitability for higher education. We do not accept references from family, friends, partners, ex-partners or yourself.

We will send reminder emails to your referees but it is your responsibility to ensure that contact details are correct and referees are available to submit a reference. References should be uploaded within two weeks of making your application.