OT4006 - Introductory Research Skills

All learning on the BSc Occupational Therapy programme is designed to be transformative and experiential, and this module is delivered through a series of workshop sessions which include taught material, discussion, activity and project work, using a workbook to guide your focus through a series of key tasks.

Practical tasks will enable you to work closely with peers, reflecting together on activities in order to practice and refine a range of academic evidence-orientated skills.

Guided reading is provided to encourage you to read widely and be intellectually curious, and in class activities will encourage you to challenge ideas and concepts. The e-learning portal supports technology enabled and research informed learning by acting as a repository for contemporary, high quality research evidence and occupational theory. The site provides a wide variety of core and supplementary information to encourage you to engage fully in the module content and build effective academic habits to support your learning throughout the programme.
You will have the opportunity to gather examples of activities and evidence of your learning, self-appraisal and reflection to contribute to your student ePortfolio. This aims to enhance your learning by taking you beyond the limits of the individual module, and helping foster lifelong learning, as portfolios support inquiry, reflection and integration of learning. Items for your ePortfolio could include one element of your workbook assessment.

The identified module tutor, alongside the module teaching team, will structure learning opportunities to support your learning and skill development within the module and to assist you to work towards the module assessment.

The e-learning portal will provide a repository for all module information, including a module guide, electronic reading list, detailed assessment guidance, and week by week guidance on how to engage with the module content, in the form of a workbook.

You will receive ongoing tutor guidance to support your journey including a formative assessment, a group assessment tutorial and tailored feedback and feed forward on your performance in your final assessment.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Articulate your understanding of the relationship between research evidence and occupational therapy practice.
2. Identify lived experience as an important source of evidence

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Demonstrate key skills in accessing, analysing and using research evidence.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4. Able to manage time, workload and resources effectively to complete a series of workbook tasks.

Formative assessment:
Tasks in the workbook will include a specific point for formative support through discussion and feedback.

Summative assessment:
‘Patchwork’ assessment workbook.

You are required to complete a short workbook compiling a series of EBP focused tasks. This is a patchwork assessment, which involves tasks undertaken over the course of the module delivery.

The tasks will vary in length and complexity and will reflect skills needed to access and use evidence for academic and practice purposes.

The tasks in the overall workbook will be staggered over the course of the module, with support from your tutor/s and peers, and formative feedback. Although tasks will be staggered, there will be one summative assessment submission date towards the end of the module.

Your summative assessment mark and feedback will be returned to you within the University standard of 20 working days, normally accessed through the module eLP site.

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‘Introductory Research Skills’ will develop your understanding of research, how occupational therapists use research in their practice and highlight the importance of evidence-based practice (EBP).

We will focus on skills you require in order to find, evaluate and use evidence for University assessments, on practice placements and later in your professional practice. These skills include such as identifying suitable questions, conducting searches, selecting and analysing evidence and assessing quality.

The module is assessed via a ‘patchwork’ assessment. A series of classroom and independent learning tasks will be used to help you engage with a workbook of EBP related tasks. You will be supported to complete tasks over the course of the module, building your skills ready to submit the completed workbook. Together, the content, delivery and assessment approaches will build your awareness of EBP and your academic skills, helping your success across the remainder of the programme.