OT7014 - Occupational Therapy Research Project

Your learning in this module will be primarily independent/self-directed, and you will have regular contact with your academic supervisor. You will be expected to prepare well for tutorials and send your academic supervisor information in advance of tutorials. Your academic supervisor will facilitate your reflection on your development through self and group directed study. 
 
You will have the opportunity to participate in an enquiry-based learning approach that will promote peer and self-coaching to meet the module learning outcomes. In developing a ‘community of learning’ within a professional framework, you will be expected to attend teaching sessions, behave in a professional manner, and engage and contribute to the learning of yourself and others.

At the end of year one you will be given an academic supervisor to support your learning in relation to your project to facilitate your confident engagement with this module. She/he will support your academic development via individual tutorial time (up to 16 hours) for which you are expected to prepare and send your academic supervisor relevant materials well in advance. In addition to this, you are encouraged to work in peer group supervision to support each other’s work and progress. Tutor-facilitated workshops will give you the opportunity to refresh your qualitative or quantitate data analysis skills using your own data and that of your peers. 
As with all modules, extensive support is also accessible online as part of the University’s commitment to technology enhanced learning. This employs the use of the e-learning portal, social networking and collaborative tools. And you are strongly encouraged to refer to the content of the research module in Year one. 
 
A central feature of the academic support available to you is the service provided by the University Library. This 24/7 service caters for all your learning needs, has extensive access to electronic texts and tutorials that will directly support the development of academic skills aimed at improving your critical thinking and communication skills.

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. Systematically implement data collection and data analysis methods that result in valid or trustworthy findings that are meaningful to Occupational Therapy/Science.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Critically evaluate the relevance of published quantitative and qualitative studies, and/or systematic reviews to your own work.
3. Write up your work following guidelines for publication of a peer reviewed journal relevant to your work.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4. Reflect critically on your own learning and on the contribution of your work to knowledge in the field.
5. Value research participants as essential facilitators of and contributors to evidence.

Formative assessment:
You are encouraged to use peer learning to support and critique each other’s work throughout this module. You will also be given ongoing feedback from your project supervisor.

Summative assessment:
The summative assessment will consist of:
A 10000-word write-up for publication of your MSc project (demonstrating advanced critical analysis and evaluation) intended for a specific peer reviewed journal in the field of health, rehabilitation and/or social care following the journal’s guidelines for authors (100%). This will meet all of the MLOs.

Your summative assessment mark and feedback will be returned to you within the University standard of 20 working days, normally accessed through the module Blackboard (Northumbria University’s Electronic Learning Platform).

OT7011

N/A

This is a 60 credit Level 7 module, which forms a significant component of your second year of the MSc in Occupational Therapy programme. The module provides you with the opportunity to conduct an independent research enquiry in an area of your interest with relevance to occupational therapy and/or occupational science. In this module you will develop the necessary skills to plan, develop, implement, and critique a research project with relevance to the occupational therapy profession’s knowledge and evidence base. Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to plan for dissemination of your research to a wider audience via a manuscript for publication.
 
The module assessment is novel insofar as you are required to write up your findings in the format of a manuscript for a peer reviewed journal. We hope that this will result in communication of findings in a way that is useable and has relevance to practice. Whilst it is not mandatory to submit your findings for publication, we hope that some of you will consider this option.