HSC8050 Research Methodology for the Human Sciences Research Report

Task A: Introduction and Background

The impact and usability of assessment tasks at the postgraduate level, particularly in the work setting, have become significant areas of study. These tasks enhance the competencies of health professionals providing direct care to clients (Stacey et al., 2020). However, the suitability and relevance of these assessment tasks in their respective domains still require extensive research. Understanding this connection can aid in the development of curricula, aligning them with the real-life situations encountered by health practitioners, thereby making the study findings directly applicable to the work.

The current research is valuable, given that a common problem in professional training is the lack of equilibrium between conceptual understanding and practical implementation. It has been established that learners today need practice-oriented content and lose interest in rote information quickly (Neuendorf, 2018). For learning to be meaningful, especially to the various health professionals, there is no better approach than being able to transplant this knowledge and apply it to patient care and clinical practice. The theory without practical applications is good, but not when people cannot apply it in their everyday lives. Therefore, by adopting the perception analysis of health professionals, this study seeks an understanding that would make postgraduate programs even more fruitful.

Task B: Methodology and method

Inaddressingthe research question, the application of the qualitative research paradigm is the most suitable. It will allow understanding the attitudes and awareness of health professionals regarding the relevance and use of postgraduate assessment tasks.

Methodology

Phenomenology is chosen because it is confined to analysing and depicting live experiences. It also enables the realisation of all the goals by providing a broader perspective of how different health professionals construct their assessment activities and the work setting where they practice (Gallagher, 2022). The idea of phenomenology has the most strength in the participant's point of view, where more focus is laid on the experiences. It endeavours to provide an intricate analysis of the normative and attempts to identify the significance that individuals construct of their lives (Zahavi, 2018). As a result, it tracks the multifaceted process of drawing education into practice, mirroring it at the level of professional experience. For instance, the nursing profession may give diverse and multifaceted attitudes to how assessment tasks are used in their working environment, and phenomenology offers a map for studying these attitudes in their sentiments.

Method

Semi-structured interviews will be the primary source of data collection. They will enable me to explore the women's experiences in the sample with flexible guidelines to allow a free flow of conversation (Gallagher, 2022). This method is versatile; the researchers can focus on specific topics despite this broad scope put into practice, keeping in mind that each participant is unique. Semi-structured interviews differ from structured interviews, with highly defined questions that the interviewee is expected to answer, and unstructured interviews, where the interviewer does not follow a specific set of questions; therefore, semi-structured interviews offer the best way to grasp the research topic in detail.

Justification

The integration of phenomenology and semi-structured interviews is fitting for this research endeavour because it offers a semi-structured means of gathering human data while allowing for versatility in exploring the intricacies of the phenomenon (Kufer & Chemero, 2021). Phenomenology will keep participants from being underestimated from their experiences; semi-structured interviews will help wash out every critical area of interest related to the research question. The use of a semi-structured approach also provides the openness of the structured approach. Still, it allows the interviewer to dig deeper and elicit more information in areas of interest that would come up during the interview, thus providing better and more detailed data about the participants perceptions and experiences.

Task C: Ethical consideration

Several self-evident ethical factors must be considered in this research, mainly because it involves human subjects. The primary ethical concern is informed consent, which means that participants must know the purpose of the study, its responsibilities, and its risks well in advance when agreeing to participate. Informed consent forms will be given before all the patients, with the information provided including the same as outlined above, and this study will be entirely voluntary (Arifin, 2018). The anonymity of participants and their responses to their questions should be preserved better. Audio interviews, transcriptions, and data collected in the study will be archived safely, and access to these data will be restricted to the researchers only. It involves some emotions when sharing and reporting our working experiences with others. Investigators will also ensure that a desired conscious effort in situations like these will be taken, and if any support material is desired, then it will be provided (Arifin, 2018). All these measures are remarkably in line with ethical principles that shape research involving human participants such that human participants are treated with respect and consideration during the entire data-gathering and analysis process.

Task D

Thematic analysis of the qualitative data

The coding process is proposed to use thematic analysis that will be used to examine the collected qualitative data from the focus group transcripts. The steps in the thematic analysis process are as follows:

• Familiarization: As aforementioned, the researchers will read these transcripts multiple times to achieve adequate data point analysis. This first one is to dive into the data and look for patterns or any interesting features (Akinyode & Khan, 2018).

• Coding: Its first codes are according to the findings, which have statements or data segments relevant to the research question.

• Theme Development: All descriptive codes will be collected into potential themes, and all the data contributing to each theme will be collected.

• Reviewing Themes: The third step involves checking the compatibility of the identified themes and subthemes with the coded data.

• Defining and Naming Themes: Every material created will be characterized and given a name that reflects the meaning behind every created theme.

• Reporting: The following specific analysis will be made about the final themes inside of papers using direct quotations from the material to shed light on the identified results.

Result analysis

The thematic analysis of the focus group transcripts revealed four key themes. These themes can clearly explain the health professionals' concerns and attitudes towards their postgraduate assessment tasks.

Theme 1: Relevance of Assessment Tasks

The choice of marking schemes and forms of assessment has become relevant in the education system since it facilitates in achievement of education sector goals and objectives as follows. They stressed relevancy, as indicated by the results, which indicated that assessment tasks most closely related to the participants' clinical practice were the most helpful. For instance, one subject noted, "I found it easy doing the case studies and simulations that were, in one way or another, relevant to my work in the ICU." Other respondents also expressed the view that when the assessment tasks encompass real-time scenarios, such programs are regarded as more valuable. Notably, this finding re-emphasizes a problem faced by educational programs that create assessments, often a close reproduction of clinical practice experiences.

Theme 2: Applicability of Skills and Knowledge
The structure of the provided learning objectives was well-received, as they succinctly and clearly delineated the practicality of the skills and knowledge. Another notable issue was the helpfulness of the skills and the knowledge received when passing the postgraduate tests. Several participants described scenarios where they could have put the learning into practice and enhanced the quality of the patient care they offered them (Dawadi, 2021). For instance, a participant said,The advanced diagnostics course taught me how to create a protocol on early identification of sepsis which has been incorporated in our department.Such experience indicates how properly designed assessment activities enable individuals and organizations to improve individual proficiencies and organizational reformation.

Theme 3: Barriers to Application

Participants acknowledged that the learning they acquired is relevant and applicable in the workplace, but they also highlighted some hurdles in implementing new skills and knowledge (Babapour Chafi et al., 2021). Lack of time, as one respondent pointed out, was a recurring issue:'We are often swamped with our regular duties, making it difficult to find time for change.'The lack of necessary resources and institutional support was also cited as a challenge. For example, one patient emphasized, 'This is why we, as healthcare professionals, need more support from the management to maintain such changes; otherwise, it is as if an organization is moving in circles. These are some of the barriers that show the need for significant change within healthcare organizations to enhance CPD.It's up to us to drive this change.

Theme 4: Impact on Professional Development

The last theme was the postgraduate learners' encounters with the assessment tasks and their effects on the program. These objectives were improved to raise the participants' self-esteem and readiness for career-assisting positions (Mukhalalati & Taylor, 2019).The following comment by one of the participantssupported this:To some extent, after one acquired themastersdegree, one felt much more prepared to assume leadership responsibilities in the department.This improvement in professional identity and self-confidence was often reported, which indicates the importance of comprehensive postgraduate assessments in enhancing the human capital of learners.

Discussion

This section presents the postgraduate assessment tasks and the thematic analysis that unfolds to understand the perceived relevance and practice of postgraduate assessment within the context of health professionals. The results presented in the study correspond to and expand the existing body of knowledge about the learning and education of adults.

Participants perception of the relevance of assessment tasks emerged as most vital because participants felt more valued when tasks mirrored their professional practice. This finding supports Castleberry & Nolen, (2018) experiential learning theory since task-based learning was considered convenient for adult learners. Whenever the assessment has scenario elements, then what is more, theintended learning activity both sharpens students interest and delivers the actual training which can be used in the working process. This relevance is significant for health professionals as it is the practical area whereby the theoretical concepts are applied to problems faced in the actual world.

The gathered data revealed that participants found their postgraduate courses to have high levels of relevance, which meant they could apply the skills and knowledge in practice after completing the course. This learning theme corresponds to Guthrie et al. (2018) andragogy principles, which call for relevance and problem-centeredness by the learner. One gets to apply new knowledge in patient management simultaneously after they are taught or examiners apply new advanced diagnosis techniques in practice, thus showing the importance of well-designed assessment tasks. Nevertheless, this discovery shows that this applicability media should dictate that educational programs regularly update their curricula with modern clinical practices.

Nonetheless, participants stated that their postgraduate learning was relevant and could be applied in their work settings. Yet, they indicated the following challenges: on the availability front, shortage of time and resources, and on the support front, insufficient institutional support. These align with the reasons articulated in the literature concerning professional education (Stacey et al., 2020). There's never enough time and resources to learn new skills in fast-paced clinical environments. When institutions do not continually encourage and support nurses to update their skills, they eventually give up. To overcome these challenges, it is necessary to mobilize organizational change strategies, enhance funding for resources, and enact indefatigable policies about professional learning.

This led to postgraduate assessment tasks being identified as highly important in professional development Exercises; it was found that completing these tasks and exercising one's abilities to handle a future position increased the participants' confidence in handling advanced positions. This includes theories of self-efficacy and professional growth as stipulated by professional development theories by Mukhalalati & Taylor, (2019). On this note, this paper finds that the feeling of achievement that arises from overcoming assessment difficulties can enhance a positive professional self-image and promote continued training. Furthermore, the effects on professionalism underline the feature of reflectivity, a concept formulated to describe the process during which health professionals reflect on their experiences, looking for ways to optimize their practice.

Task E: Survey tool Development

Hypothesis
Specifically, the viability of postgraduate assessment tasks is perceived by health professionals as relevant and realistic for the working environment, with positive implications for their fields regardless of some obstacles.

Survey Development Steps

• Survey Software: The UniSQ Survey tool would be employed here as the instrument due to its simplicity in use and the corresponding data management.

• Question Design:The survey questions will, therefore, centre on the activitys relevance, usability, challenges, and professional development, as deduced from the qualitative analysis. The survey will only use closed-ended questions to make it easy to analyze and to attract more responses.

• Target Sample and Size:The population targeted for survey completion will be registered health professionals within six months of postgraduate program completion. Two hundred participants will be selected to increase the level of accuracy as well as demographic variation.

Final Survey Tool

• What position do you currently hold in this sector of human life? (Multiple Choice)

• It has been lengthy. Years indicate how many years the Pharma has been practising at any place. (Multiple Choice)

• Do you have any diplomas or other degrees of higher education? (Yes/No)

• To what extent do the assessment tasks correspond to your activities? (Likert Scale: 1-5)

• To what extent required and used the skills/knowledge acquired during the postgraduate studies in practice? (Likert Scale: 1-5)

• Have you encountered situations where you could not implement what you learned in your postgraduate studies in your workplace? (Yes/No)

• If yes, please select the barriers you have faced (Multiple Choice: Lack of time, Lack of resources, Institutional support, Other.

• Here you should write whether carrying out the tasks of postgraduate assessments helped you in professional development. (Likert Scale: 1-5)

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