Assessment Exercise on Research Plan

Assessment Exercise : Research Plan

Assessment context

Throughout the Health Sciences course we explore a range of topical health issues. As future professionals, you will ask many questions to inform your evidence-based practice. The purpose of this assessment is to use topical health questions to develop and plan a research project considering the important aspects of research methodology and data analysis. This assessment requires you to identify how qualitative and quantitative methodologies can practically address key health issues and consider the requirements for good research and successful outcomes.

Assessment Instructions

For this assignment you will be required to produce a basic research plan to address a topical health question using both qualitative and quantitative methods. You will also be required to write ONE participant information sheet for your research considering the ethical implications

PART 1:

Choose a topical health research question. You can formulate your own or choose ONE of the following options:

Qualitative:

• What are the experiences of older adults living in South Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic?
• What are the experiences of Higher Education students with disabilities of online learning in Australia during COVID-19?
• What are the experiences of older adults returning home from hospital with supportive care in South Australia?

Quantitative:

• Does hydrotherapy improve motor skills for children with Cerebral Palsy compared with usual care?
• Can a high protein diet improve performance for elite athletes compared with usual diet?
• Does daily therapy improve functional outcomes for adults following stroke compared to usual care?

PART 2:

Using your chosen research question write a research plan for a qualitative and quantitative research project.

• Background/ Literature review- This section should introduce the research topic and its significance to the reader. Here you should identify the gapa that your research aims to fill using supporting evidence (i.e., relevant citations etc).
• Research Objectives: This section should present and define the research question (using PICo formula) link to the literature review and provide the aims of the study.
• Research methodology: This section should provide a description of methods chosen for research, including participant recruitment and sampling, ethical consideration and provide an estimated timeline for how long your research will take (consider the amount of time it will take to recruit participants and collect your data)
• Data and analysis: Description of data collection technique, including methods used and proposed data analysis to identify themes should be provided.
• Background/ Literature review- This section should introduce the research topic and its significance to the reader. Here you should identify the gap that your research aims to fill using supporting evidence (i.e., relevant citations etc) and highlight the problem your research will address.
• Research Objectives: This section should define the research question (using PICO formula) and aims of your research study, succinctly describe why the study is being conducted- what is the goal? Why does the research matter?
• Hypothesis: Provide a hypothesis and make a prediction, what do you expect to find? This should be informed by published literature.
• Research design- Present the research methodology, consider the setting, sample, recruitment strategy, data collection, procedure (i.e., how can you eliminate the risk of bias?) and ethical implications. Include the study design and outline the strategy in a clear and logical way to effectively address the research problem and hypothesis. Provide a project timeline: provide an estimate of how long your study will take, and consider the amount of time it will take to collect your data.
• Data collection and analysis -Provide a description of data collection technique, including methods used and suitable statistical tests that will assist you to answer your research question.