Unit Outline

This unit is designed to introduce Bachelor of Pharmacy with Applied Honours (54A) students to the concepts, principles and practical skills of research methodology required to develop a research proposal for a clinical pharmacy research project designed to investigate or address a medication safety issue. Topics will include information retrieval and analysis, formulation of research questions and research planning and design relevant to quality improvement research. Students will work in groups to critically review literature relevant to a specific gap between evidence and practice, formulate a research question, identify a project design to address the gap in practice, and develop a formal research proposal. The research proposal will be presented to peers and stakeholders in written form and as a group presentation. This unit will build on the knowledge and skills gained in CSA288 Evidence Based Health Care and is the ‘cornerstone’ of the research stream embedded within the Bachelor of Pharmacy with Applied Honours curriculum. Following completion of this unit you will be equipped to conduct a group-based quality improvement project during your experiential placements in CSA430.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Demonstrate an ability to work effectively as part of teams/groups and constructively contribute to a research outcome.
2.	Identify, analyse and address complex problems within an ethical framework to design a research project using appropriate research methodologies.
3.	Effectively communicate complex issues and outcomes to a variety of stakeholders, including patients, peers and other health professionals.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	CSA288

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Online modules have been refined and rearranged for the 2024 offerings.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Background Seminar	Week 7	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Literature Review	Week 8	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Research Proposal Seminar	Week 12	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 4:	Project Plan	Week 12	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Background Seminar

Task Description:

You will be allocated a group and a research topic at the start of semester. Your group will then investigate an evidence-to-practice gap within your topic. You will explore the guideline-recommended management of this condition, the quality of local/national practice and potential options to address this gap.
As a team, you will develop a powerpoint presentation to present to the class on your topic.
Within the presentation, you should provide a broad overview of your topic, highlighting the best available evidence, the gap between evidence and practice, and outline the research question, aims and objectives for your proposed project.
A suggested structure will be discussed with you during the workshops and tutorials, and an assessment rubric is available on MyLO.
A Statement of Contribution Form and an Assignment Cover Sheet, both signed by all team members, must be submitted via MyLO by the due date.

Task Length:

10 minutes, plus 5 minutes of question-time.

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Work effectively as a team to prepare and present a research presentation	LO1
2	Present the rationale, aims and objectives for a research project with reference to the available literature	LO2
3	Present a research seminar: with a logical structure and format; with appropriate use of English conventions (grammar, syntax, spelling); communicate and respond to questions in a manner demonstrating sufficient understanding of the subject matter	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Literature Review

Task Description:

For this task you will work as a group to develop a literature review providing an overview of your topic, highlighting the gap between evidence and practice that you have identified, and presenting the rationale, aims and objectives for your proposed research.

The Literature Review should be submitted via MyLO.
The suggested structure will be discussed with you during the workshops and tutorials, and an assessment rubric is available on MyLO.
A Statement of Contribution Form and an Assignment Cover Sheet, both signed by all team members, must be submitted via MyLO by the due date.

Task Length:

Maximum 3,000 words excluding tables, references and appendices.

Due Date:

Week 8

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Work effectively as a team to prepare a literature review	LO1
2	Write a comprehensive literature review, and develop the rationale, aims and objectives for a research project with reference to the literature	LO2
3	Prepare a written literature review that adheres to appropriate: structure and format; English conventions (grammar, syntax, spelling); referencing conventions; standards of academic integrity	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Research Proposal Seminar

Task Description:

As a team, you will develop a powerpoint presentation to present your research proposal to the class.
Within the presentation, you should provide an overview of the rationale, aims and objectives, proposed methodology and potential limitations and challenges associated with your research project.
A suggested structure will be discussed with you during the workshops and tutorials, and an assessment rubric is available on MyLO.
A Statement of Contribution Form and an Assignment Cover Sheet, both signed by all team members, must be submitted via MyLO by the due date

Task Length:

10 minutes, plus 5 minutes of question-time.

Due Date:

Week 12

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Work effectively as a team to prepare and present a research presentation	LO1
2	Present a research proposal, including: reference to the available literature to provide a rationale for the planned research; methods of research and analysis; scope, limitations and challenges	LO2
3	Present a research seminar: with a logical structure and format; with appropriate use of English conventions (grammar, syntax, spelling); communicate and respond to questions in a manner demonstrating sufficient understanding of the subject matter	LO3

Assessment Task 4: Project Plan

Task Description:

For this task you will work as a group to develop a Project Plan which includes the proposed methodology for a project designed to investigate the evidence-to-practice gap that your group has identified.
The Project Plan should be submitted via MyLO.
The suggested structure will be discussed with you during the workshops and tutorials, and an assessment rubric is available on MyLO.
A Statement of Contribution Form and an Assignment Cover Sheet, both signed by all team members, must be submitted via MyLO by the due date.

Task Length:

Maximum 3,000 words excluding tables, references and appendices.

Due Date:

Week 12

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Work effectively as a team to prepare a project plan	LO1
2	Design a project plan, including: methods of research and analysis; scope, limitations and challenges	LO2
3	Prepare a written project plan that adheres to appropriate: structure and format; English conventions (grammar, syntax, spelling); referencing conventions; standards of academic integrity	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.