This module is a core module and the final module for students undertaking MSc Healthcare Practice or MSc Advanced Clinical Practice programmes. The module provides students with the opportunity to work on a substantial piece of independent project work which consolidates and further develops the skills and knowledge they have acquired across the whole of their degree. In doing so they will develop their critical reflective, analytical, and transferable employability skills.

Healthcare professionals are expected to be able to critically review research and to evaluate the evidence underpinning specific aspects of their own practice. Students will implement the knowledge and skills developed during the Applied Research Methods module by conducting a project of their choice with the support of a research supervisor. A project can be a systematic literature review, a work-based project, an evaluation or a research project. The topic needs to be related to an identified gap, problem or need for improvement related to healthcare practice, clinical intervention/practice, healthcare education and professional development, clinical leadership, service-redesign or service- improvement.

 

Aims

The module will enable students to produce a substantial piece of academic work that syntheses their knowledge and understanding from across their MSc programme. It will engage students in examining a topic of their choice related to healthcare and effectively communicating the findings.

 

What and how you will learn on this module

How you will learn:

This module is delivered using a blended learning approach which integrates a variety of on-campus and online activities, supported by Canvas, the University’s virtual learning environment. A complementary range of activities are employed to engage you in the critical exploration of key topic areas, and the completion of formative tasks during the module also helps to keep you on track with the learning and gain feedback on your understanding of the content. A sense of community is developed and maintained with frequent opportunities for peer learning, enabling you to share your practice experiences and to learn from each other. 

Academic writing and critical thinking skills are developed through ‘The Critical Thinking Skills Toolkit’ and other academic practice activities embedded within the module, that have been designed to nurture the skills needed to facilitate you to become a thoughtful, objective and reasoned thinker. This will help you tackle the assignment(s) confidently, understand marking criteria, use evidence, take a reasoned approach, make structured arguments and engage with other points of view. 

 

What you will learn:

• Overview of the research process (the stages) / project management

• Reviewing and critically analysing the relevant literature and identifying gaps in human knowledge

• Selection of appropriate topic, methodology and methods

• Legal, governance and ethical considerations in research and evaluation

• Consideration of PPI/stakeholder engagement

• Managing and planning a project and evaluating its progress

• Selection and critical application of appropriate data collection methods (quantitative and qualitative)

• Data interpretation, synthesis, and presentation

• Critical discussion of research outcomes and justification of conclusions

• Identification of study strengths and limitations and need for future research/evaluation/improvement

• Development of a final report.

 

Course Length: 5 Teaching days

Assessment

Capstone project summary report (4,000 – 5,000 words)

A project can be a systematic literature review, a work-based project, an evaluation or a research project. The topic needs to be related to an identified gap or need for improvement related to healthcare practice, clinical practice, healthcare education and professional development, clinical leadership, service-redesign or service-improvement.