SP5026 - Research Design and Analysis

The module will facilitate your learning through a variety of formats including interactive lectures and practical-problem based workshops. You will be able to access materials on the eLP. There will be the opportunity to work in smaller groups with discipline specific members of staff who will facilitate context driven discussion and learning. In the problem driven approach, you will learn how to carry out appropriate (quantitative and qualitative) analysis and interpretation of data from different types of research designs related to your chosen discipline. You will be introduced to and discuss common errors in research design, their impact on conclusions and how to control confounds common to different types of design. You will gain experience in designing a research study, collecting data and analysing, interpreting and writing up the data in a written report. This module will prepare you with the skills and knowledge required to complete your final year project at level six.

As a core module shared across undergraduate sport and physiotherapy programmes, it offers you the opportunity to work with and learn from peers from other disciplines. Some elements of the taught content, and the direction of the assessment task, will be specific to your core discipline to ensure that you develop the most appropriate and relevant skills and knowledge.

Support materials for sessions will be available to you on the eLP; including the lecture slides and workshop materials, suggested reading, access to journal articles and online materials, and other useful resources such as a discussion board. For further support on taught sessions, you can access the tutors for one-to-one discussions and tutorials via the online tutorial booking system. You will be supported by staff during the practical data collection, analysis and interpretation workshops.

Formative preparation for the assessment will be given via a lecture by a module tutor, discussion during weekly sessions and end-of-module troubleshooting workshops.

Written feedback will be provided for summative assessment. A generic feedback session will take place for assessment(s), and generic feedback from previous years will also be made available on the eLP.

There is also comprehensive help available in the university library on a wide range of generic academic topics such as: academic writing, statistics, report writing and referencing. You can also book both on and off campus study skills sessions.

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. Select and apply appropriate analysis techniques for a given research question and data set, and interpret the relevant outcomes of analysis;
2. Understand research design issues and theoretical aspects of data analysis techniques.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Collect, analyse and communicate your results;
4. Understand how research has relevance to your specific programme discipline and how it may be applied to decision making processes for your profession (e.g. justification of clinical decision making).

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Demonstrate critical and questioning thinking about different research paradigms and techniques and display high professional and ethical standards when working within a research setting.

You will be required to complete an individually-written research report that comprises an evidence-based rationale, methods, results and discussion. This is designed to assess your ability to conceive and design a research study underpinned by theoretical knowledge of research design and data analysis techniques, and to present and discuss the findings according to scientific conventions (100%, MLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 will be assessed, 2000 words).

Formative feedback will take place during the practical workshops throughout the semester.

Summative Feedback
You will receive written or audio feedback on your summative assessment to help you identify areas of strength and areas for development. There will be the opportunity to discuss your feedback with a member of staff during a tutorial.

N/A

N/A

Studying at university enables you to learn new information, but how is new information generated? In this module, you will learn the primary means of producing and communicating new information. The focus of the module is to explore the research process in relation to sport, exercise and rehabilitation. You will be guided through the research process involving designing, conducting, analysing and presenting your own research findings. This module will prepare you for carrying out an independent research project in your chosen discipline. The module will provide both a theoretical and practical perspective on the process of generating new information, with a focus towards understanding the usefulness and limitations of research-generated information within the context of sport, exercise and rehabilitation.