HLTH SC 3008A - Research Placement (Clinical Trials) Part 1

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2019

The Research Placement course is a capstone experience designed to develop research skills in third-year BHlthMedSc students through a year-long research placement related to their major. Students will design a project, learn research methodology in performing the project, analyse, interpret and communicate the findings of a research project or internship placement under academic supervision in a Small Group Discovery Experience. The research placement experience will be supported by workshop modules and journal club sessions. These will include: 1. Common modules on core competencies (eg research integrity, research ethics), 2. Major-specific modules including journal clubs to develop evaluation skills 3. A fixed number of skills modules selected according to skills required for the specific placement and the student's existing skills/courses already completed (e.g. systematic review principles, laboratory research design). Each student will document their research activities with a final written report, and in addition will communicate their research findings at an end-of-year symposium.

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Course Details

Course Code	HLTH SC 3008A
Course	Research Placement (Clinical Trials) Part 1
Coordinating Unit	Medical Studies
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 6 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	At least 18 units of Level II courses including HLTH SC 2105 or HLTH SC 2012 and the pre-requisite courses at Level II for this major
Restrictions	Only available to BHlthMedSc and BHlthMedSc (Adv) students. Students may only complete the 6 units of research placement within their chosen major.
Assessment	Individual research proposal (summative); Group introductory oral seminar (summative); Journal club presentation (formative)

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Scott Smid

Dr Scott Smid
Senior Lecturer
scott.smid@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

The full timetable can be accessed from MyUni.

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Locate, critically evaluate and synthesise relevant evidence from multiple sources in a planned and timely manner.
2. Analyse and interpret project results correctly and in context.
3. Work effectively in teams to investigate contemporary problems.
4. Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills including giving and receiving constructive feedback.
5. Behave appropriately in a professional setting.
6. Demonstrate awareness of ethical issues that arise in health sciences research and practise.
7. Demonstrate awareness of different research approaches to improve health and wellbeing.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1, 2, 6, 7
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1, 2, 3
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	3, 4, 5
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1 - 7
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	3, 5, 6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Learning Resources

Required Resources

No single textbook covers the material to be considered in this course. All students are required to review the literature relevant to their research placement.

Recommended Resources

Higgs J, Ajjawi R, McAllister L, Trede F. Communicating in the Health Sciences. OUP Australia. 2008. This text covers section on plagiarism, learning to do academic writing, learning to write essays and assignments and referencing. It is not compulsory but will assist you in your work across a range of courses.

The text below may be useful for report writing.
Summers J, Smith M. Communication Skills Handbook 3rd Edition. Brisbane: Wiley; 2010 is a useful guide on scientific writing, referencing and communication skills to assist students with the required format of assessment tasks and assignments. The handbook provides successful approaches to researching, writing and referencing, along with examples and practical tips for preparing and presenting oral reports, essays and assignments. It is not compulsory but will assist you in your work across a range of courses.

Online Learning

Readings, including journal articles, will be made available to students electronically. This will be supplemented by web-links for specific topics, as relevant. Project supervisors will provide or direct students to necessary materials during research project work.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

The purpose of this course is to provide a full year (as Parts 1 and 2) of research experience in small groups for all third year students in the Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences (BHMS) programs, supervised by academic or research staff, and culminating in a conference-style presentation in Part 2 as a capstone experience. Part 1 is the pre-requisite for Part 2. The research experiences in the Research Placement course are not intended to align with any lecture courses; instead the course is designed to run “stand alone”. Placement groups thus may often be populated by blends of students who are in different major programs that have been selected by the supervisor as appropriate for the project, promoting crossdisciplinary exchanges of ideas that are anticipated to foster teamwork and breadth of knowledge.

Research projects are flexible, and may be designed as a single year-long study, or a series of related studies, as determined by the supervisor. To best fit to the field of work, research activities may be spaced weekly, or packed into a shorter span of days, to achieve 20 h of research contact time per semester.

Assessment tasks:
Online skills modules and workshops.
Written task: Project overview
Oral group powerpoint presentation

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Students are reminded that the overall workload for a full time student as stated in the University of Adelaide Calendar is an average of 48 hours per week per teaching period (i.e. semester). This includes contact and non-contact hours and includes general study and research time for assignments. This course is a 3 unit course and thus represents quarter of a full time load. You should thus be putting in an average of 12 hours of study each week (including contact hours) for this course.

Learning Activities Summary

As part of their research placement, and in addition to other assessment tasks, research skills theory is delivered and assessed via Gateway and Core online modules.

GATEWAY
Gate 1 How does research work? (Introduction to scientific method and project management)
Gate 2 Ethical considerations in research
Gate 3 Professional workplace behaviour and teamwork
Gate 4 Safe working practices (including a local induction completed with the Research Supervisor)

CORE
Core 1 Tools for scientific writing (correct referencing, and avoiding plagiarism)
Core 2 Finding and organising information (searching databases, and evaluating published work.
Core 3 Effective research communication (written communication)
Core 4 Effective research communication (oral communication)

Specific Course Requirements

In some instances students may require police clearances or immunisations for placements.

Small Group Discovery Experience

This course provides a Small Group Discovery Experience for all level III students in the BHlthMedSc and BHlthMedSc(Adv) programs. Students will work singly or in small groups of no more than 10 students with a supervisor to develop research competencies including design, methodology, analysis, interpretation and communication and gain experience in the context of a research/industry setting.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Formative/ Summative	Weighting (I) Individual, (G) Group
Online skill modules with quizzes (4 gateway, 4 core)	S	25% (I)
Workshop support sessions (2) on research theory and skills	F	0%
Project overview written task	S	45% (I)
Oral powerpoint presentation on ethical considerations of proposed research	S	20% (G)

Research supervisor's mark	S	10% (I)

Assessment Related Requirements

N/A

Assessment Detail

Refer to Assessment Summary.

Submission

All assignments including written project overview and powerpoint presentation will be submitted via MyUni.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator