HLTH460-15S1 (C) Semester One 2015

Critical Appraisal in Health Research

30 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 23 February 2015
End Date: Sunday, 28 June 2015
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 8 March 2015
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 24 May 2015

Description

The purpose of this course is to develop skills and knowledge of critical appraisal of health research. Upon completion of this course, students will develop or enhance skills and understanding necessary for interpretation of research designs, analysis of health research data, reports, review of literature, and gain skills that will enable them to successfully write grants and research proposals.

Learning Outcomes

Following successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:

- Frame answerable research questions for specific health related researc
- Identify an appropriate epidemiological study design for the research
- Develop a plan of data analysis
- Conduct a simple data analyses using R for statistical computing
- Write a short research proposal
- Argue on the strength and weaknesses of different health related study designs

Prerequisites

Subject to approval of the Head of School

Restrictions

Course Coordinator

Arindam Basu

Arindam Basu - phone 03 345 8161

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Questionnaire and Research Plan 20 Mar 2015 30% The Questionnaire or Survey Instrument will be designed by the student. There is no fixed length in terms of word count of the questionnaire and will depend on the specific problem that the student plans to investigate as part of this course. The Assignment must be submitted as PDF or Word Document using the links provided in the Learn Site. The Research plan should not exceed 1500 words (about 3 single spaced typed pages of A4 Times Roman Font) and must contain (1) Title, (2) Review of the Background Literature, (3) Aims and Objectives of the Research, and (4) Methodological Details. Words contained in tables and figures and references are excluded from word count.
Report of the processes of data collectionand an initial process of "cleaning" the data 15 May 2015 30% The length of this Assignment should not exceed 1500 words, excluding words contained in tables, figures, and references. The Assignment must be submitted in the form of either Word or PDF document using the link provided in the Learn site.
Research Report 15 Jun 2015 40% The length of the Assignment should not exceed 2000 words and the report must contain (1) Title, (2) Background Literature Review, (3) Methodology, (4) Results, (5) Discussion, and (6) Conclusion. The report should be written in the form of a journal article and must contain appropriate citations.


Missing Tests

In rare cases a student will not be able to sit a test. In such cases, the student should consult with the course coordinator or the Head of Department to arrange an alternative procedure.

This must be done well in advance of the set date for the test.

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Marczyk, Geoffrey R. , DeMatteo, David, Festinger, David; Essentials of research design and methodology ; John Wiley & Sons, 2005.

There is no formal textbook for this course. However, students are encouraged to borrow and read the text book above.

For a preview of this textbook (limited preview), check Google books at http://goo.gl/siXer

Notes

Details of the Assignments
1. All Assignments should be submitted on the dates (if extentions are needed,
please write/discuss with the course coordinators)
2. The Assignments should be submitted using the Learn (link will be made
available)
3. The Assignments should be submitted in the form of Word or PDF
documents. No other formats will be accepted, and no paper copies will be
accepted.
4. The word counts for Assignment I and Assignment II should not exceed
1500 words, and for Assignment III, the word count should not exceed 2000
words.
5. The word counts do not include words contained in figures, tables, and
references.
6. Any reasonable referencing will be accepted, although we recommend using
APA 6th

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

All forms of cheating and dishonest practice are taken seriously and penalties will result. Students should refer to Regulation J of the General Course and Examination Regulations

Assessment and grading system

Grading Scale
Grade    GPA Value        Marks

A+              9            90 – 100
A                8            85 – 89.99
A-               7            80 – 84.99
B+              6            75 – 79.99
B                5            70 – 74.99
B-               4            65 – 69.99
C+              3            60 – 64.99
C                2            55 – 59.99
C-               1            50 – 54.99
D                0            40 – 49.99
E               -1             0 – 39.99

A Pass is 50 marks or over

Health Sciences reserve the right to adjust this mark/grade conversion. This will occur only when deemed necessary and such adjustments will not be made to the detriment of a student's grade.

Late submission of work

Late work should be accompanied with a short note explaining why the work is late. Days late include week-end and holidays

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities should speak with someone at Disability Support Service.

Academic Liaison

Arindam Basu (Waimari 225) is in charge of liaison with students. Your class will appoint a student representative to the liaison committee at the start of the semester. Please feel free to talk to the Academic Liaison or the student rep about any problems or concerns that you may have.

Reconsideration of Grades

Students should, in the first instance, speak to the course co-ordinator about their grades. If they can reach an agreeable solution, students should then speak to the Head of the School.  Students can appeal any decision made on their final grade. You can apply at the Registry to appeal within 4 weeks of the end of the semester. Be aware that there are time limits for each step of the process.

Aegrotat Considerations

Aegrotat considerations (Students should refer to Regulation H of the General Course and Examination Regulations.)

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,967.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

Minimum enrolments

This course will not be offered if fewer than 5 people apply to enrol.

For further information see School of Health Sciences .

All HLTH460 Occurrences

  • HLTH460-15S1 (C) Semester One 2015