Run by School of Medical and Health Sciences

60.000 Credits or 30.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 1 & 2

Organiser: Dr Nathan Bray

This module provides you with an opportunity to complete a research project within the context of your workplace, thus gaining applied research skills and benefitting your own organisation. A work-based research dissertation requires you to identify a gap, problem, or issue within your workplace, design an intervention, implement the intervention, and then evaluate the outcomes. In order to be successful in your project, you will need to take into consideration the needs of your employer, clients/patients, and other stakeholders while working closely with your academic supervisor to ensure the scientific rigour of your intervention and evaluation. You will also need to demonstrate a real-world understanding of practical and ethical constraints, including budgetary, political, strategic, and social issues. You may have begun this process in your Research Proposal module, but you will now need to revise your proposal to ensure that it is fit for purpose and complete the implementation phase before conducting an outcome evaluation.

This module does not contain any taught classes, as all research skills will have been addressed in your preceding modules. However, you will attend regular research meetings with your academic supervisor to support your progress from design through implementation to evaluation.

good

B+ to B- • Some insight into how to design, implement, and evaluate a research project in the workplace • Strong knowledge of work-based research projects • Clear understanding and mostly free of factual errors • Some analysis showing critical evaluation and links between ideas • Some originality in approach, interpretation, and/or voice • Some independent research • Coherent arguments with evidence for most claims • Focused and well structured • Good presentation with accurate and appropriate expression • Mostly correct format in appropriate referencing style

excellent

A* to A- • Insightful awareness into how to design, implement, and evaluate a research project in the workplace • Comprehensive knowledge of work-based research projects • Detailed understanding with no factual errors • Critical analysis showing evaluation and synthesis of ideas • Originality in approach, interpretation, and/or voice • Extensive independent research • Logically defended arguments with evidence for all claims • Highly focused and well structured • Excellent presentation with accurate and appropriate expression • Correct format in appropriate referencing style

threshold

C+ to C- • Limited insight into how to design, implement, and evaluate a research project in the workplace • Some knowledge of work-based research projects • Understanding of the main concepts, but with factual errors in non-core concepts • Limited analysis showing only obvious points of evaluation and links between ideas • Highly limited originality in approach, interpretation, and/or voice • Highly limited evidence of independent research • Arguments presented but lack coherence with evidence for only some claims • Focused but with some irrelevant material and weaknesses in structure • Acceptable presentation with appropriate expression • Attempt at correct format in appropriate referencing style

1. Present research in an informative and engaging way with explicit identification of the practical applications of the findings

2. Resolve complex organisational and practice issues within the context of the workplace using a empirically-informed approach, taking into consideration budgetary, political, strategic, ethical and social issues.

3. Work with a range of stakeholders, networks, groups and organisations, taking responsibility for an agreed area of shared activity.

4. Demonstrate an evidence-informed and comprehensive knowledge of models of work-based inquiry and the associated ethical implications.

5. Evidence research informed leadership and management change skills showing a critical interpretation of data to draw conclusions for organisational and system improvement.

Type	Name	Description	Weight
DISSERTATION	Dissertation	Dissertation reporting an empirical work-based project	90.00
INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION	Research Presentation	Presentation of the empirical work-based project, with specific focus on how they findings can be applied to improve the workplace	10.00

		Hours
One-to-one supervision	Individual meetings with academic supervisor. Supervision may take place live on-campus or via remote contact (e.g. videocalls).	24
Individual Project	Private study and research working towards the completion of the project	576

• Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
• Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
• Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
• Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
• Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
• Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
• Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
• Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
• Safety-Consciousness - Having an awareness of your immediate environment, and confidence in adhering to health and safety regulations
• Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
• Teamwork - Able to constructively cooperate with others on a common task, and/or be part of a day-to-day working team
• Management - Able to utilise, coordinate and control resources (human, physical and/or financial)
• Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
• Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others
• Leadership - Able to lead and manage, develop action plans and objectives, offer guidance and direction to others, and cope with the related pressures such authority can result in

• Demonstrate research-informed leadership and management change skills
• Critically interpret data to draw conclusions for organisational and system improvement
• Conduct a time-constrained viable and ethical research project within the context of an organisation

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/ila-4000.html

Reading list

American Psychological Association (APA). (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. APA. Costley, C., Elliott, G. C., & Gibbs, P. (2010). Doing work based research: Approaches to enquiry for insider-researchers. Sage. Bourne, V. (2017). Starting Out in Methods and Statistics for Psychology: A Hands-on Guide to Doing Research. Oxford University Press. Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (2007). The SAGE handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice. SAGE.