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2021/22 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

MEDI1213 Research, Evaluation and Special Studies 1

Module manager: Dr Shenaz Ahmed
Email: s.ahmed@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2021/22

Pre-requisite qualifications

Compulsory strand of MBChB programme - runs over year 1-5. For students entering via alternative routes, evidence of satisfactory teaching and academic attainment is mandatory.

Co-requisites

MEDI1204	Individuals and Populations
MEDI1214	Innovation, Development, Enterprise, Leadership and Safety 1
MEDI1215	Campus to Clinic 1
MEDI1216	Introduction to Medical Sciences
MEDI1220	Body Systems

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module provides structured, peer to peer and independent learning and practice of research and evaluation skills. Students will be introduced to the skills needed to carry out research effectively, including how to formulate research questions, gather information from a range of sources, make judgements on the quality of this and draw conclusions.

Objectives

RESS Purpose
At graduation, a newly qualified doctor should be able to critically evaluate research findings, recognise the inherent limitations and strengths of evidence, understand how this should be used in management guidelines, and be able to evaluate application to clinical practice. They will have participated in a breadth and depth of curricular experience to develop important skills needed to practice evidence based medicine.

The RESS strand is a core part of the MBChB programme, aimed at providing medical students with the opportunity to acquire, develop, and apply research and evaluation skills. RESS maps directly to Outcome 3 (Professional Knowledge) of the GMC’s “Outcomes for Doctors: 2018”: “Newly qualified doctors must be able to apply scientific method and approaches to medical research and integrate these with a range of sources of information used to make decisions for care” (26).

The RESS strand is an integral part of the MBChB SAFER-MEDIC core curriculum, and also maps to the following GMC Outcomes for Doctors (https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/dc11326-outcomes-for-graduates-2018_pdf-75040796.pdf), where newly qualified doctors must:

1) demonstrate that they can practise safely. They must participate in and promote activity to
improve the quality and safety of patient care and clinical outcomes (5)

2) learn and work effectively within a multi-professional and multi-disciplinary team and across
multiple care settings (9)

3) be able to use information effectively and safely in a medical context, and maintain accurate,
legible, contemporaneous and comprehensive medical records (19)

4) be able to apply biomedical scientific principles, methods and knowledge to medical practice
and integrate these into patient care (22)

5) be able to apply social science principles, methods and knowledge to medical practice and
integrate these into patient care (24)
6) be able to apply the principles, methods and knowledge of population health and the
improvement of health and sustainable healthcare to medical practice (25)

The broad aims of RESS 1 are:
1) to explain the role of ‘evidence based medicine’ for doctors
2) to explain the importance of well-developed research questions and provide frameworks for
developing and evaluating the quality of research questions
3) to provide an understanding of different types of study designs, their strengths and limitations
4) to provide opportunities to develop research skills
5) to provide an understanding of different types of data, including how to analysis, interpret,
synthesise and present data

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of RESS 1, students will be able to:
1. describe a range of research designs and approaches to evaluation
2. show basic research skills, including formulating a research question, data collection, data
analysis and interpretation
3. describe key features of qualitative research, systematic reviews, approaches to audit and
evaluation, lab sciences, surveys and observational research, experimental research
4. demonstrate research communication skills through presentation of data in different formats
(written reports; poster presentation)
5. show basic critical evaluation skills
6. show referencing skills

Syllabus

The RESS strand will consist of:
1) E-Learning and lectures on relevant topics
2) Skill-based exercises
3) Working through a structured research project
4) Special studies

The RESS strand curricular content will follow the same basic structure in each year (based on desired knowledge outcomes for that year mapped against the whole programme outcomes), for example:
1) Review the literature to determine need for the research
2) Formulate research question
3) Identify appropriate research method
4) Gather data
5) Analyse, Summarise, Present
6) Draw conclusions
7) Evaluate

The emphasis and degree of guidance provided will vary from year to year, building on previous experience according to the spiral model of the curriculum, depending on what is introduced, practised, and assessed at each stage, but the trend will be towards more independence and less structure, from closed to open questions.

Year 1, Term 1
The lectures will cover: evidence based medicine; formulation of research questions; research designs; critical evaluation of research; data collection; descriptive quantitative analysis; basic statistical tests; interpreting quantitative data; critical thinking and writing; communicating research; and referencing.
Students will concurrently work on a research project: Human Biomarker Project. This project will provide structured peer to peer and independent learning, and practice of research and evaluation skills. Following hypothesis generation and method development, students will collect quantitative data on self and input to a central database. Anonymised class data will be analysed to test hypothesis. Tables and graphs will be used to present self and class data, and measures and spread to describe data. Data will be evaluated and complex information summarised succinctly for presentation.

Year 1: Terms 2 and 3
The lectures will cover: qualitative research; surveys and observational research; experimental research; systematic reviews; lab science methods; audit and evaluation; research ethics; further statistics; poster presentation.

Students will concurrently work on the Special Studies Project (SSP). This project allows students to apply the research and evaluation skills they have developed during term 1 of the RESS strand to a project of their choice.
Project activities will depend on the specific project allocated to the student, but all projects include application of the following skills:

1) Use information gathering skills to understand topic
2) Understand, or develop research method
3) Analyse generated or given data using appropriate procedures
4) Present findings
5) Draw conclusions
6) Evaluate
7) Use Endnote to manage references

The students will produce a project report and a poster for assessment.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Poster session	5	1.00	5.00
Lecture	15	1.00	15.00
Tutorial	12	1.50	18.00
Private study hours			80.00
Total Contact hours			38.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			118.00

Private study

Term 1: Independent Oonline learning with completion of weekly, tasks to be uploaded to the students electronic portfolio.where the output of each task is used in subsequent tutorials.

Term 2: Students will meet approximately 5 times with tutors depending on the project and will then work independently on their projects and posters.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will be required to complete tasks throughout the entire RESS strand bring the outputs from these tasks to subsequent tutorials. The module will include not only summative (assessment for progression) but also and formative (assessment for learning) components with feedback to students. The tutors will provide feedback during tutorials monitoring and tracking of students' progress towards the RESS intended learning outcomes as well as a personal developmental progress log. Monitoring of progress in this strand will be incorporated into the small groups the students will be working within through the MBChB curriculum, and thus incorporate academic and personal tutoring mechanisms.
Students will also be provided with detailed written feedback on their formative assessment in Term 1. This will inform student learning and more independent learning in Terms 2 and 3.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Poster Presentation	Poster presentation	10.00
Reflective log	Reflective Log	5.00
Project	Human Biomarker Project	40.00
Report	SSP 2000-word report	45.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Year 1 RESS tasks will be recorded as non graded pass with opportunity to resit in resit period.

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 22/07/2022

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