TE7039 - Systematic Appraisal in Education and Training

You will learn through lectures, seminars and independent learning. The lectures will cover theories and concepts that will enable you to participate in a series of guided tasks and exercises to support production of the final report. You will work on these during seminars and practical sessions in computer labs which are fully equipped with the last industry-standard software.

Support will include feedback from tutors during seminars and tutorials. In addition, tutors will respond to questions via the modules’ discussion board on Blackboard Ultra so that the whole group can benefit.

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. Critical understanding of the breadth and complexity of research methods involved in systematic review.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
1. Conceptualise the research topic and establish its relevance to the practice area/field of expertise
2. Define the study protocol in terms of the research question and scope (variables/factors/settings to be studied), inclusion criteria, search strategy, critical appraisal techniques, data extraction and analysis methods.
3. Examine critically the ethical and philosophical issues related to the appraisal and included studies.
4. Implement a systematic appraisal to examine the research question.
5. Demonstrate enhanced critical appraisal skills.
6. Analyse and interpret the extracted data from the included studies giving due regard to issues of reliability, validity, rigour, trustworthiness and reflexivity.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
(1) Enhance your communication skills through discussion and in your summative written work

(2) Further develop your research skills through identification of appropriate secondary data and literature on which your dissertation will be based.

Formative Assessment:
You will complete a review proposal which must be approved prior to any practical work. The proposal must include an identified problem and detailed strategy for identifying and accessing the source of secondary data, published and unpublished. The approach to further analysis and conceptualisation should also be identified.
Feedback
You will receive written and verbal feedback from your tutor.

Summative Assessment:
You produce a final project report which systematically presents the project in an appropriate academic style supported by the current literature base and accurately referenced. (15000 words)
MLOs: (KU 1) (IPSA 1-6) (PVA 1 &)

Feedback
You will receive written feedback against the specific criteria as well as general feedback

TE7076 Understanding Educational Research and Methods

None

In this module you will focus on the role of the practitioner as a research user. You will have the opportunity to make effective and systematic use of published research to inform education practice and/or policy. Through the process of the systematic appraisal, you will develop enhanced critical appraisal skills. The systematic appraisal project will address research questions which arise from your specific practice/field of expertise. These questions may address:
• Effectiveness of single/definable interventions in order to state and recommend best practice/provide evidence based guidelines for practice.
• Evaluation of appropriateness/acceptability/process/outcomes of educational provision in order to improve/develop/inform practice.
• The service user experience of education services.
• Relationships between practitioners and service users.
• Theoretical and ideological issues of relevance to education practice and/or policy.
Published work to be included in the appraisal may be either entirely quantitative, entirely qualitative or mixed method. The philosophical perspective of both the research question and the appraisal methodology must be examined.

The focus of this module is a small scale systematic review which students undertake with the support of an experienced academic research supervisor.