OCC2022 · Skills for evidence-based practice in occupational therapy

Overview

This unit provides an overview of the skills necessary to critique and evaluate the usefulness, relevance and quality of research evidence related to occupational therapy professional practice. Components of evidence-based practice will be introduced related to occupational therapy. Quantitative and qualitative research methodology approaches that underpin evidence-based practice will also be introduced. You will be guided through the process of how to ask clinically relevant questions, search for evidence, and critically appraise published research studies. The Monash Occupational Therapy Research Evidence Critique Form (MOTRECF) for both quantitative and qualitative studies will be used to evaluate the relevant evidence. The process used to complete a critically appraised paper (CAP) will also be introduced. This will provide the foundation for you to integrate clinically relevant evidence into your daily professional practice as well as providing you with the skills required for analysing the issues dealt with in the scenario-based learning context used in OCC2020, OCC3031, and OCC3052.

Areas of study: Occupational therapy

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment in this unit includes hurdle assessment tasks. Failure of any hurdle assessment task may result in failure of the unit.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. Recognise the relevance of research in occupational therapy practice;
2. Explain the role of theory in occupational therapy research;
3. Describe and apply knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms relevant to occupational therapy practice;
4. Evaluate and apply general measurement concepts: levels of measurement, reliability, validity;
5. Apply basic parametric and non-parametric statistics;
6. Describe, apply and evaluate qualitative research methodologies and methods;
7. Discuss ethical issues and practices related to research;
8. Apply and implement skills related to gathering and interpreting evidence from empirical literature to support professional and clinical practice;
9. Apply and integrate principles outlined in the Monash Occupational Therapy Research Evidence Critique Form (MOTRECF) related to quantitative studies and qualitative studies to critique evidence.

Workload

Lecture component: 3 hours per week, Tutorial/Practicum component: 3 hours per week, Private study: 4 hours per week.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.