AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

HST2122 – Heath Research Methodology

UNIT OUTLINE – TRIMESTER 3, 2022

DESCRIPTION: Welcome to HST2122A Health Research Methodology. Your first task: Locate your
curiosity! This unit asks you to be curious about the many social health issues that face local, national
and global communities. Entering HST2122A, students’ study interests vary widely – health promotion,
occupational health and safety, biomedical research, addiction studies, nutrition or dietetics. While your
academic and professional pursuits may differ, one thing you all have in common is the need to be able
to collect and evaluate evidence so that you can make a positive impact in your work. Reading current
research studies keeps you up-to-date on the big issues in your profession and informs professional
good decision-making.

The main focus of this unit is to:

• Understand what research is and what is involved in all steps of the research process.
• To use your understanding of research process to critique published health research.

PRE-REQUISITE: MAT1114A

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
On completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. Describe the sequential steps in a formal research process.

2. Distinguish between uses for quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods strategies for researching
health topics.
3. Apply library research skills to access and review original research.
4. Explain the principles and practices required to conduct ethical research.
5. Interpret research data.
6. Critically evaluate the scientific merit and applicability of reported research studies.

TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESSES:

Students attend one session per week of four hours contact time seminar style OR two hour
lecture/seminar, one hour tutorial and one hour workshop. Lectures are used to introduce main
concepts and to guide students through important points. Tutorials/workshops are used to assist
students in the practical application of concepts through problem solving exercises and class
discussions. Assignments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate they have met the
learning outcomes of the unit.

Please arrive on time to avoid interrupting the class.

BRING-YOUR-OWN-DEVICE (BYOD)
In order to facilitate greater classroom engagement and self-directed learning, students will be required
to provide their own laptop or tablet (BYOD) for both classroom use and private study. A copy of the
latest BYOD Requirements Checklist can be found at: https://www.acbt.net/documents-
andforms

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LECTURER(S):

Joanne T. Kotelawala

Email: joanne.kotelawala@navitas.com

STUDENT HANDBOOK:
For general information, refer to your ACBT Student Handbook or the online version at:
https://www.acbt.net/documents-and-forms

ASSESSMENT:

Detailed instructions for each assessment are posted on the HST2122A Moodle site within the
assessments tab. In addition, the marking key that will be used to assess your work is also included as
a separate file at the same location. The following table offers an overview of the assessments, their
mark weighting and due dates:

Assessments ** Learning Graduate Attribute Week due Weighting Mandatory

Outcome (p.1) (last page) to pass

Assessment 1-Research Study LO2, LO3, LO5, No

Critique Part 1** LO6 GA1, GA3, GA4 5 15%

Assessment 2 – Research Study No

Critique Part 2** GA1, GA3, GA4 12 45%
All

Assessment 3-Final Exam LO1, LO2, LO4, GA1, GA3, GA4 13 40% Yes
LO6

TOTAL 100%

**Please see Assessment Guideline Handouts and Marking Keys on the Portal for further instructions.

Assessment 1 – Health Research Study Critique Part 1

Weighting 15%
Format Individual assignment
Length: ~500 words
Word digital document using Study Critique Word Template provided on
Moodle.
Your document should be formatted with 1.5 line spacing.
Due date and time Week 5

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How to submit Electronically via Turnitin link
Topic Choice of articles, TBD.

Instructions For assessment 1, you will report on your partial critique of a health research
study. You will choose from among several articles provided for the semester
and complete a critique of the first two (Section A and B) of the eight
components we learn to critique this semester. You will use the critique
framework presented in the unit text and discussed in the weekly learning
activities. For detailed instructions regarding this assessment (including the
articles that you may choose from), go to Assessments tab in Moodle and
choose ‘Assessment 1.’
Marking Criteria Please refer to Moodle > Assessments tab> Assessment 1 Marking Guidelines

Assessment 2 – Health Research Study Critique Part 2

Weighting 45%
Format Individual assignment
Length: ~4000 words
Word digital document using Study Critique Word Template provided on
Moodle.
Your document should be formatted with 1.5 line spacing.
Due date and time Week 12
How to submit Electronically via Turnitin link
Topic Choice of articles, TBD.
Instructions For assessment 2, using the framework provided in your textbook, you will
report on your full critique of all eight components (Sections A-H) of the health
research study you began critiquing in Assessment 1. This full critique will
include revisions of the two components (Sections A and B) submitted for
Assessment 1. For detailed instructions regarding this assignment (including
the articles that you may choose from), go to Assessments tab in Moodle and
choose ‘Assessment 2.’
Marking Criteria Please refer to Moodle > Assessments tab> Assessment 2 Marking Guidelines

Assessment 3 – Final exam

Weighting 40%
Format Short-answer and multiple-choice questions
Due date and time Exam week
Topic All of the material covered in the unit.
Instructions This exam will contain short-answer and multiple-choice questions related to all
material covered in readings, lectures and tutorials throughout the semester.

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 In line with the ACBT Moderation Policy, the ACBT Unit Coordinator may scale student
marks up or down. Marks awarded are therefore provisional, and the student’s final grade will be subject
to approval by the Board of Examiners. See: Moderation Policy and the Assessment Policy at:
https://www.acbt.net/policies

Criteria for Final Grade

Grade Description Mark (%)
HD High Distinction 80%-100%
D Distinction 70%-79%
CR Credit 60%-69%
C Pass 50%-59%
N Fail 0%-49%
50%-100%
I Incomplete (Fail)
(Where unit requires you to pass exam or essential assessment)

For further details, see the ACBT Student Handbook in the portal on online at:
https://www.acbt.net/documents-and-forms

Back up your material: It is the responsibility of the student to keep a back-up of all materials
submitted for assessment.

Assessment Feedback: Feedback will be provided within 2 weeks of the submission of the
assignment. After your assignment has been returned to you, review the comments and grade given
to you by your lecturer. If you have a question regarding any comments or marks you should
contact your lecturer immediately.

Late Submission:
If a student is unable to submit a within-semester assessment task (i.e. assignment) on or by the due
date, the penalty will be 5% per working day. The mark will be zero after 5 working days. An exception
may be granted if the student provides an Explained Absence form together with…
• Medical certificate (signed by lecturer and given to ACBT Manager Examinations by the student),
or
• Written explanation (signed by lecturer and given to ACBT Manager Examinations by student), in
the case of personal circumstances which have the potential to significantly affect the performance
of the student.
Evidence must be submitted within 3 days (or at the next scheduled class if the lecturer is not available
– an email to the lecturer is also recommended).

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 Complaints and Appeals:
Students who believe they have valid reasons to appeal marks awarded for an assessment should
discuss the matter informally with the lecturer. If valid reasons for an appeal exists, you must lodge
the appeal within 15 working days as specified in the Complaints and Appeals Policy
(https://www.acbt.net/policies)

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TEXTS:

Required textbook:

Plano Clark, V. & Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer's guide (2nd ed.).
[Enhanced Pearson eText].

Please Note: This entire textbook is essential reading for the unit. Lectures and other materials presume
that you have read this material and understand concepts discussed in the textbook. Students will be
responsible for the knowing the contents of the text readings and exercises even if all content is not
explicitly introduced in any other materials.

SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES:

The following social research textbook provides good detail on the reasoning for each step of the
research process and practical direction for designing research;

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

The following two textbooks offer examples and discussion of research within health contexts:

Bowling, A. (2014). Research methods in health: Investigating health and health services (4th ed.).
Maidenhead, Berkshire, England: Open University Press.

Liamputtong, P. (Ed.). (2014). Research methods in health (4th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press.

These following books will assist in the practical research design and implementation:

O'Leary, Z. (2014). The essential guide to doing your research project (2nd ed.). London, England:
SAGE.

REFERENCING:
ACBT adopts the APA (American Psychological Association) Referencing system which also complies
with protocols used by ECU.
• How to Reference APA Style – download from: https://www.acbt.net/documents-andforms

• Academic Misconduct Guidelines – ACBT portal (Section 4 Referencing and Plagiarism for useful
links, tutorials and videos)

More in-depth information can be found at:

• ECU Referencing Guide – downloaded free at:
https://www.ecu.edu.au/centres/libraryservices/shared-content/downloads/ECU-
ReferencingGuide-2014-July-update.pdf
• American Psychological Association (APA) provides free tutorials at:
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx
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ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT:
Honesty in study and research is highly valued at ACBT and ECU, therefore academic misconduct is
regarded as a serious offence. Academic misconduct includes…
• Plagiarism;
• Unauthorised collaboration;
• Cheating in examinations;
• Fraudulently submitting the work of another person;
• Purchasing assignments or paying another person to write an assessment
• Theft of other students’ work;
• Any other fraudulent assessment practices

Staff are expected to be critical of student work, looking for any evidence of plagiarism/cheating.
Staff may use search software (e.g. Turnitin) to scan/record your work against the electronic
works of others on the Internet.

"Plagiarism” means to knowingly or unknowingly present as one's own work the ideas or writings
of another without appropriate acknowledgment or referencing, including… • Paraphrasing text
without acknowledging source (includes any copying)
• Paraphrasing text inadequately
• Copying another student's assignment (from any source)
• Copying of visual representations (cartoons, line drawings, photos, paintings, computer programs,
images, tables, graphs)

Penalty:
First Offence: Award of zero for assessment
Second Offence: Award of zero for the unit
Third Offence: Possible risk of suspension from ACBT
For further information see: Academic Misconduct in the student portal.

In order to ensure students are submitting their own work, if the lecturer believes that there is a
disparity between the writing or knowledge presented in assessments (compared to in-class activities
or other examples of student work), the lecturer has the right to take steps to confirm that the student
actually did the work.

The Unit Coordinator may extend the requirements for any written assessment [except those
completed under supervision (in class)] to include an oral exam to clarify and support the written
submission.

• The oral exam will normally be held face-to-face with the Unit Coordinator and the Academic
Program Coordinator, but may be done by telephone or other means as chosen by the Unit
Coordinator.
• The student may invite someone to act as a support person, however that person cannot answer
any of the questions
• The oral exam should occur as soon as possible after the assessment, but may be deferred if the
student is unable to attend and can provide supporting evidence.
• During the oral exam, the student may be asked to define terms, explain concepts or give examples
relating to the assessment
• The mark given for the oral exam will override the original written submission.

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• If a student fails to attend the oral exam, ACBT may begin an investigation of Academic Misconduct
as per ACBT’s Student Misconduct Policy. Where Academic Misconduct is determined, penalties
will apply as per this policy

Also see Assessment Policy and the Student Misconduct Policy which can be downloaded at:
https://www.acbt.net/policies

ATTENDANCE AND QUALITY OF PARTICIPATION

Attendance is an important element of your success and as such it is compulsory, not only for visa
regulations (for international students) but also a requirement for local students.

Students who are sick or absent from classes for valid reasons must…
• Submit an Explained Absence form to each lecturer for a signature of approval. This should include
a medical certificate or proof of valid reason for the absence. This form must be submitted within
3 days (or at the next scheduled class if the lecturer is not available).
• Once completed, it is the student’s responsibility to submit the form and evidence to ACBT as soon
as possible.

In the event that attendance is considered unsatisfactory, formal written warnings will be sent to
students and they may be required to see the Senior Deputy Principal or nominee.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:
ACBT students have access to the following free support:
• Computing or Mathematics – meet Course Coordinators
• Drop-in Help Sessions – see the Course Coordinator.

For further information: See Progress and Graduation Policy at: https://www.acbt.net/policies

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

TEXTBOOK
WEEK TOPIC ASSESSMENTS
REFERENCES
1 Plano Clark & Creswell,
Welcome and Unit Overview Chapter 1
Introduction to unit Health Research:
Article from Conversation
What is it? Why do it?
(see week 1 Moodle
Defining Social and Biomedical readings)
Research

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2 Quant and qual articles at
The Process of Research end of Chapter 1 of Plano
Defining and finding formal research Clark & Creswell

Identifying steps of the research

process in a research article
Criteria for evaluating the quality of
research articles

3 Plano Clark & Creswell,

Types of Research Studies:
Chapter 2
Quantitative, Qualitative and
Mixed-methods
Criteria for identifying and evaluating qualitative
and quantitative studies
4 Plano Clark & Creswell,
So what?: The Research Problem Chapter 3
Five elements of a statement of the problem
Problems that fit quantitative or qualitative
approaches
Criteria for evaluating problem
statements

5 Plano Clark & Creswell, Assessment 1 Due:

Reviewing the Literature Chapter 4 24th November
2022
Searching the literature
Structuring a literature review
Criteria for evaluating literature reviews

6 Plano Clark & Creswell,

Specifying the Study Purpose
Chapter 5
Elements of a study purpose
Research questions
Purpose for quantitative and
qualitative studies
Criteria for evaluating study purpose

7 Plano Clark & Creswell,

Chapter 6 (including
Quantitative Studies: Study
quant study example)
Designs and Sampling Methods
Types of experimental and nonexperimental
quantitative study designs
Quantitative participants and

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 sampling methods
Recognizing quantitative study designs in study
reports
Criteria for evaluating quantitative study designs

8 Plano Clark & Creswell,

Quantitative Studies: Data Chapters 7 & 8
Collection, Analysis and Results
Quantitative methods for data collection and
analysis
Quantitative results and interpretation
Recognising quantitative methods in study reports
Criteria for evaluating quantitative study methods
and results

9 Plano Clark & Creswell,

Chapter 9 (including qual
Qualitative Studies: Participants, Methods study example)
and Results
Qualitative methods for data collection and
analysis
Qualitative results and interpretation (findings)
Recognising qualitative methods in study reports
Criteria for evaluating qualitative study methods
and results

10 Plano Clark & Creswell,

Chapters 10 & 11
Qualitative Studies: Participants, Methods
and Results
Qualitative methods for data collection and
analysis
Qualitative results and interpretation (findings)
Recognising qualitative methods in study reports
Criteria for evaluating qualitative study methods
and results

11 Plano Clark & Creswell,

Assessment 2 Workshop
Chapter 14
Facilitated group workshop to discuss and draft
key sections of Assessment
2.

12 Assessment 2 Due:
Study Conclusions, Reporting and
22nd January 2023
Dissemination
Criteria for evaluating study conclusions and
back matter

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13 Exam Week Final Exam

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EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS:
Learning is not just about acquiring a static set of knowledge and skills – it is also about developing generic skills that can be used to further life-
long learning and engagement with the community. ECC has adopted the same Employability Skills and Graduate Attributes incorporated by
Edith Cowan University in their courses; The ECC Learning and Teaching Plan aims to develop these Employability Skills
(http://intranet.ecu.edu.au/learning/teaching-and-learning-support/employability) through the delivery of our courses. Units within a course will
focus on different skill sets with varying degrees of overlap, however all Employability Skills will be covered as part of that course.

Graduate Attributes
Employability Skills
• Navigate the world of work
• Manage career and work life
• Work with roles, rights and protocols

• Interact with others GA1 – Ability to communicate

• Communicate for work
GA2 – Ability to work in teams
• Connect and work with others
• Recognise and utilise diverse perspectives GA3 – Critical appraisal skills
GA4 – Ability to generate ideas
• Get the work done GA5 – Cross-cultural and international outlook
• Plan and organise
• Make decisions
• Identify and solve problems
• Create and innovate
• Work in a digital world

The Graduate Attributes incorporated into this unit are:

Ability to Ability to work in Critical appraisal Ability to generate ideas Cross-cultural &
Unit Code
Communicate teams skills Problem-solving international outlook
HST2122A
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