Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Poster Presentation 1500 Words | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | Research Proposal 3500 Words | 80% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Poster presentation (individual) 1500 Words | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Research Proposal 3500 Words | 80% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Apply the principles and practices of implementation science to the design of behaviour change research studies.
Critically review and apply psychological theory and research literatures to implementation science-informed behaviour change research studies.
Provide theoretically and empirically justified predictions for the research studies they design.
Communicate an application of theory and research to an academic and non-academic audience.
Brief description
Influencing behaviour change in natural contexts is a challenging proposition because there are so many extraneous variables at play. Indeed, many well-designed, theoretically sound interventions prove ineffective when executed. Implementation science is the rigorous study of methods that help overcome methodological barriers to ineffective intervention research and promote effective translation of research into practice. This module will introduce the burgeoning field of implementation science to students, helping them to critically appraise the associated literature and develop enhanced skills in research design and evaluation.
Content
Be introduced to frameworks and concepts that guide implementation science
RE-AIM
CONSORT
Intervention Fidelity
TIDieR
CALO-RE
Complexity Science and Systems Theory
Deep-dive into research methods that are favoured by implementation scientists (e.g., RCTs), including feasibility and pilot studies.
Document the spheres of human life that have been touched by this field and be supported to critically appraise the associated literature.
Learn how theory informs the ‘active ingredients’ of the intervention component of the research, how ‘intervention fidelity’ is a vital factor, search for publicly available examples of behaviour change interventions and interrogate them for any implementation science bases.
Staff delivering these sessions tend to be Fellows of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE) and have postgraduate qualifications in teaching in Higher Education, meaning that they employ a variety of innovative teaching and learning techniques to deliver the content. The common factor in these techniques is their goal of helping students achieve Master’s level characteristics (in-depth and advanced knowledge, academic skills, applying research and critical perspectives to professional situations, etc.), as reflected in the overall scheme learning outcomes as well as this module’s.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Adaptability and resilience | “Low-stakes” formative work and practice presentations will be completed throughout the semester to build students’ self-efficacy up ready for the summative assessments; feedback will be geared towards engendering adaptability and resilience, not just enhanced academic skills |
| Co-ordinating with others | Numerous group-based activities will occur throughout the semester, and a collaborative OneNote Class Notebook will tie it all together. In the assessed poster presentations classmates will act as a critical audience. |
| Creative Problem Solving | Intervention design to match evidence-based practices to the behavioural challenges faced by a specific sub-population. Hence, identification of problems, factors which might influence the effectiveness of potential solutions, evaluating the strength of evidence for solutions, etc. All framed by implementation science principles. |
| Critical and analytical thinking | Students will learn about different ways of understanding behaviour and correspondingly diverse ways of conceiving of behaviour change strategies. They will be encouraged to identify which approaches they share an affinity with, deepening their philosophical self-awareness. Students will be tasked with demonstrating their critical and analytical thinking processes in the written and presentation coursework, but these skills will have been modelled by staff throughout the semester. |
| Digital capability | Online literature search and synthesis of digitally available literature. Use of social media to draw a picture of the ways that the subject is discussed on public forums. Use of a collaborative cloud space to facilitate sharing of resources and work (OneNote Class Notebook). Use of presentation software to create posters. |
| Professional communication | Communicating scientific material orally to science and non-science audiences. Preparing a written report that ultimately underpins a scientific poster presentation. |
| Real world sense | Critically evaluating the feasibility of applying evidence-based practices to address “real” (verifiable) challenges. |
| Reflection | Description of the technical and intellectual processes and challenges involved in translating research evidence into behaviour change strategies for a specific sub-population. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students will have the opportunity to develop a wide range of subject specific skills that will help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and research publications presented on the module. For example: Assessment of scientific methods in psychology; Differentiation between research methodologies and when to use each one; Demonstration of a familiarity with the techniques required for literature searches; etc. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7