Postgraduate Course: Unlocking the literature: Non-interventional studies (CRCA11007)
Course Outline
| School | Deanery of Clinical Sciences |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course is focused on the interpretation of non-interventional study designs used to answer questions in the acute, emergency, and critical care medicine literature. Students will learn how to efficiently search the biomedical literature, and will gain expertise in appraising observational studies including epidemiological studies and studies of diagnostic tests. Teaching will be delivered online in a combination of recorded lectures, discussion boards, and tutor led question and answer sessions. The course will support and consolidate learning in other modules on the MSc in Critical Care by concentrating on the acute, emergency, and critical care medicine literature. |
| Course description |
1) Academic description
This academic course builds on content delivered earlier in the MSc programme and intends to equip students with skills, knowledge, and attributes to critically appraise other study designs used in critical care: epidemiological studies, diagnostic test evaluation, and qualitative research. Development of critical appraisal skills for non-interventional as well as interventional studies will enable students to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of evidence produced by the majority of important study types. Students will become efficient in searching the biomedical literature by developing greater knowledge of the strengths and weakness of different databases and will develop deep understanding of the methods used to define risk factors for important outcomes in critical care, appraise diagnostic tests, and assess new technology.
2) Outline content
Students will learn about different types of epidemiological study design, statistical approaches, diagnostic test evaluation, qualitative research, and data presentation so that they can confidently read and interpret research articles describing these study types. They will build on generic search skills learned in Unlocking the literature: Clinical Trials.
3) Student learning experience
Students will learn from experts in critical care, research methodology, and information services who will deliver teaching through recorded video tutorials, and then set students tasks to undertake in their own time. The weekly tasks will be carried and discussed using online discussion boards. Once per week tutors will make themselves available to students for question and answer sessions to clarify areas of uncertainty. These sessions will be recorded for future reference.
Students will be assessed on their ability to conduct a structured critical appraisal task of an epidemiological paper, and their ability to design a study of a diagnostic test that could be used in their own healthcare setting.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2019/20, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Block 1 (Sem 1) |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
98 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
In course assessment: 100 % |
| Feedback |
Feedback is defined as information to students which allows them to review what they know, understand and can do in their studies. Feedback is also important to identify areas for improvement, for example course feedback surveys will be an integral component of the programme to allow refinement.
Opportunities for feedback will also arise during timetabled activities, for example during live question and answer sessions, and on discussion boards, emails. Feedback can be provided on coursework assignments but also activities which are not formally assessed, for example class discussion on the discussion board, group exercises, and developing project plans and proposals. A formative task is provided in each course which provides feedforward prior to the student submitting their first piece of summative assessed course work.
All assignments will be marked, and feedback is provided within a period of fifteen working days (where possible) following the submission date (excluding holidays periods whereby the University is closed, e.g. over the Christmas period). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Recognise and understand basic research concepts and terminology related to non-interventional studies
- Efficiently access a range of literature sources relevant to the various types of clinical studies used in acute, emergency, and critical care medicine
- Interpret the results of non-interventional studies including statistics
- Undertake critical appraisal of non-interventional studies identifying key sources of bias
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
a) Mindsets:
Enquiry and lifelong learning:
Graduates of this course will be encouraged to pursue their own curiosity and to learn and develop in the field of critical care, to strive for excellence in their own professional practice, and to strive to improve care for patients as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Aspiration and personal development
Students will be encouraged to draw on their own experiences to identify areas in which they wish to grow and develop acknowledging that different students will have different priorities and aspirations.
Outlook and engagement
Students will be asked to bring to the course experiences from their own practice, often specifically relating to their own geographical and cultural context, that can be used to explore learning, engage with individuals from other international communities on the programme.
b) Skills:
Research and enquiry
Students will use and further develop newly acquired expertise in accessing the literature and critical appraisal, to incorporate the findings of primary research in their arguments, discussions, and assessments.
Personal and intellectual autonomy
Students will be encouraged to use their own personal and intellectual autonomy through their active participation in self-directed learning, discussion boards and collaborative activities to critically evaluate ideas evidence and experiences from an open-minded perspective.
Personal effectiveness
Success on the course will require students to be effective and proactive learners. Using the resources of the course tutors, and the university learning and information environment, students will be encouraged and supported to contribute to their own learning, as well as that of others.
Communication
Excellence in critical care is dependent on excellent communication, and the structure of the interactive (discussion boards and collaborative activities) and assessment elements incorporate constant reinforcement and development of this skill. |
| Keywords | Research methods,epidemiological studies,observational,cohort,diagnostic tests,critical care |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alasdair Hay
Tel:
Email: ahay5@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Olga Paterson
Tel: (0131) 242 6130
Email: Olga.Paterson@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage