ICON College of Technology and Management General Guidelines  The work you submit must be in your own words. If you use a quote or an illustration from somewhere you must give the source.  Include a list of references at the end of your document. You must give all your sources of information.  There is a glossary at the end of the assignment that will help you understand the command words used for the assignment.  Make sure your work is clearly presented and that you use readily understandable English.  Wherever possible use a word processor and its "spell-checker". Internal verifier Dr. Marcus Chilaka Signature (IV of the brief) Dr. Marcus Chilaka Date 31/08/2016 Programme title CPK36 Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Health and Social Care Unit number and title Unit 6 Research Project Assignment number & title 1 of 1 Research Project in the Health and Social Care Setting Unit Leader Dr. Edward Goka Assessor(s) Dr. Edward Goka, Dr. Tosin Alo Issue Date September 29, 2016 Final assignment submission deadline 09 - 14 January 2017 Late submission deadline 16 - 21 January 2017 The learners are required to follow the strict deadline set by the College for submissions of assignments in accordance with the BTEC level 4 – 7 submission guidelines and College policy on submissions. They should also refer to Merit and Distinction criteria that require evidence of meeting agreed timelines and ability to plan and organise time effectively without which the learner may not expect to receive a higher grade. Resubmission deadline TBA Feedback In class feedback will be available from draft submissions on a task-bytask basis as a formative feedback and also for initial submission. Final feedback will be available within 2 -3 weeks of the assignment submission date.Page 2 of 20 ICON College of Technology and Management Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND in Health and Social Care (HSC) Unit 6: Research Project (L5) Session: September 2016 Course Work (Recommended Word limit 6,500) This Unit will be assessed by an assignment and an individual presentation. You are strongly advised to read "Preparation guidelines of the Coursework Document" before answering your assignment. ASSIGNMENT Introduction and background notes (vocational context) As a final year student of Health and Social Care, you will need to conduct a research project that is relevant to the health and social care setting. See examples of research topics: (1) Mental health and employment; (2) Exploring the effects of the economic slowdown on adult social care; (3) Care provision within families and its socio-economic impact on care providers'. As a researcher, you might be interested in conducting an exploratory study in which you only focus on familiarizing yourself with a subject that very little is known about. Or your focus might be to just describe the subject through scientific investigation. Also, the focus might be towards a more analytical research in which you will engage in answering the questions of "what, why, where, when and how". Whichever approach you take, you will need to address all the questions in this assignment which have been divided into LO's 1, 2, 3 & 4. The Unit addresses elements that make up formal research including the research proposal, literature review, a variety of research methodologies, action planning, ethical consideration, carrying out the research itself and presenting the findings. What you must do Task 1: LO1 Understand how to formulate a research specification Task 1A: (Research Proposal) - Based upon a specific health and social care issue identified in health and social care setting, write a Research Proposal, outlining the specific objectives (and or hypotheses) that need to be addressed in relation to the research question. You should also identify the factors that contribute to the process of research project selection [P1.1, P1.2, P1.3, P1.4, P1.5] In this Research Proposal, you must justify why you think it is important to study the topic you have chosen and whether such is researchable based on the approach taking. The proposal outline should cover the following: Research Title Research Project description (brief overview of nature of project [P1.1, P1.2] Research Aims and Objectives [P1.1, M1] Literature review (critical review of key references) [P1.1, 1.3] Research methodology [P1.1, 1.4] References An appropriate plan and procedures for the agreed research specification [P1.1, P1.5] The format of the research proposal is shown in Appendix 1 Guidelines for Research Proposal The research title should be clear and concise and be set as a statement. A good research title should have two variables, independent and dependent. For example, Air pollution and the effect on the cardiovascular system. The learner should also ensure that there is enough literature available for the topic. At this stage of your research, learners should choose simple topics with two variables as explained above.Page 3 of 20 The research project description should provide the rationale of doing the project, including the definition of key concepts and theories, background to the research problem. The aim of the research answers "What do you want to do?" and objectives answer the question "How are you going to find out?" what you stated in the aim. It is advisable to have only one aim but more than one objective. Objectives address the aim, so if you have two aims, each aim should have its own objectives. The literature review should be based on the research problem. Literature review means finding out what others have said about your research problem, so you need to look for those who support your view and those who refute your views. This is what is meant by critical review of literature. You must review at least 10 different articles. Please note that explaining concepts and theories is not considered a literature review, as this should have been done in your research project description. Within the Research methodology, you should briefly explain qualitative and qualitative methods and their techniques, sampling techniques, how the data would be collected and analysed [P2.2]. Remember to justify your use of a particular method and technique. As a researcher you need to be aware of research ethics (Please submit the research ethics form as shown in Appendix II). Your research plan should include the research process activities and task dates, for example you must submit this in the form of a GANNT Chart.  To achieve M1 complex problems with more than one variable have been explored in formulating a research proposal and specifying the objectives. If the proposal is approved, you will then need to develop a dissertation consisting of five chapters - 1) Introduction 2) Literature review 3) Methodology 4) Data analysis and 5) Conclusion LO1, Task 1A: LO1 Understand how to formulate a research specification (Chapter 1) this will be the Introduction chapter for the whole assignment where you will state clearly the rationale for the research, that is, what the research is about. You will also provide clear statements of research aims and objectives. Consider answering these questions – what make this research important? What do previous research on the topic say? How would this research add to knowledge? What do you intend to find out? [P1.1, P1.2] LO 1, Task 1B: LO1 Understand how to formulate a research specification (Chapter 2) Identify Relevant Literature related to your chosen topic and undertake a critical review of key references, including appropriate theories and concepts. [P1.3, M2, D1] This is the chapter in which you will review literature to know what other researcher have discovered on issues related to your topic. Your literature review should be rigorous and detailed as you consider various arguments, theories, methodologies, and findings expressed in the literature. You must keep the focus on literature that are relevant to your research topic. Note: You should cite and reference all supporting arguments with sources using Harvard System of Referencing.  To achieve M2 a range of methods and techniques have been applied in reviewing current relevant literature and appropriate theories and concepts have been used.  To achieve D1, the validity of results has been evaluated using defined criteria when undertaking a critical review of the literature LO 1, Task 1C: LO1 Understand how to formulate a research specificationPage 4 of 20 1. Produce a clear research project specification [P1.4] 2. Provide an appropriate plan and procedures, including a time schedule for carrying out the agreed research (GANNT Chart can be used if necessary – see Appendix III) specification. [P1.5] Note: You need to consider the relevant sources of data i.e. primary and secondary, and outline and justify the proposed methods using appropriate sampling methods to collect data within the context of validity and reliability. Task 2: LO2 Be able to implement the research project within agreed procedures and to specification Based on the methodology you described in your research proposal (Task 1), carry out the investigation, and match the resources efficiently in your research question [P2.1]. Undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed specification and procedures [P2.2]. Record and collate the data based on the research question [P2.3]. Use appropriate research techniques to analyse your data. Research methodology can be broadly divided into quantitative and qualitative approaches. There are various methods for conducting research. If you want to understand the general pattern of a certain health issue in the population e.g. the salt consumption pattern in UK, i.e. whether British people consume more salt in their diet compared to say Nigerians, Romanians, Bangladeshis, or/and other ethnic groups. Such a study can be regarded as an ecological study. However, if your aim is to understand an association or lack of association between a risk factor (e.g. smoking), and a disease (e.g. lung cancer), or an association or lack of it between an intervention (e.g. exercise), and outcome (e.g. loss of weight), then you could do this in three ways; 1) you can either conduct a cross-sectional study, or 2) a cohort study or 3) a case-control study. In this case, a cross-sectional study is when you use some data which was generated not for research purposes e.g. all records of people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK, then you are conducting a cross-sectional study. A cohort, on the other hand is when you want to follow-up a group of people e.g. all babies born in year 2000 and observe the association between occurrence of infection among them e.g. mumps and risk of developing childhood cancer e.g. leukaemia. A case-control study is when you compare the frequency of a risk factor (e.g. drinking alcohol) among those who have a particular disease (e.g. liver cirrhosis) – hence cases vs those who do not have the disease (hence controls). Such studies as indicated above, can also be used to understand effectiveness of treatments or public health interventions. Sometimes, one does not need to conduct a primary study to investigate associations between risk factors and disease or interventions and outcome. One might instead try to understand this from published studies (secondary data) on the subject of interest. In this case, you would be conducting a review. However, it is not always that our research interest is to understand distribution of risk factors for disease or to explore associations, sometimes we want to understand why something is happening. For example, if we are giving patients some treatment in tablet form or applying as an ointment on the skin etc. We might want to understand why some patients are complying with the treatment, while others are throwing the pills under the pillow and not taking the treatment as prescribed. In this case, a study which aims to understand in-depth reasons behind this behaviours and the meanings people attached to it can be called a qualitative study. On the other hand a quantitative approach can be applied if you wish to carry out statistical analysis of the opinions of service users at a care home on whether they are satisfied with the care provided. You can ask them to express their relative agreement with statements and answer on a five-point scale, e.g. 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree and 5 is strongly agree.Page 5 of 20 Task 3: LO3 Be able to evaluate the research outcomes Interpret and analyse the results of the data analysis from Task 2 in terms of the original research proposal (research objectives and/or hypotheses, if any) and make recommendations to solve the research problem identified in task 1. You should also justify areas for further consideration. [P 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, M3, D3]  To achieve M3, you will need to use the appropriate structure and statistical techniques to analyse your data.  To achieve D3, Ideas have been generated and decisions taken when evaluating the research outcomes. Task 4: Be able to evaluate the research outcomes Use an agreed format and appropriate media to present the outcomes of the research to an audience [P4.1, D2]  To achieve D2, Substantial activities, projects or investigations have been planned, managed and organised when presenting your research project including your results during your presentation in a timely manner Your completed project should now be presented to your health and social care academic supervisor in a report format. Your research project outline should include the following: Research Title Abstract Acknowledgements Content page Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Research project description (brief overview of nature of project) [P1.1, P1.2] 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives [P1.1] 1.3 Literature review (critical review of key references) [P1.1, 1.3] 1.4 Research methodology [P1.1, 1.4] Chapter 2: Literature review [P1.3] 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Literature review Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Methodology, Methods and Techniques [P2.2] 3.2 Sampling [P2.2] 3.3 Data collection (Description of how data would be collected [P2.2] 3.4 Ethical considerations Chapter 4 Data Collection and Analysis 4.1 Data Collection [P2.3] 4.2 Data Analysis and Discussion [P3.2] Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusions [P3.3] 5.2 Recommendations [P3.3] 5.3 Areas for further study (or consideration) [P3.3] References AppendicesPage 6 of 20 Relevant Information 1. Outcome of the Unit On successful completion of this unit a learner will: Assessment criteria for pass: To achieve each outcome a learner must demonstrate Questions reflecting the Learning Outcome LO1 Understand how to formulate a research specification 1.1 formulate and record possible research project outline specifications 1.2 identify the factors that contribute to the process of research project selection 1.3 undertake a critical review of key references 1.4 produce a research project specification 1.5 provide an appropriate plan and procedures for the agreed research specification TASK 1 LO2 Be able to implement the research project within agreed procedures and to specifications 2.1Match resources efficiently to the research question or hypothesis. 2.2 Undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed specification and procedures 2.3Record and collate relevant data where appropriate TASK 2 LO3 Be able to evaluate the research outcome 3.1 Use appropriate research evaluation techniques 3.2 Interpret and analyze the results in terms of the original research specification 3.3 Make recommendations and justify areas for further consideration TASK 3 LO4 Be able to present the research outcomes 4.1Use an agreed format and appropriate media to present the outcomes of the research to an audience TASK 4 2. Grading Criteria for Merit and Distinction of this courseworkPage 7 of 20 Merit (M1, M2, M3) Distinction (D1, D2, D3) Descriptors Indicative characteristics Descriptors Indicative characteristics M1 Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solution Pass requirements achieved  complex problems with more than one variable have been explored  an effective approach to study and research has been applied D1 Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions Pass and Merit requirements achieved  Conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified  Self-criticism of approach has taken place M2 Select/design and apply appropriate methods/techniques  Relevant theories and techniques have been applied  A range of sources of information has been used  A range of methods and techniques have been applied  The selection of methods and techniques/sources has been justified  Complex information/data has been synthesised and processed D2 Take responsibility for managing and organising activities  Autonomy/independence has been demonstrated  Substantial activities, projects or investigations have been planned, managed and organised M3 Present and communicate appropriate findings  The appropriate structure and approach has been used  A range of methods of presentation has been used and technical language have been accurately used D3 Demonstrate convergent/ lateral/ creative thinking  Ideas have been generated and decisions taken  Self-evaluation has taken place  Problems have been solved Guide to student 3. Preparation guidelines of the Coursework Document a. All coursework must be word processed. b. Document margins must not be more than 2.54 cm (1 inch) or less than 1.9cm (3/4 inch). c. Font size must be within the range of 10 point to 14 point including the headings and body text (preferred font size is 11). d. Standard and commonly used type face such as Arial should be used. e. All figures, graphs and tables must be numbered. f. Material taken from external sources must be properly refereed and cited within the text using Harvard standard g. Do not use Wikipedia as a reference. 4. Plagiarism and Collusion Any act of plagiarism or collusion will be seriously dealt with according to the College regulations. In this context the definition and scope of plagiarism and collusion are presented below: Plagiarism is presenting somebody else's work as your own. It includes copying information directly from the Web or books without referencing the material; submitting joint coursework as an individual effort. Collusion is copying another student's coursework; stealing coursework from anotherPage 8 of 20 student and submitting it as your own work. Suspected plagiarism or collusion will be investigated and if found to have occurred will be dealt with according to the college procedure. (For details on Plagiarism & Collusion please see the student hand book) 5. Submission a. Initial submission of coursework to the tutors is compulsory in each unit of the course. b. Student must check their assignments on ICON VLE with plagiarism software Turnitin to make sure the similarity index for their assignment stays within the College approved level. A student can check the similarity index of their assignment three times in the Draft Assignment submission point located in the home page of the ICON VLE. c. All Final coursework must be submitted to the Final submission point into the unit (not to the Tutor). A student would be allowed to submit only once and that is the final submission. d. Any computer files generated such as program code (software), graphic files that form part of the coursework must be submitted as an attachment to the assignment with all documentation. e. Any portfolio for a unit must be submitted as a hardcopy to examination office. f. The student must attach a tutor's comment in between the cover page and the answer in the case of Resubmission. 6. Good practice a. Make backup of your work in different media (hard disk, memory stick etc.) to avoid distress for loss or damage of your original copy. 7. Extension and Late Submission a. If you need an extension for a valid reason, you must request one using an Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances (EEC) form available from the College examination office and ICON VLE. Please note that the lecturers do not have the authority to extend the coursework deadlines and therefore do not ask them to award a coursework extension. The completed form must be accompanied by evidence such as a medical certificate in the event of you being sick. b. Late submission will be accepted and marked according to the college procedure. It is noted that late submission may not be graded for Merit and Distinction. c. All Late coursework must be submitted to the late submission point into the unit (not to the Tutor). A student would be allowed to submit only once and that is the final submission. 8. Submission deadlines Online to the ICON VLE only Formative feedback Week 12 Presentation Week 10 - 12 Final submission 09 – 14 Jan 2017 Late submission 16 -21 Jan 2017Page 9 of 20 9. Glossary: Analyse Identify separate factors, say how they are related and how each one contributes to the topic. Appraise Consider the positive and negative points and give a reasoned judgement. Assess To determine the importance, size, or value of something OR give careful consideration to all factors or events that apply and identify which are the most important or relevant. Compare Identify the main factors that apply in two or more situations and explain the similarities and differences or advantages and disadvantages. Comment Give your view after you have considered all the evidence. In particular decide the importance of all the relevant positive and negative aspects. Criticise Review a topic or issue objectively and weigh up both positive and negative points before making a decision. Demonstrate Provide several relevant examples or related evidence which clearly support the arguments you are making. This may include showing practical skills. Design Create a plan, proposal or outline to illustrate a relatively complex concept or idea. Describe Give a clear description that includes all the relevant features – think of it as 'painting a picture with words'. Define Clearly explain what a particular term means and give an example, if appropriate to show what you mean. Draw Use the evidence you have provided to reach a reasoned judgement. Conclusions Explain Set out in detail the meaning of something, with reasons. More difficult than describe or list; it can help to give an example to show what you mean. Start by introducing the topic then give the 'how' or 'why'. OR provide details and give reasons and/or evidence to clearly support the argument you are making. Evaluate Review the information then bring it together to form a conclusion. Give evidence for each of your views or statements. Identify Point out or choose the right one / give a list of the main features. Illustrate Include examples or a diagram to show what you mean. Interpret Define or explain the meaning of something. (words, actions, etc.) Justify Give reasons or evidence to support your opinion or view to show how you arrived at these conclusions. List Provide the information in a list, rather than in continuous writing. Outline Write a clear description; give a summary of / a general plan showing essential features but no detail. Plan Work out and plan how you would carry out a task or activity. State Provide a clear and full account in speech or writing. Summarise Write down or articulate briefly the main points or essential features.Page 10 of 20 Appendix I ICON College of Technology and Management RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM Programme Level 5 HND in Health and Social Care Surname Forename(s) Student ID Email address Department Health and Social Care Working title of your proposed research This is intended to help you reflect on possible issues of ethical concern arising from your proposed research project. 1. Research project description (brief overview of nature of project) 2. Aims: What do you want to do or achieve in your dissertation? What issue do you want to consider or analyse? It might start like this, To critically analyse or evaluate /explore/ investigate /examine the … Objectives - What steps will you take to achieve the aim of the dissertation? How do you intend to analyse the issue? Give at least three (3). They might start like this: To identify /outline /consider/ explore/ examine/ the 3. Literature Review What information would you require examine to synthesise in terms of published literature to justify your argument about the issues and objectives to be achieved? Attach a list of reference related to the key sources of literature. 4. Research methodology 5. Ethical IssuesPage 11 of 20 Does your proposed research involve any of the following? • Deception of participants? No • Financial inducements? No • Possible psychological stress? No • Access to confidential information? No • Any other special circumstances? No • Any other ethical and regions issues No 6. Any other information Does your proposed research involve any of the following? Time management plan GANTT CHART See Appendix of example of Gantt chart FEEDBACK FROM THE RESEARCH PROJECT SUPERVISOR/TUTOR Name Date APPROVAL FOR RESEARCH PROJECT APPROVAL FROM RESEARCH PROJECT SUPERVISOR/TUTOR Name DatePage 12 of 20 ReferencesPage 13 of 20 ICON College of Technology and Management Appendix II Ethics Approval Form for use by students on Research Projects Programme HND in Health and Social Care Surname Forename(s) Student ID Email address Department Health and Social Care Working title of your proposed research Ethical approval must be obtained by all students before the start of research with human subjects, animals or human tissue. The student must discuss the content of their application form with their project supervisor who will advise them about revisions. A final copy of the application form will then be agreed and the student and supervisor will sign it off. This form must be completed electronically and the sections can be expanded to the size required; a copy of the final agreed version must be printed by the student and submitted to the supervisor SECTION A – to be completed by ALL applicants Student's name: Programme of study: Health and Social Care Supervisor: Is the project purely literature based? Yes: Please complete section A only and sign where indicated on page 4 No: Please complete all questions in sections A & B, and sign where indicated on page 4Page 14 of 20 1. Title of proposed research project 2. Project objectives – maximum of four 1. To ………. 2. To ………. 3. To ……….Page 15 of 20 3. Proposed research methodology. (Also indicate the project duration; alternatively, a project schedule can be attached as an appendixPage 16 of 20 SECTION B USE OF HUMAN/ANIMAL SUBJECTS/TISSUE 4. The following checklist is to help students and supervisors easily identify projects where there is a significant ethical dimension (Type 3). Students whose projects are identified as such will be expected to provide more extensive answers to the questions in the remainder of this form. One or more ticks in the 'Yes' column in this section indicates that the project is very likely to be Level 3, with significant ethical dimension RISK OF HARM AND RELATED ISSUES Yes No Is there any realistic risk of any participants experiencing either physical or psychological distress or discomfort? Are drugs, placebos or other substances (e.g. food substances, vitamins) to be administered to the study participants? Is there any possible risk to the researcher (e.g. working alone with participants, interviewing in secluded or dangerous places)? Will participants undergo sound exposure beyond the normal limits? Does the project require the use of hazardous substances or radiation? Does your project involve work with blood/human/animal tissue? VULNERABLE GROUPS AND FINANCIAL INDUCEMENTS Will financial inducements (other than reasonable expenses and compensation for time) be offered to participants? Do participants fall into any of the following special groups? (tick all that apply)  Children (under 18 years of age);  People with learning difficulties or communication difficulties;  People who speak a different language;  Patients or clinical populations and/or their carers;  Pregnant women or research on conception or contraception;  People in custody or any form of detention;  People engaged in illegal activities (e.g. drug-taking) OTHER Are there any other potential significant ethical issues not covered above? If Yes, please give details:Page 17 of 20 5. If you are going to work within a particular organisation do they have their own procedures for gaining ethical approval – for example, within a hospital or health centre? 6. Are you going to approach individuals to be involved in your research? YES/NO (If YES, indicate how you will ensure you gain informed consent from anyone involved in the study) 7. How many subjects will be recruited/involved in the study/research? What is the rationale behind this number? 8. Are there any other ethical issues that need to be considered? 9. Are there any data protection issues that you need to address? YES / NO (delete as appropriate and explain response) In signing this form I certify that the above information is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate and correct. I understand the need to ensure I undertake my research in a manner that reflects good principles of ethical research practice. Signed by Student: Date: In signing this form I confirm that I have read and agreed the contents and I am satisfied that the project can proceed subject to approval by the Icon College Ethical Approval Panel for Research Projects. Signed by Supervisor: ……………………………………………………… Date: NB: The ethical and efficient conduct of research by students is the direct responsibility of the supervisor. Please submit the application form along with appropriate supporting documentation such as questionnaires, interview guides, and other data collection instruments (if applicable).Page 18 of 20 Initial assessment by project supervisor: This project is deemed to be: Routine project work. No ethical approval required. Routine project work involving human/non-human subjects/tissue where ethical issues have been considered and appropriately addressed. Project where there is a significant ethical dimension. Internal verifier Dr Marcus Chilaka Signature (IV of the brief) Dr Marcus Chilaka Date 31/08/2016 Type 1 Type 2 Type 3Page 19 of 20ICON College of Technology and Management Appendix III Task Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Formulate Research Proposal (LO1) Formulate Research Proposal (TASK 1A) Research Methodology (Task 1B) Identify Relevant Literature ( Task 1C) Implementation of Research Project (LO2) Questionnaire Design (Task 2A) Data collection and Report (Task 2B) Evaluation of Research Outcomes (LO3) Data Analysis of Results (Task 3A/3B) Present Findings & Discussion (LO4) Presentation (Task 4)