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PHTY40990

Academic Year 2026/2027

Applied Research for Health Professionals (PHTY40990)

Subject:
Physiotherapy
College:
Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
Public Hlth, Phys & Sports Sci
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Tara Cusack
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
Module Type:
Fieldwork Module
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module builds on the ‘Introduction to Research for Health Professional’ module delivered in the previous semester. In this module, students will further develop their research knowledge and fieldwork skills by continuing to work on their pre-formulated research question from last semester, participate in data collection and analysis, analyse the results and write a scientific paper based upon this research. The research questions may pertain to (but are not limited to) assessment or treatment techniques, healthcare pathways, knowledge or understanding, attitudes or beliefs amongst clinicians or students on specific aspects of healthcare, healthcare professional education and other areas . Students will strengthen their understanding of the methodological approaches used to write a scientific paper, as the research findings will be prepared in a format suitable for submission to a scientific journal for submission.Scientific writing skills will be refined as clear, structured, and simple communication is expected in the transmission of scientific findings. Creative skills will also be employed as the research findings will also be presented as a poster for dissemination of results at a research conference. Students will work independently and in assigned teams throughout this module.

Throughout the above process students will gain an understanding of good clinical practice in the conduct of research and scientific rigor ensuring the integrity of results and transparency in the reporting of results. This module will give the student a further appreciation of evidence-informed practice and the necessary skills to undertake research.


Mapped to CORU SoP: 5.5, 5.6, 5.29

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Strengthen research skills by undertaking a scientific writing exercise in a self-directed, professional manner that displays appropriate team working ability.
2. Gain a greater understanding of the components of good clinical practice in the conduct of research
3. Further develop you scientific writing skills
4. Articulate and situate a research question by identifying current knowledge gaps
5. Write a succinct methodology section that allows replication.
6. Analyse a dataset using statistical approaches appropriate to the properties of the data collected and interpret the results appropriately.
7. Write a discussion section which analyses and interprets the results, addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the research, discusses the implications of findings and explores how these findings compare with the existing literature.
8. Prepare research materials in a format suitable for submission to a scientific journal for publication and for presentation at a scientific conference in poster format.

Indicative Module Content:

Writing a scientific paper
Preparing a scientific poster
Identifying target journals and audiences
Scientific writing workshops
Data analysis workshop

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

192
Lectures

2
Small Group

6
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The students will primarily work in peer supported groups to craft a scientific paper and an abstract and poster for conference presentation.
A lecture on dissemination of research findings will be provided supported by an interactive workshop.
Tutor led writing workshops will support writing chunks that include introduction, methods, results sections of their papers.

AI/Academic Integrity:
Staff may utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) during the programme to support teaching and learning and it will be clearly indicated if and when AI is used. Students are prohibited from representing work as their own that they did not write, code or create. Submission of AI-generated content to this module by a student without explicit permission and attribution is not allowed and it may reflect unacceptable professional behaviour. This may result in the initiation of a student disciplinary procedure in accordance with the “University Student Code of Conduct and Academic Integrity Policy.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Students will individually submit an abstract and poster presentation for a selected scientific conference of their choosing. Week 12 Graded No
30
 Yes
Group Work Assignment: A group assignment that details and justifies a scientific journal they will target for publication of their research project; a foreword to the manuscript, an abstract, a paper and appendices Week 11 Graded Yes
70
 Yes

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Writing and data-analsyis workshops will allow students to work in groups and receive feedback from peers and the tutor on work in progress. Students will have the opportunity for formal feedback from their research mentors provided on a once-off basis for each of the following components; The introduction section to their scientific paper The methods section in their scientific paper The results section in their scientific paper Note: no feedback is provided on the discussion section of the paper

http://www.casp-uk.net
http://www.cochrane.org/training/cochrane-handbook
http://www.consort-statement.org/
https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/coreq
http://www.equator-network.org/resource-centre/library-of-health-research-reporting/rep
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Utilities/Documentrecord/index.htm?d=MRC0033
https://world.physio/policy/ps-research
http://www.prisma-statement.org/
https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/

Name Role
Dr Fiona Curran Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Hamish Fleming Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Gráinne O'Donoghue Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25 Fri 11:00 - 12:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 31 Fri 14:00 - 15:50
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