| CODE | OCT4100 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Dissertation | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 12 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Occupational Therapy | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit introduces the students to the research process under the supervision and guidance of an academic supervisor. The student will undertake an empirical study and report findings in a dissertation of 9,000 words and a poster. The final report, a dissertation, will comprise the following chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion. The chosen project must be of relevance to the occupational therapy profession, must make use of an appropriate methodology and must be achievable within the available resources and time-frames. The poster will constitute a total of 20% of the final mark awarded for this study-unit. Candidates must obtain a pass in the dissertation (80%) for an overall pass mark to be awarded. Study-Unit Aims: The aims of the study-unit are to set up the student on a small scale empirical research study under the guidance of an appointed supervisor. The candidate will embark on a research trajectory after their proposal and, earlier, a research plan have been approved by a subcommittee of the Board of Studies that vets students' undergraduate research initiative submissions. The purpose of the study-unit is to enable the student to develop academically and professionally by undertaking all the requirements associated with empirical research within the bounds of the study-unit including developing research question/s, selecting or devising a data collection tool, seeking institutional approval from a research site and obtaining approval from UREC and eventuality executing the research project. The dissertation is the ideal setting that supports the student to develop skills in reporting and synthesising various sources and components of discourse including extant evidence and the findings of the project itself. The poster presentation is the opportunity for the candidate to verbalise the research and findings to peers. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Appreciate and understand the relevance of the research process; - Frame an area of potential research interest and devise search strategies to gather evidence around it; - Identify a conceptual framework for their study; - Develop an in-depth understanding of their area of inquiry and appreciate its implication within the wider context of occupational therapy practice; - Understand ethical issues in health research; - Understand the various methodological approaches, select one for the project and provide a rationale for its use; - Establish a data collection strategy using a recognised method; - Critically reflect on the experience of conducting research. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Implement literature search strategies to develop a background for the study; - Create a rationale, clearly identifying the requirement for the research and the gap in knowledge and practice that it can potentially address; - Construct a literature review based on collated literature and evidence; - Practice the established method of data collection in planned fieldwork; - Administer the apposite method of data analysis to produce the results; - Construct a discussion tract that frames the results within the available research evidence and that clearly illustrates the implications for professional practice and future research; - Integrate the various written tracts of the research into a dissertation following an approved format and using the approved citation system; - Create a poster that succinctly captures the research project highlighting the main findings; - Argue and articulate the findings of their research in a forum set up for the presentation of the poster. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Dissertation guidelines (offered by the Department of Occupational Therapy). - Agresti, A. (2023). Statistical methods for the social sciences. Pearson. - Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE. - Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2022). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications. - Law, M., & MacDermid, J. (2024). Evidence-based rehabilitation: A guide to practice. Taylor & Francis. - Polgar, S., & Thomas, S. A. (2019). Introduction to research in the health sciences. Elsevier Health Sciences. - Taylor, R. (2023). Kielhofner's research in occupational therapy: Methods of inquiry for enhancing practice. F.A. Davis. Supplementary Readings: - Agresti, A., Franklin, C. A., & Klingenberg, B. (2017). Statistics: The art and science of learning from data. Pearson Higher Ed. - Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. SAGE. |
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| RULES/CONDITIONS | Before TAKING THIS UNIT YOU MUST TAKE HSC3002 | ||||||||
| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: Entry qualifications University of Malta for undergraduate | ||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Dissertation | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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