Research and Evidence Based Veterinary Nursing VETMED4023

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: School of Biodiversity One Health Vet Med
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: No
  • Taught Wholly by Distance Learning: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

This course will introduce students to the concepts of theoretical and practical research using relevant examples from veterinary nursing / medicine. It will cover what research is and why it is carried out; the basic elements of the research process; and types of research (quantitative, qualitative and mixed); and the theory and interpretation of statistical analyses. Following on from this, students will be shown how to: access research, find and evaluate evidence, carry out literature searches, utilise evidence in their own writing / studying and develop their own research questions.

Timetable

There will be online lectures with course staff across 10 weeks in Semester 1.

Requirements of Entry

None

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Knowledge summary proposal and literature review (40%, 1500 words).

Critique their chosen papers and produce a knowledge summary written in publication format (60%, 2000 words).

Course Aims

The aims of this course are to:

■ Give students the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of research processes and literature within veterinary nursing and other relevant subjects that are available to them.

■ Equip students with skills on how to find, select, evaluate and utilise literature and research for their own studies, including the how to interpret statistical findings.

■ Enable students' to apply their knowledge of underpinning theories in veterinary nursing practice and research methodology from the literature to develop their own research questions, future studies and practice based projects.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically evaluate the research process and associated quantitative or qualitative methods.

■ Critically interrogate literature relevant to veterinary nursing to generate new ideas and recommend new practices based on evidence.

■ Critically reflect upon personal experiences within clinical veterinary practice and relate this to theoretical research in the field to generate novel research questions.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.