This unit provides students with the opportunity to further extend their developing skills in searching, locating and reviewing literature relevant to osteopathic practice by introducing them to the process of critical appraisal. Students will work collaboratively with peers on a systematic search and literature review assignment that requires them to conduct, justify and report the findings of a qualitative and/or quantitative systematic literature search on a topic relevant to osteopathy. Students will appraise statistical methods used in the health sciences to further develop their understanding of the critical appraisal process. This unit consolidates the students’ knowledge of scholarly literature, research processes and evidence relevant to their chosen profession osteopathy, preparing them for entry into the Master of Health Science (Osteopathy).
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Assessments are designed to assess students’ advanced evidence-based practice capabilities through authentic, applied tasks. Assessment Task 1 is a supervised quantitative appraisal and statistics interpretation practical completed in class under invigilated conditions that assesses students’ ability to identify study design and validity issues, interpret key statistical outputs, and make brief practice-focused judgements about clinical applicability. Assessment Task 2 is an integrated portfolio assessment comprising a critical appraisal report and an evidence pack documenting key search decisions, screening and appraisal records and source materials. This assessment will also comprise in-class checkpoints used to provide feedback and help verify progress and student understanding. Assessment Task 3 is a group presentation, including an individual question-and-answer component, in which students present the critical appraisal of findings from a systematic search on a relevant topic, assessing their ability to synthesise and communicate evidence, justify appraisal decisions, and collaboratively present practice-relevant conclusions. Collectively, these assessments evaluate students’ ability to interpret, appraise and communicate research evidence for osteopathic practice in a coherent and professionally meaningful way.
There are no prescribed textbooks for this unit. Students will be provided with an up-to-date reading list via VU Collaborate, including library resources and open educational resources where appropriate.
This unit is studied as part of the following course(s):