Postgraduate - UnitEDF5693 - Using and evaluating research evidence

Research evidence is called upon in a range of contexts to guide and inform policies and practices. This unit focuses on the evidence that is used to make claims, builds students' abilities to evaluate and assess different forms of evidence, and recognises how they may guide choices and decision-making in professional contexts. Students will learn to evaluate research evidence based on the perspectives that framed the research approach, the overall research design, the data collection strategies utilised, data analysis, as well as data presentation. It will make reference to the influences of sociocultural contexts on the research design, execution and analysis. Qualitative and quantitative evidence will be included as students learn to contrast the strengths of each form as they are used individually, sequentially or simultaneously. This will include 'traditional' forms of evidence (such as surveys) and emerging ones (such as videos and photographs). Students will develop their skills to evaluate and use research evidence through evaluative work on specific data sets, and they will also be given the opportunity to locate and evaluate evidence in response to a specific concern of relevance to their professional or educational contexts. In this unit, students will develop their abilities to identify the limitations of research evidence in relation to particular issues as well as to harness research evidence effectively to guide recommendations they might propose.