This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

HSC3132 - Action in public health research

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Organisational Unit

Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine

Coordinator(s)

Dr Ewan MacFarlane

Quota applies

This unit is quota restricted. To be considered for entry to HSC3132 students must have attained an average of at least 70% across level 2 HSC units. Entry is competitive and based on academic performance. Meeting the minimum entry requirement does not guarantee entry and final enrolment is at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator.

Offered

Caulfield

Second semester 2016 (Day)

Notes

Students are required to attend induction sessions in the week prior to the start of semester.

Synopsis

This unit provides an opportunity for high achieving students to experience public health research in practice. Application forms for this unit can be obtained from med-sphpm-ug@monash.edu. A strict quota applies and entry is based on academic performance. Students will be placed with a current public health/epidemiological research project and will undertake specific tasks within the project as well as being exposed to the broader research environment. The specific tasks undertaken will vary, but may include, for example, dealing with recruitment of study participants, data collection and management and analysis of findings. Students will apply research skills acquired in years 1 and 2 of their degree, in areas such as dealing with bias and confounding, developing data collection tools, managing and analyzing data, and ethical practices in the research environment. Students will prepare oral and written presentations relating to: their specific task/s; the research project with which they are working; and the research process more generally. This unit is particularly designed for students who are considering a research career, via an Honours degree and postgraduate study.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

Apply knowledge and skills of research design, methodology and data analysis in the practice of public health/epidemiological research
Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the practical and methodological issues in conducting public health/epidemiological research
Critically reflect on the skills required for good research practice, including professional, ethical and practical issues
Present oral and written reports of research processes and research outcomes.

Assessment

First oral presentation (10 mins) (15%)
Written assignment (1,500 words) (20%)
Final oral presentation (20 mins) (15%)
Final written report (3,000 words) (35%)
Supervisor's assessment, including attendance (15%)

Hurdle: Progress report checklist signed by both the student and supervisor.

Workload requirements

12 hours of on-site research work and private study per week. Students are also required to attend induction sessions in the week prior to the start of semester.