The synthesis: An innovative approach to student research

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Author(s)
Molineux, Matthew
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2009
Metadata
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Background: Although there is an expectation for health practitioners to be able to use research to inform their practice, opportunities for students to actually plan, conduct and report a research project are diminishing. Students are less able to gain first-hand experience of research as a result of demands to include more in curricula, and increasingly rigorous and time-consuming ethical review procedures. It is important, therefore, for health educators to explore different research methods and approaches. Content: This article proposes the synthesis, an entirely literature-based approach, as a method to enable students ...
View more >Background: Although there is an expectation for health practitioners to be able to use research to inform their practice, opportunities for students to actually plan, conduct and report a research project are diminishing. Students are less able to gain first-hand experience of research as a result of demands to include more in curricula, and increasingly rigorous and time-consuming ethical review procedures. It is important, therefore, for health educators to explore different research methods and approaches. Content: This article proposes the synthesis, an entirely literature-based approach, as a method to enable students to plan and conduct a research project. It is more than a literature review in that it requires students to synthesize material from two previously unrelated fields. As a result it is possible to shine a new light on issues facing health-care professionals and their patients/clients, by bringing new ways of thinking to issues. Conclusions: Although the synthesis is a nascent concept in student health professional education, it has the potential to offer students first-hand experience of the research process, and so contribute to their development as research aware professionals.
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View more >Background: Although there is an expectation for health practitioners to be able to use research to inform their practice, opportunities for students to actually plan, conduct and report a research project are diminishing. Students are less able to gain first-hand experience of research as a result of demands to include more in curricula, and increasingly rigorous and time-consuming ethical review procedures. It is important, therefore, for health educators to explore different research methods and approaches. Content: This article proposes the synthesis, an entirely literature-based approach, as a method to enable students to plan and conduct a research project. It is more than a literature review in that it requires students to synthesize material from two previously unrelated fields. As a result it is possible to shine a new light on issues facing health-care professionals and their patients/clients, by bringing new ways of thinking to issues. Conclusions: Although the synthesis is a nascent concept in student health professional education, it has the potential to offer students first-hand experience of the research process, and so contribute to their development as research aware professionals.
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Journal Title
International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation
Volume
16
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2009 MA Healthcare. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Clinical sciences