Department of Health and Social Care

Unit 22 Research Methodology for Health and Social Care

Task/Challenge Brief

BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care

Year 12
Unit Title
Unit 22 Research Methodology for Health and Social Care
Assessment Title:
Conducting a Research Project
Deadline Date: Friday 24
th
May 2014- Friday 19
th
September 2014
Task No: P1- D2
Outcomes to be
achieved:
1 Understand the function of research in health and social care
2 Understand ethical issues relating to research in health and social care
3 Understand research methodologies relevant to health and social care
4 Be able to plan for a research project
5 Be able to conduct research relevant to a health and social care context
6 Be able to interpret research findings.

Assessment Criteria

P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6
M1 M2 M3 M4
D1 D2




Task Checker and Presentation Expectations
Mark off each task as you complete it
TASK Brief description of it Done it?
P1 Assignment on function of research
P2 Assignment including ethics
P3 Report on methodologies
P4 Plan for Research Project
P5 Carrying out research project
P6 Interpreting Data
M1 Assignment on function of research on chosen area of interest
M2 Justification of research method in report
M3 Reporting strengths and weaknesses of RP
M4 Assessing findings of RP in report
D1 Assessing research methods based on validity
D2 Evaluating overall research project



Presentation standards
All work must be hole punched into your folder wallet
All work must be in order of assignments.
Your mark sheet must be at the top of all your work, followed on the next page by
your own front cover.
You must sign the mark sheet where it says Student signature
All work must have the correct title number e.g. P1
There must be no plastic wallets anywhere in your work.
Work can be word processed or hand written.
All quotes are in bold with a reference.
All sources must be highlighted in the bibliography.
You must include a bibliography and appendixes at the very back.


PASS- Everyone must complete all the 6 pass tasks to achieve a grade E.
MERIT- For students targeted C and those who want to try the extra challenge!
DISTINCTION-For students targeted A and those who want to try the extra challenge

Unit 22- Research Methodology for Health and Social Care









Research in Health and Social Care is
essential to ensure that the best
quality care is provided for the
service users that access services to
meet their individual needs.
As part of your BTEC level 3 course,
you are required by your course tutor
to carry out a research project
focusing on an area of interest to you
within the health and social care
sectors.
To ensure that you conduct your
research effectively, you will
undertake a number of tasks to
increase the validity and reliability of
In order to pass this unit you are expected to complete 4 assignments. Each assignment is
broken down into separate tasks that will meet all of the grading criteria in order to pass the
unit.
You have been prepared for your coursework tasks by learning about each topic in class. You will
find that your class work will help you to complete each task and understand it better.
You can find your first task on the next page.
Learning Outcomes:
1 Understand the function of research in health and social care
2 Understand ethical issues relating to research in health and social care
3 Understand research methodologies relevant to health and social care
4 Be able to plan for a research project
5 Be able to conduct research relevant to a health and social care context
6 Be able to interpret research findings.


ASSIGNMENT 1
P1 Explain the function of research in health and social care

Write an assignment on the functions of research, including the key concepts covered.
Function: identify need; highlight gaps in provision; plan provision; inform policy or practice;
extend knowledge and understanding; improve practice; aid reflection; allow progress to be
monitored; examine topics of contemporary importance

M1 Discuss the function of research in a chosen area of interest

Within the assignment, discuss in depth the function of research, specifically to your chosen subject
area, including the importance of it.

P2 Discuss ethical issues relating to research in the health and social care sectors

In the final part of your assignment, discuss the ethical issues that have to be considered when
conducting research, including examples of ethical issues that have been highlighted in the media.
Ethical principles: protection from harm (do no harm); informed consent (voluntary);
confidentiality; obtaining ethical approval
Ethical issues: human rights; role of the media; use and misuse of data; vulnerability of client
groups
Implications: of ethics, eg who commissions research, authenticity, validity, reliability, impact of
key reports on services and people who use services, consequences/benefits of findings,
effect/influence of publications, access to information
Legislation and policy: Human Rights Act; Data Protection Act; sector codes of practice; policies
and procedures


ASSIGNMENT 2

P3 Compare different research methodologies for health and social care

Write a detailed report on research methodologies; include comparisons of the methods, inclusive
of their strengths and weaknesses.
Types of research: quantitative; qualitative; primary; secondary
Primary sources: questionnaires; structured and unstructured interviews; scientific experiment;
formal and informal observation; measurements
Secondary sources: information literacy, eg website, journals, media, books, e-resources;
literature review, eg extract information, interpret, analyse, synthesis; data, eg graphs, tables,
statistics

D1 Assess research methodologies with regard to ensuring validity of findings

Using the information from your report, include examples of how to ensure validity using the
different research methods and make a judgement on which method carries the most validity.









ASSIGNMENT 3

P4 Plan a research project

Using all of the information that you have gathered so far, create a plan for your research project,
including the following key concepts below.
Planning: action plan, timescales; methodology; target group; consent
Topic: selection, eg subject, question, hypothesis, rationale; relevance to sector, achievable,
realistic

This should also include
a question or hypothesis for study
research aims and objectives
rationale
proposed methods of data collection
proposed secondary resources
people involved
breakdown/timing
Other considerations for example ethical issues, potential problems or risks.

M2 Justify the research methodologies chosen for the project


ASSIGNMENT 4

P5 Carry out the planned research project

Carry out your planned research project, ensure that you have your data collected, a witness
statement in preparation for analysing your data.
Conduct research: secondary sources; data collection; monitoring, modification


ASSIGNMENT 5

P6 -Report findings and conclusions from the research project.
Write a report discussing your results from your research project. Using the data collected, present
your raw data in a variety of representations. Then analyse it comparing your results to your
background research and original question.
Analysis: methods of eg use of IT software for processing statistical information; compiling data,
presentation of data, triangulation, graphical representation
Data: representation and interpretation, eg tables, graphs, bar charts, histograms, pie charts,
mean, median, mode

M3 Assess strengths and weaknesses of the research project in meeting the aims or hypothesis
M4 Assess findings of the research project in relation to the original hypothesis.

D2 Evaluate how the research project could have been improved.
In the final part of your report, evaluate your whole research project, making explicit links to your
original research question.
Evaluation: drawing conclusions, compare with aims, ethical considerations, bias, error,
relationship of results to current research, limitations of research, strengths and weaknesses,
potential areas for further development, implications for the sector, recommendations



Internal Verifiers approval to use with students
Comments:






IVs Name: IVs Signature: Date:




Resubmission date (final deadline):
Interim comments
Strong areas of your assignment were:










Areas for further development are:











Student Action
Please include SMART action points to enable student to achieve aspirational grades





Assessor : Date:
Internal verifier: Date:
End of Unit Final Resubmission Date: