91614 Evaluating TCM: Theory, Practice and Research 1

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Science: Life Sciences
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 99647 Clinic Level 6

Description

This subject provides the essential research methodology foundation for progressing into Evaluating TCM: Theory, Practice and Research 2 (91615). The subject is designed to enable students to develop a solid grasp of the research process in acupuncture, Chinese medicine and the health sciences. It also further develops the students' critical thinking skills and their ability to apply them to clinical practice environments. Together, both this subject and 91615 provide an important foundation for students considering further development of their critical thinking skills through formalised learning pathways in honours, master's (by research) or doctorate research programs. Equally, the subjects provide students with the knowledge, skills and capabilities to engage in evidence-based approaches and evaluations of their own clinical practice and inquiry-oriented approach to clinical assessment and evaluation.

This subject also meets the different standards of the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (CMBA) certification.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

A.	Demonstrate appropriate communication skills in the form of oral presentations and written reports (CMBA 6.2.2)
B.	Critique and evaluate Chinese Medicine (CM) research studies and be able to differentiate between a good CM published article to a poor one (CMBA 6.2.2, 6.3.3)
C.	Interpret and apply the findings from CM research studies to provide evidence based information to your patients and to other health care providers (CMBA 6.2.2)
D.	Recognise the benefits of running an evidence based practice (CMBA 6.2.2, 6.3.3)
E.	Apply your statistical knowledge to help in choosing the appropriate statistical test for the analysis of research data

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes specifically to the development of following course intended learning outcomes:

• Apply: Demonstrate expertise in Chinese medicine’s classical and contemporary theories, research, and clinical health practices to support patient health and wellbeing. (1.1)
• Analyse: Contextualize knowledge in clinical practice, including an integrated biomedical and Chinese medical understanding of pharmacology, human physiology, pathophysiology and differential diagnosis to inform health management strategies, as well as treatment construction and delivery. (1.2)
• Apply: Develop effective problem-focused assessment skills to differentiate diseases and patterns, and apply clinical reasoning to make diagnostic and therapeutic judgements. (2.1)
• Analyse: Evaluate and critically assess research from clinical trials to cultivate an informed, evidence-based approach to clinical practice. (2.2)
• Analyse: Investigate and evaluate clinical experience and research to reflect on and enhance your clinical practice. (4.2)
• Apply: Demonstrate a high level of writing, reading and speaking in English and an ability to engage constructively in conversation with health stakeholders, including community, other health disciplines, and policy makers. (5.1)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

1. Disciplinary knowledge

ETCM 1 will develop a solid knowledge base of the principles and processes in health science research which will be assessed in the in-class quizzes (assessment task 1) and also in the literature evaluation assignment (assessment task 3)

2. Research, Inquiry and Critical Thinking

The importance of research literacy for CM practitioners cannot be overstated. The ability to provide evidence based information to patients and other health care providers is an essential skill for any CM practitioner to have. This graduate attribute is addressed through the critical evaluation and interpretation of data (assessment task 1) and literature evaluations (assessment task 2 and 3)

3. Professional, Ethical and Social Responsibility

(a) Research skills, including database search, evaluating and reviewing published articles and reporting the findings, will be developed during the session through the literature evaluation assignment (assessment task 3)

(b) Computing skills, including data processing, data analysis and graphical literacy are developed through various activities during the computer lab sessions

(c) Teamwork is developed as you work in groups during the practical computer lab sessions and also in your major assignment (assessment task 3)

(d) Ethics and professional conduct in science are learned through lectures where the consequences of plagiarism will be discussed. Your written reports (assessment task 2 and 3) will be tested for originality using plagiarism detection software

4. Reflection, Innovation, Creativity

This attribute is encouraged as you learn how to source good quality research articles. The subject provides the skills required to evaluate and interpret CM research studies and to apply these findings in practice (assessment task 2 and 3)

5. Communication

Three essential skills for a health professional that are addressed are oral presentation skills, listening skills and written report preparation. These are assessed through the literature evaluation assignment and written reports (assessment tasks 2 and 3) and performance and participation in group discussions (assessment 4).

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject is divided into two strands: Evaluating Published Research Literature (EPRL) and Making sense of measurement (MSM). You will be introduced to both strands through a series of lectures and tutorials and related pre and post work activities.

Lectures

All lecture notes and pre-work activities will be available on UTSOnline at least one week before the related lecture. You are strongly encouraged to engage in discussions and ask questions to clarify any misunderstanding. Attending lectures is crucial to a full understanding of the subject because they are interactive and stimulate discussion.

To test your understanding of the concepts learned, you will attempt three quizzes (assessment task 1) scheduled in weeks 4, 7 and 12.

Tutorials will help students engage with the content and solidify learning through cases and application of skills learnt.

Specifically these tutorials will focus on:

1. Making Sense of Measurement (MSM)

Data entry and statistical analysis skills are practised in the weekly computer workshops where you will apply the theories covered in the teaching sessions using appropriate software (e.g. Excel and Vassarstats).

2. Evaluating Published Research Literature (EPRL)

You will work individually (assessment task 2) and in groups (assessment task 3) to conduct research and complete your assignments.

Content (topics)

The two strands to the subject can roughly be described as MAKING SENSE OF MEASUREMENT (OBSERVATION) and
EVALUATING PUBLISHED RESEARCH LITERATURE (CRITICAL THOUGHT).

MAKING SENSE OF MEASUREMENT (OBSERVATION)

If we are looking for patterns in data, first, we need to observe and make measurements. Different kinds of information (data) have different characteristics and must be measured in different ways. In research we are interested in relationships between variables: characteristics that can have more than one value or one form (e.g. gender, pain tolerance, weight, blood pressure, age). It turns out that the values for many variables are distributed in similar patterns and so we can use the same summaries to describe these distributions and these help to communicate important findings clearly to others.

Both ETCM1 and ETCM2 explore the range of research designs and kinds of data collections often used in health science research and how to choose the correct statistical tools. An important part of statistics is the graphical and tabular representations of data. You will be expected to develop skills in these descriptive areas. The regular computer laboratories give practical illustrations of summarising and presenting material covered in the Making Sense of Measurement section.

EVALUATING PUBLISHED RESEARCH LITERATURE: CRITICAL THOUGHT

We measure, summarise and analyse our observed data so that we can advance knowledge. How we go about designing our research and collecting the data will determine whether our findings will even have a chance to be meaningful. Scientific statements are based on observations that have been made in certain specific qualitative and quantitative ways. Only some methods of observation (i.e. some research designs) make it possible to decide what the cause of a particular effect is.

ETCM1 is designed to give you extensive experience in identifying the characteristics that contribute to good and poor quality research design and reporting. You will develop confidence in making your decisions to accept or reject claims and conclusions of researchers on the basis of their published findings.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Online Quizzes

Intent:	This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1. Disciplinary knowledge 2. Research, Inquiry and Critical Thinking
Objective(s):	This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): E This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.1 and 2.1
Type:	Quiz/test
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	30%
Length:	30 minutes each
Criteria:	Accuracy of answers
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Understanding statistical concepts, research methodology and study design 100 E 1.1, 2.1 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Critical analysis of a published acupuncture article

Intent:	This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1. Disciplinary knowledge and its appropriate application 2. Research, Inquiry and Critical Thinking 5. Communication
Objective(s):	This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B and C This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.2, 2.2 and 5.1
Type:	Report
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	20%
Length:	Not more than 1000 words
Criteria:	Detailed assessment criteria are provided in writing to you during the session but will include correctness of expression and spelling, quality of content and critical thought.
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Good critique of the article 60 B 2.2 Accurate interpretation of the findings 10 C 1.2 Scholarly writing 20 A 5.1 Ability to decide whether a published acupuncture article is of good quality or not 10 B 2.2 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 3: Literature evaluation assignment (oral and written tasks)

Intent:	This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1. Disciplinary knowledge 2. Research, Inquiry and Critical Thinking 4. Reflection, Innovation, Creativity 5. Communication
Objective(s):	This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B and D This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 4.2 and 5.1
Type:	Presentation
Groupwork:	Group, group and individually assessed
Weight:	40%
Length:	Oral presentation - 15 minutes per group Written report - between 1500 and 2000 words
Criteria:	(a) Written report Detailed assessment criteria are provided in writing to students during the session but will include correctness of expression and spelling, quality of content and critical thought. (b) Class presentation Detailed assessment criteria are provided in writing to students during the session but will cover general presentation skills including the quality of power point slides, communication style and demeanour, content and innovative approaches to communication.
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Good introduction of the topic 10 A 1.2 Accurate summary of the articles reviewed 20 B 2.2 Good discussion of the findings 20 B 4.2 Clear and well written conclusion 10 D 1.1 Scholarly writting 30 A 5.1 Proper referencing 10 A SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 4: Pre-Tutorial Quizzes

Intent:	This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1. Disciplinary knowledge 2. Research, Inquiry and Critical Thinking 3. Professional, Ethical and Social Responsibility 5. Communication
Objective(s):	This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A and B This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.1, 2.1 and 5.1
Type:	Quiz/test
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	10%
Criteria:	Student performance will be tracked through the session against a set of defined criteria relating to each of the graduate attributes. Detailed assessment criteria will be provided in class.
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Applying statistical knowledge and critical analysis skills in class discussions 25 B 1.1 Clear and succinct discussions and presentation 25 A 2.1 Team based collaboration 25 A 5.1 Demonstration of solutions to questions 25 B 5.1 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

Students must complete all assessments and acheive a minimum score of 50/100.

Required texts

While there are NO set hard copy textbooks, there are several online tutorial and lesson websites that serve the same function. Extensive use will be made of these materials (see other resources below) and students will be required to work through the website sections set in relation to specific content areas. Details will be provided in class.

Recommended texts

Virtually any modern introductory psychology text includes a chapter about useful statistical principles and analyses and on experimental design.

References

1. Hicks, C. 2009, Research methods for clinical therapists: applied project design and analysis, 5th edn, Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier, Edinburgh.
2. Fregni, F., & Illigens, B. M. W. 2018. Critical thinking in clinical research: applied theory and practice using case studies. Oxford University Press, New York.

Other resources

Materials and online tutorials will primarily be sourced from:

• http://stattrek.com/ap-statistics-1/ap-statistics-intro.aspx
• Free educational videos can be accessed at Lynda.com - access for free via the UTS library website.
• A useful online text for understanding how to use various statistical tools is http://faculty.vassar.edu/lowry/webtext.html
• A You Tube channel on Understanding Introductory Statistics by "Dr. Nic" who is dedicated to making the learning of statistics fun and interesting. Many of the videos are free- https://www.youtube.com/user/CreativeHeuristics/featured
• A useful web page to learn SPSS software for various statistical tests plus related tutorials-https://www.spss-tutorials.com/basics/