Abstract
Research methods courses are a critical component of teaching the applications of evidence based practice in the health professions. With the shift to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, new possibilities for teaching research methods have emerged. This case study compares two 5-week asynchronous online graduate level research methods courses in the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders. One online section of the course used traditional methods (TDL) common in face-to-face courses with recorded slide-based lectures, written discussion forums, and a final presentation. The other online section of the course used project-based learning (PBL), which consisted of weekly projects that forced students to engage with the literature and work both collaboratively and autonomously. We measured students’ research self-efficacy and course satisfaction before and after their courses. Overall, research self-efficacy was higher for the TDL class at both time points. However, the PBL class showed a higher percent increase in research self-efficacy, specifically for more difficult and unfamiliar tasks like statistical analysis. Students in both courses were equally satisfied with their course and instructor; however, students in the PBL class reported a greater workload and level of difficulty. We interpret the results as showing benefits of PBL in facilitating greater engagement with the research literature and course content; while TDL had advantages in students’ confidence with the course, likely due to familiarity with the instructional format.
Highlights
There is sparse research regarding students’ experiences in online research methods courses, in the health professions
The current study indicates that both the TDL and PBL online research methods courses provided constructive learning environments which supported the learning goals for research methods
Rather, the results of the current study suggest that in a short session what is emphasized in a course is more related to students’ confidence in their abilities than how it is taught
Summary
There is sparse research regarding students’ experiences in online research methods courses, in the health professions. Successful engagement of pre-service clinical students in research methods courses and exposure to the research process can increase their knowledge and use of evidence based practice later in their career (Zipoli and Kennedy, 2005). Knowledge of how research informs evidence based practice expands the clinician’s role in implementation science, PBL TDL Online Research Methods which is needed to translate research to clinical practice (Olswang and Prelock, 2015). Often students enroll in research methods courses with a preconceived notion of difficulty or lack of relevance to their lives (Early, 2013; Ni, 2013) It is unknown how the online research methods courses facilitate engagement in research and the development of skills to translate research to practice
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