Research and Evidence in Practice

• • Introduction
  • Ethics in Research and Practice
  • Asking Questions to Guide your Search for Evidence
  • Acquiring the Evidence
  • Introduction to Quantitative Research Design
  • Introduction to Qualitative Research Design
  • Sources of Bias and Threats to Validity in Qualitative and Quantitative Research
  • Reliabilty and Rigour in Qualitative and Quantitative Research
  • Outcome Measures and Scales of Measurement in Health Research
  • Introduction to Descriptive Statistics and Statistical Inference
  • Treatment Effects: Mean Difference, Odds Ration, Risk Ration, Confidence Interval
  • Probability (p-values), statistical significance and power
  • Treatment Effects and Forest Plots
  • Meta-analysis

In order to enrol in this subject, you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:

Core

• LAT-HUN-DEG-2021
• LAT-HUN-DEG-2022

Additional requirements

• Other requirements - This subjects is offered via Open Universities Australia, late enrolments are generally not permitted past the published close of application date for the study period. For students not enrolled in the prerequisite courses, you may be able to undertake these subjects with approval of your home course coordinator, please contact ASK La Trobe for assistance. Students who successfully complete two from the four open enrolment subjects (HBS101, DTN101, CHM101, PHE102) may apply under the Academic Eligibility category for admission to the restricted Bachelor of Food and Nutrition. You must be enrolled in the Bachelor of Food and Nutrition to be eligible to enrol in all other non-open access subjects offered in the degree.

In this subject students will be introduced to essential skills for evidence-based practice in the field of human nutrition through online activities and discussions. A systematic 5-step approach will be used to build basic skills in formulating answerable questions, searching for relevant research articles, critically appraising the evidence and evaluating the applicability of the evidence. Students will develop a basic understanding of the strengths and limitations of key research designs and contemporary challenges of research in human nutrition. The focus is on the types of research that answer questions about the effectiveness of interventions, and about human experience and meaning and being able to interpret these. Students will also consider the complex interaction between social, economic and environmental influences that contribute to sustainability thinking. This subject addresses La Trobe's Sustainability Thinking Essential. Sustainability Thinking entails deep appreciation of how the choices we make affects the natural, economic, social, political and cultural systems - now and in the future.

• 10 questions (150 words equiv) (15%)
• 20 questions (350 words equiv) (20%)
• 1000 word written essay (25%)
• 800 word search strategy (10%)
• 1500 word written essay (30%)

Current study term: 27 Feb 22 to 29 May 22

Next study term: 28 Aug 22 to 27 Nov 22