Practice-based Research in (allied) healthcare

1 Research competence for a professional context

to other contexts. When students conduct research, their data collection and analysis activities must meet the same quality requirements that apply to the professional field. This allows students to contribute to the development of new procedures and products that innovate their professional practice. An environment in which practice-based research is conducted contributes to a culture in which reflection and (attention for) research competence for a professional context can develop more effectively. Furthermore, (higher education) undergraduate and master’s students often participate in research projects that are conducted by chairs. Expanding, deepening and sharing knowledge By taking part in practice-based research, you not only acquire research competence for a professional context but will also achieve other goals that benefit your personal development. Studying a topic gives you more knowledge about that topic ( deepening knowledge ). In the process of conducting practice based research, you will also be confronted with aspects related to the topic at hand that you may not have been aware of before ( expanding knowledge ). The process of deepening and expanding your knowledge occurs primarily at the start of your research. During the execution of a research project, you also improve your professional skills , such as your personal conversation skills, ethical conduct or practical diagnostic or therapeutic skills through your interaction with the test subjects. Lastly, you will learn to share the knowledge you develop with other professionals during and after the completion of your research ( sharing knowledge ). To illustrate this, we will present several examples of goals that are achieved as a result of (participating in) practice-based research. The following example illustrates that deepening knowledge is important in order to become a true expert and facilitate your further professional development. Deepening knowledge While coming up with your research topic, you can further clarify your research question by exploring the existing theory on the subject. As part of your research, you strive to fill in the blanks in the existing knowledge. To do so, you read extensively about the topic at hand. You will gradually learn far more about this topic than what you learned thus far in your studies. Furthermore, you discover that you want to learn even more about this topic after your studies; you want to become a true expert!

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