Practice-based Research in (allied) healthcare

1 Research competence for a professional context

Theory and practice in one Four Speech-Language Therapy students decide to gather normative data on the language development in infants and toddlers as part of their final thesis project. The client, a producer of test materials, wants the students to conduct a test using a predetermined protocol. Prior to the start of the project, the students take a course to learn how to conduct the test, assign a score and interpret the results. Before the students actually begin gathering the test data, they practise a few times. Halfway through the project, they meet with their supervisor for an interim evaluation. The students explain how they are getting better and better at predicting how children of a certain age will react to the test items. The stages of language development that they have thus far learned about in their textbooks are becoming reality through their work with young children. The students find that their experience helps them to recognise children with disadvantages or developmental problems more easily. A little bit different every time By the end of their project, a group of physiotherapy students reports the following: “We learned what a shoulder looks like from a book. During our project, we found that ‘the ideal shoulder’ looks a little bit different every time.” The following example illustrates how you may sometimes learn more about a certain topic than your lecturer while conducting your own research – and especially while working on your final thesis project. In this manner, you can help keep the education up-to-date and contribute to the innovation in your professional practice. By sharing knowledge, you expand your own and each other’s expertise. Sharing knowledge Although Yasmine and Irene felt nervous about presenting their final thesis project about the experiences of patients during an oedema treatment, they loved seeing how much the invited practice professionals appreciated the recommendations they developed over the course of their research. While answering the questions, they found that they had mastered the subject matter and actually knew more than their lecturer about certain topics. They felt very proud when their lecturer told them she would incorporate their findings in her lectures. Lastly, they learned a lot from watching the presentations given by their fellow students. Practical research sometimes allows you to adjust the views on what is normal that you developed during your studies.

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