Discuss your overall methodological approach (e.g., systematic review, qualitative synthesis, quantitative synthesis, mixed-method review, or realist approach). Explain the process of identifying and selecting secondary literature, outlining

HCM6006 Independent Study

Useful terms:

Task summary:

You are required to produce an appropriately structured secondary research project report based on a topic of your choice, appropriate to your study programme subject area, and showing all essential elements. The report should also include a reflective account of your professional development that reviews how you generated, developed, refined the project idea and executed the research project.

Your research report can be structured as follows:

Assignment instructions:

Guidance on the development of the report is contained in the lessons and will also be provided on a weekly basis in the sessions with your lecturer. You must obtain approval for your project report title from your lecturer before you proceed to develop the final report. Your report must be based on secondary data and demonstrate how you have systematically identified, selected, analysed, and synthesised information from academic and professional sources. (Total 100 Marks) (Total word count: 3000 words)

You must produce an appropriately structured secondary research report based on a topic of your choice that is within the context of any health and care management problem, challenge or issue, and to show all essential elements of good research. Please be aware that any study conducted using a primary research approach will be cancelled and marked as zero.

You should write an abstract that provides a brief overview of your research, including the research objectives, methods employed, and a summary of the conclusions or recommendations. This section must include keywords and should be no more than 200-300 words. It will not be counted in the overall word count.

You must provide a content page. All the report headings should be listed with their page numbers, etc. You must match the corresponding references in the text exactly. This section should not be included in the word count.

You will be assessed on: 

Introduction:

Your ability to introduce your topic clearly, explaining the aim or purpose of the study, including research objectives and questions the project will address. Discuss the scope and limitations of your research and briefly explain your chosen secondary research methodology.

Ethical Considerations:

Your understanding of the significance of ethics in research. Explain how ethical principles influenced your selection and handling of secondary data. Review how you observed Arden University’s research ethics policy. This can be found by clicking on the link here. Stronger responses should reference academic sources on research ethics and include practical examples.

Overview and Literature Review:

Utilise this section to demonstrate critical understanding of your chosen topic by comparing the views of different authors. The review should remain focused and selective, drawing only on contextually relevant material. It should not exceed 400 words.

Research Approach and Methodology:

Discuss your overall methodological approach (e.g., systematic review, qualitative synthesis, quantitative synthesis, mixed-method review, or realist approach). Explain the process of identifying and selecting secondary literature, outlining your inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Explain the processes you went through to gather literature. You are encouraged to use the PRISMA flowchart to illustrate how studies were identified, screened, and selected for inclusion.

Justify your chosen research philosophy and discuss relevant theories or models, explaining their strengths and limitations.

Analysis and Discussion:

Demonstrate how you critically analysed and synthesised your selected literature. You may apply structured frameworks such as the PICO model (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) to guide the analytical process and demonstrate systematic evaluation of evidence.
Review how secondary data was analysed and, where appropriate, mention analytical tools or software used. Compare findings from different studies and interpret their implications for practice within Health and Social Care.

Evaluation of Findings:

Critically evaluate the effectiveness and credibility of your chosen secondary sources, identifying gaps or limitations. Discuss how your own analysis contributes to existing knowledge. Highlight any unexpected results, supported by graphs, tables, or figures where appropriate.

Conclusions and Recommendations:

Relate your conclusions directly to the research objectives. Reflect on how each objective was addressed, discuss the limitations of your research, and provide realistic recommendations supported by your findings. Consider the practical implementation and significance of your recommendations.

Reflective Account:

Use an established reflection model, such as Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1988), Kolb’s Learning Cycle (1984), or Rolfe’s Framework (2001). Reflect on how you generated, developed, and executed your research project. Discuss the challenges encountered and how you addressed them. Explain how this process contributed to your professional development, learning, and research skills. Stronger responses will demonstrate critical insight and integration between theory and practice.

The title page should include your student number only, without your name to ensure anonymous marking, along with the module name, submission deadline, and exact word count. Any appendices should be added if applicable, and all references must be presented in AU Harvard style.

Learning outcomes (LO)

By completing this assessment, you will have shown and be assessed on all four of the learning outcomes:

1. Carry out an independent study based on an issue/problem/challenge appropriate to the health and care management discipline.
2. Design an appropriate research process to gather data, critically analyse the generated information to address the problem.
3. Develop a project report that discusses the research results.
4. Reflective Practitioner: Undertake critical analysis and reach reasoned and evidence-based decisions, contribute problem-solving skills to find and innovate in solutions.

All learning outcomes must be met to pass the module.

You will be graded based on how well you meet these learning outcomes. Your marker will use a rubric/marking matrix to grade your work, and you can find this on the “My Assessment” tab on the module iLearn page.

Guidelines and policies

You can find links to more useful information about the assignment and university policies below.