LO1.Explain the values and processes used in health and social care research. Research ethics committees have an important role to play in ensuring the ethical standards and scientific merit of research involving human subjects. There are three important obligations placed on the ethics committee. Firstly, and most importantly, the ethics committee must ensure that the rights of research participants are protected. This is achieved by ensuring that individuals receive sufficient information, which can be easily understood, and ensuring that appropriate strategies are in place to protect participants from potential adverse consequences of the research. Secondly, the research ethics committee has an obligation to society which provides the resources for research and will ultimately be affected by the results. Thirdly, the research ethics committee has an obligation to the researcher. The research proposal should be treated with respect and consideration. The research ethics committee should strive to meet each of these obligations. All researchers should welcome the contribution made by research ethics committees to the research process because they help to ensure that research meets the high ethical and scientific standards expected by society. Research now almost invariably requires the assent of an ethics committee, and with good reason. Review by an ethics committee provides independent scrutiny of a proposal. Far from being intimidated by such a prospect chaplains can view the process as an opportunity for constructive criticism that 1
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LO1.Explain the values and processes used in health and social care research.
Research ethics committees have an important role to play in ensuring the ethical standards
and scientific merit of research involving human subjects. There are three important
obligations placed on the ethics committee. Firstly, and most importantly, the ethics
committee must ensure that the rights of research participants are protected. This is achieved
by ensuring that individuals receive sufficient information, which can be easily understood,
and ensuring that appropriate strategies are in place to protect participants from potential
adverse consequences of the research. Secondly, the research ethics committee has an
obligation to society which provides the resources for research and will ultimately be affected
by the results. Thirdly, the research ethics committee has an obligation to the researcher. The
research proposal should be treated with respect and consideration. The research ethics
committee should strive to meet each of these obligations. All researchers should welcome
the contribution made by research ethics committees to the research process because they
help to ensure that research meets the high ethical and scientific standards expected by
society.
Research now almost invariably requires the assent of an ethics committee, and with good
reason. Review by an ethics committee provides independent scrutiny of a proposal. Far from
being intimidated by such a prospect chaplains can view the process as an opportunity for
constructive criticism that will lead to improved and more robust research (Tinker, 2001).
Scrutiny provided by others who are independent of the proposal, including people who have
considerable research experience, can help anticipate difficulties. Amendments can save time
and anxiety later on and provide reassurance and so make the time involved in submitting a
proposal for ethical review a worthwhile investment. An unfortunate and unintended
consequence of the development of ethical codes and ethics committees is to have dulled the
ethical awareness of researchers (Valentine, 2005; Dixon-Woods et al., 2007). The focus has
shifted to meeting criteria rather than reflecting on a research proposal’s specific issues. The
letter of approval from an ethics committee does not end ethical responsibilities of a
researcher. Ethics continue to be ever present throughout the course of the study.
Furthermore, committees and codes have limitations
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Research involves many potential problems that, if they arose, would cause harm and distress
to participants. Any research involving NHS staff or patients is required to be scrutinised and
accepted by the NHS’s own ethics committee, a process that involves addressing challenging
questions. The chaplain will therefore take considerable time in thinking through how to
proceed. Codes produced by many different learned bodies might be consulted (for example
the British Sociological Association, 2002; Royal College of Nursing, 2009; and the Social
Research Association, 2003) With the growth of research governance serious consideration
has to be given by researchers and by research organisations to the use of human subjects
review committees (also known as Ethics Committees, or Institutional Review Boards
(IRB’s). In some organisations and research sites, a formal “ethical review” must have taken
place before researchers are allowed to conduct the research. Dilemmas of accountability and
independence may have to be resolved when seeking permission from ethics committees.
Ethics committees may serve more as a means of institutional protection than operating in the
interests of either subject or researcher. Over-protective and bureaucratic procedures can pose
a danger of restricting valuable, particularly innovative, social research methods. Medical or
health service ethics committees may not fully understand the checks and balances of social
research. To illustrate, there may be a difference over what precisely constitutes informed
consent. The primary function of an ethics committee is to apply the sorts of ethical standards
and principles discussed in these SRA guidelines, and to maintain some form of institutional
memory for decisions taken and permission given. One key function of an ethics committee
may be to conduct a Project Audit. Thus after approval has been given for the project to be
conducted a follow-up process will confirm whether or not the project has been completed or
abandoned or if there are any difficulties with the study which were not anticipated in the
original application. Some commentators suggest that, since ethical decision taking may
occur throughout the life of a project, ethics committees should maintain review of the
project throughout and not consider their job as merely to cast ethical judgement at the outset.
The evidence-based practice model is viewed by some as ‘top-down’, with the researcher
‘pushing’ information to the practitioner, who then systematically and rationally appraises
and applies it as appropriate (Webb 2001). Counter-arguments emphasize the potential of
evidence-based practice to empower service-users by sharing research information and
integrating service-users’ needs and practitioners’ expertise, ultimately ensuring that
interventions make a positive difference to the outcomes of those who receive them (Sheldon
2001; Gibbs & Gambrill 2002; Haynes et al. 2002). Thus, while the notion of research as
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influencing policy and practice through a linear process has been widely discredited (Howeset
al. 2003), there is a growing interest in the notion of knowledge sharing, and the importance
of building relationships with both end-point users and practitioners to strengthen the
knowledge base. Lavis et al. (2003), for instance, describe three models of knowledge
transfer and uptake:
• Researchers are responsible for transferring and facilitating the uptake of research
knowledge(producer-push model).
• Decision makers are responsible for identifying and making use of research knowledge
(user-pull model).
• Researchers and decision makers are jointly responsible for the uptake of research
knowledge (exchange model).
Another recent review assessing implications for social work of the promotion of research
use in the health sector found no evidence of powerful effects for any intervention but saw
potential benefits from ‘social marketing’ approaches tailoring interventions to specific
barriers and workers’ attitudes (Gira et al.2004)
LO2 Conduct a piece of research in health and social care
Proposed Research Title: An investigation of the effectiveness of
communication in the social care setting with respect to LEE care home
Research Background
Health communication is a vital topic for research because everyone either interacts with
health professionals, encounters health-related messages in the media, has suffered from a
serious illness, or has experienced a loved one with a life-threatening or terminal illness
(Sharf, 1993).Traditionally, health communication research has been largely quantitative and
positivist in its orientation (e.g., du Pre, 1999; Vanderford, Jenks, & Sharf,1997). Health
communication research historically has reflected a biomedical perspective that privileges the
physicians’ perspectives and puts physicians’ (not patients’) concerns at the center of the
research (Sharf,1993; Thompson, 1994)
Research Questions
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The research questions that have been posed in this study will help in achieving the primary
objective of the study which is the proposed research title. The research questions are as
follows:
What are the factors that can adversely affect the communication aspect with respect
to the Lee care homes?
Do the service users and the care staffs satisfied with the communication style in the
Lee Care Home and what are the barriers in the communication process?
What are the ways in which the Lee care home can improve it communication within
the organisation?
Research Objectives
To evaluate the factors that are responsible for influencing the communication in the
Lee care home
To know the barriers affecting the communication between the service users and the
care home staffs
To recommend appropriate solutions to improve the communication process in the
Lee care home.
Research Methodology
Adopting the right research philosophy of the research programme is essential in order to
proceed with the research or study (Saunders et al., 2007). For this study, the interpreter was
research paradigms chosen as it helps established that human behaviour is different from
person to person and can also different from organisation to organisation with respect to
consumer behaviour. The emphasis on conducting an interpretivist research ensures that the
study is subject rather than being objective(Saunders et al., 2007).
Research Approach
The research approach is adopted for the study is an exploratory inductive study in which a
theory is developed after the analysis of qualitative data. The basic underlying concept of this
study is to understand the cause-and-effect relationship as to why something is happening
(Gill & Johnson, 2002). Since the sample is not likely to be representative of the entire
population, a non-probabilistic sampling technique will be used. Additionally, since the
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research design of this study is a case study research design, the non-probabilistic sampling
technique will perhaps be the best sampling method (Saunders et al., 2007).
In this study, a mixed-methods data connection technique will be adopted whereby both
quantitative as well as qualitative data will be collected and analysed. The reason as to why
mixed methods data collection techniques are employed in the study is to improve the
validity of the data that is collected through triangulation (Saunders et al., 2007).
Additionally, it is argued that mixed method data collection techniques provide an in depth
view (Saunders et al., 2007, p.147). The qualitative data collection method enables the
research to empathise with the costumers or the sample for the study (Gill & Johnson, 2002).
However, qualitative data is highly subjective and there may be discrepancies in the data
collected. Hence, quantitative data will also be collected for this study in the form of
questionnaire (Saunders et al., 2007).
Sample Selection and Size
Since the sample is not likely to be representative of the entire population, a non-probabilistic
sampling technique will be used. Additionally, since the research design of this study is a
case study research design, the non-probabilistic sampling technique will perhaps be the best
sampling method (Saunders et al., 2007).
The sample size that will be chosen for this study will be about 50 to 100. The respondents
are selected from the users, staffs and the family relatives within the Lee care home.
Data Collection Methods
In this study, a mixed-methods data connection technique will be adopted whereby both
quantitative as well as qualitative data will be collected and analysed. The reason as to why
mixed methods data collection techniques are employed in the study is to improve the
validity of the data that is collected through triangulation (Saunders et al., 2007).
Additionally, it is argued that mixed method data collection techniques provide an in depth
view of consumer behaviour and consumer perception (Saunders et al., 2007, p.147). The
qualitative data collection method enables the research to empathise with the consumers or
the sample for the study (Gill & Johnson, 2002). However, qualitative data is highly
subjective and there may be discrepancies in the data collected. Hence, quantitative data will
also be collected for this study in the form of questionnaire (Saunders et al., 2007). The
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questionnaire will be distributed through email, using the ‘Survey Monkey’ website.
Qualitative data will be collected by using group interviews and focus groups.
Ethical Considerations
It has been noticed that many students fail to acknowledge the ethical considerations that
surround the research topic (Saunders et al., 2007). The most common problem for ethical
issues with respect to students is access to information from companies. In many cases it is
seen that although student may have a very good research topic and research question, it may
be impossible to get access to information from the organisation. However, in this case since
the research is based on communication aspect and approaches the organisation from an
‘outside-in’ perspective, access to information from the organisation is not required
(Saunders et al., 2007).
Additionally, the information is gathered from the sample will be kept confidential and no
personal information or contact information will be revealed to anyone. Further, the
information thus collected will be used in the study only for analysis and statistical purposes
and none of the personal information will be revealed in the research. Also, the participants in
the study will not be forced into participating and will also be given the purpose of the
research.
LO3.Analyse and present findings of the research.
The analysis of the research is done in this section. The data is analyzed with the help of the
survey questionnaire and secondary data analysis. By data analysis the researcher will try to
find out the answers to the research questions. The primary data is collected with the help of
the survey questionnaires. The survey questionnaire was administered to the service users,
staffs and management to collect the information. The survey questionnaire was consisting of
ten questions and questionnaire was used as a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was
administered to 45 respondents through the email and only 30 respondents replied back and
almost 60% of the respondents view was collected. The bar diagrams are used to interpret the
data through the data analysis section.
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4.2.1 STATEMENT (1)
The service users and the staff does not have any good communication with in the