2.4.2 Investigation/research protocolWeight: 50% Type of Collaboration: Individual Due: Week 13, Friday 4th June 11:50pm Submission: Turnitin Format: Here a PROTOCOL (plan or “blueprint” ) for a comprehensive epidemiological investigation or research study into a topic of interest or importance to the student is researched, planned and prepared. It must be based on a real disease or health state and identify relevant risk factors in the Australian (or relevant country) setting. Standardised marking rubric relative to each area of the answer is provided, but students should focus on the demands of each section of the report, rather than the rubric which is primarily constructed to guide a comprehensive marking process. The Protocol allows the student to develop a systematic investigation or research plan into a health state of interest or importance to the student or his/her discipline. The Protocol is developed and marked as a professional document which could later be used by the student in their workplace, or to accompany an employment application. All GUIDELINES for producing the protocol are contained in the relevant section below. Length: 3,000 words Curriculum Mode: Applied ProjectRequirements and performance objectives for Assessment 2: the Epidemiology Protocol The Protocol is a plan for an epidemiological investigation or research project which can be tailored to the student’s own particular needs. It is the foundation for a professional field project which the student could carry out when employed, to investigate a health state or problem in the student’s own area of interest. As such, it has significant value for inclusion in a CV or employment application. Please note that it is a plan only for an intervention or research project. The actual plan will not be executed (ie: a questionnaire will be constructed as part of the Protocol, but a house-to-house or patient survey must not be carried out). The Protocol is, however, expected to be realistic, reliable and based on factual circumstances and place, and this will be taken into account during assessment of the work.During the Module Exercises students will learn how to carry out rapid epidemiological assessments to de-tect the environmental causes of ill health in small groups in environmental, occupational and social settings. More advanced investigations demand a more complex approach and take longer to execute than the rapid assessments covered in the first part of the semester. For this reason students are taken through the completion of an investiga-tion/research Protocol (plan), as part of the unit. Medium to large scale epidemiological investigations are carried out with the same rigour and approach as any scientific research project, and for this reason the student should apply the same criteria used in scientific reporting. This objective will pay off when students are working, as those with epidemiological experience or qualifications are often called on to head up research projects because they know how to initiate such a program, can exercise the right research rigour during its execution and understand basic analytical approaches.For the Protocol the student is required to identify a disease or health/fitness state of concern or interest. By consulting the literature, the physical, chemical, microbiological, social or behavioural risk factors associated with that state are next identified. This involves evidence of reading the literature as an important part of the Protocol, as explained later.Some examples of health states and related risk factors are shown in the following table:Examples of diseases or health states, and associated risk factors.
