MERG4100 The Knowledge Base for Occupation and Participation Course description

Language of instruction: Norwegian

This course covers advanced knowledge about circumstances that can impede and promote activity and participation throughout life. This includes individual circumstances, but also social challenges related to creating inclusive arenas in society. Working life is an important arena in society where these challenges come into play. The main focus of the course is to enable the students to find, compare and assess the knowledge basis for developing occupational therapy interventions. The students will conduct systematic literature searches, assess research literature critically and summarise knowledge in a thematic area that they decide the delimitations for themselves.

The students can continue to work on topics from this course when they later take the courses MERG4200 Complex Interventions in Work and Everyday Life and MAVIT4070 Research Design and Project Description.

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences and hold authorisation as an occupational therapist.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can analyse possibilities and limitations in everyday and working life in the context of relevant research literature
• can identify knowledge gaps in occupational therapy based on a review of relevant research literature
• can discuss individual interventions and programmes based on adaptation measures

Skills

The student

• can conduct systematic literature searches for research literature on the development and assessment of interventions in everyday and working life
• can summarise research literature about interventions that are relevant for individuals’ participation in everyday and working life
• can apply knowledge about co-production in research and user involvement 
• can discuss intervention decisions in relation to different contexts, such as ethnicity, gender and social background

General competence

The student

• can summarise and communicate research results to fellow students, colleagues and the general public

The course will use varied, student-active work methods. The teaching is organised into two five-day sessions. Work and teaching methods include lectures, seminars, digital learning resources, assignments, group work, oral presentations and self-study. Throughout the course, students will work on a written assignment related to a topic of their choice. One intention of the assignment is to carry out a knowledge summary of topics that can later become the focus of the student’s master’s thesis. At the teaching sessions, the students will present their home assignments and receive feedback from fellow students and lecturers. The students will also receive one hour of individual supervision from occupational therapy departmental staff, preferably from the future supervisor of the student’s master’s thesis. This hour is included in the 20 hours dedicated to supervision of the master’s thesis. The written assignments form the basis for the examination assignment.

None.

An individual project examination in the form of an assignment that is developed during the course. Scope: Up to 3,500 words, including references.

Resit examination: If the student is awarded the grade F (fails the written assignment), he/she will be given one (1) opportunity to submit a reworked version.

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Grade scale A-F. 

At least 20% of the examination papers will be assessed by an external examiner together with an internal examiner. The remaining papers will be assessed by two internal examiners. The external examiner’s assessment should benefit all students.

The course overlaps by 10 ECTS credits with MAERGD4000 Interventions in Everyday Life and Work, 20 ECTS credits.