RAB3900 Research Methods and Bachelor's Thesis Course description

Language of instruction: Norwegian/English

Radiographers work within a complex health and welfare system, and society expects radiographers to contribute to service innovation and systematic and quality-enhancing processes to raise the quality of interprofessional work and/or radiography practice. Through the work on the bachelor thesis, the student will gain experience of studying a delimited area of research in depth, and will have the possibility to develop skills and knowledge required to be able to cooperate in groups that aim to contribute to developing the discipline of radiography. In addition to the ability to cooperate in a scientific community and participate in academic discussions, discipline development and research processes require critical thinking, structured work and knowledge about how to proceed to implement new knowledge in practice. Detailed guidelines for the bachelor thesis will be published on the university's learning platform.

Passed first and second year of the programme or equivalent. RAB1050 and RAB1060 are exempt from the progression requirement.

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

• explain philosophy of science, research ethics and research methods in the discipline of radiography

Skills

The student can

• perform basic statistical analyses
• prepare a project description with a concrete schedule and a description of how they intends to complete the bachelor's degree project with the resources available
• formulate a clear research question that can be answered within the limits of the project
• elaborate on the research question's relevance to radiography and, as a background to the project, explain the knowledge status and knowledge gaps within the thematic area that the research question concerns
• formulate specific research questions based on the research issue and include relevant previous research results for use in the discussion
• answer the research question in a clear conclusion based on the presentation of empirical material, and make active use of empirical data and relevant previous research findings when discussing the research issue/questions
• give grounds for the choice of data collection method and choice of sources (databases/literature), and document systematic literature searches or other methods for obtaining data
• carry out the project in accordance with scientific criteria and guidelines for research ethics and data protection
• discuss the processing of personal data with their supervisor and conduct a data processing risk assessment if they will be processing personal data

General competence

The student can

• explain the implications of the conclusion for the professional practice of radiographers, reflect on knowledge needs in the field, and present research questions for future projects within the thematic area
• communicate the project in written academic form and in accordance with applicable criteria regarding transparency about the methodological implementation of the project
• reflect on strengths and weaknesses of the application of the chosen methods in the implementation of the project
• document the implementation of the project and reflections on the cooperation in a projectlog

The work and teaching methods include digital lectures, seminars, supervision, workshops and self-study. In seminars, the students work in groups. Digital work and teaching methods are used to enable digital exchange and international cooperation between Norwegian and foreign students.

The bachelor's theses are normally written in groups of 4 students. If the project’s topic is interprofessional, the project group can also include a student from another bachelor's degree programme, subject to the approval of the person responsible for the course at both programmes.

Students meet at seminars during the project period. Halfway into the project, students meet to present the preliminary project status and provide input to fellow students for use in the completion of the projects. The students are assigned an academic supervisor after they have chosen a topic for the thesis. The supervision is based on written project material and concrete questions submitted by the student group ahead of the supervision session. Students are offered up to 10 hours with supervisor per thesis.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• project description in accordance with set criteria

The project description must be approved before work on the project begins

Combined assessment

Part 1) Written bachelor's thesis in groups of normally 4 students, up to 4500 words for a quantitative thesis and up to 6000 words for a qualitative thesis.

Part 2) Oral exam on the bachelor's degree project, up to 30 minutes per group

A pass grade (A-E) must have been awarded for the written exam (part 1) before the students can take the oral exam (part 2). A preliminary grade is awarded for the written thesis. Students are awarded individual grades after the oral exam. The grade can be adjusted up or down by up to one grade.

Students can appeal the grade awarded for the written part of the exam. If the grade for the written thesis is changed, the student(s) will have to take the oral exam again.

Resits/rescheduled exam: If a fail grade (F) is awarded for the written work (part 1), the student has the right to submit a reworked version once.

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

Grade scale: A-F

Part 1) All answers are assessed by two internal examiners.

Part 2) All answers are assessed by two internal examiners.

The assessment scheme is evaluated regularly. An external programme supervisor participates in the evaluation and provides advice on further quality work in the study programme.