The overall aim of educational research is to provide teachers, clinicians, managers and learners with systematically obtained information that helps to improve the quality of the learning process. The difference between doing educational research and other healthcare research is that often the immediate effects of the intervention are seen and assessed on the educators or their students, rather than on the processes and outcomes of patients. Nevertheless, it is always worth remembering that we are only educating in healthcare so that we can provide good or better quality care to patients. Therefore, wherever possible, we should think about how to measure the effects of an education intervention on the patient.

This module provides an introduction to the main research methods used in healthcare education. The module covers some aspects of research supervision and provides practical examples of how you can use the principles of educational research in your own teaching.

By the end of the module you should have an enhanced understanding of the principles of educational research and how this operates in a range of clinical and educational contexts. You will also be better equipped to identify opportunities for educational research in your own practice. You will have the opportunity to explore how you think the ideas relate to your own practice as a clinical teacher and supervisor, and be provided with information about how to further develop your and others’ research skills.

Before you start

Before you start the module we recommend that you spend a few minutes thinking about the following points and noting down some of your thoughts. If you are registered on the site, you can do this in the ‘reflections area’. Click on the ‘my area’ link at the top of the page to access your personal pages. Please note that you must be logged in to do this. Please also note that you will need to contribute to the ‘reflections area’ during the course of the module in order to complete and print out your certificate.