Course

Directed Research Studies

Faculty
Applied Community Studies
Department
Therapeutic Recreation
Course Code
CFCS 3810
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
Flexible delivery ranging over 2 to 15 weeks.
Max Class Size
30
Method(s) Of Instruction
Seminar
Tutorial
Typically Offered
Winter

Overview

Course Description
This upper-level seminar course is designed for students interested in pursuing their research interests and/or who may wish to pursue postgraduate studies. Topics may include: developing research ideas, understanding research ethics, participating in a peer review process, engaging in research, writing research reports for diverse audiences, formulating grant proposals, and developing effective ways to communicate research findings. Prior to admission to this course a standard contract form must be completed by the student and signed by the faculty instructor and department co-ordinator.
Course Content

Prior to admission in this course a standard contract form must be completed by the student and signed by the faculty instructor and department co-coordinator.  Since this is a seminar course for upper-level degree students that may be done in conjunction with the research or evaluation needs of a community agency, the class readings and assignment criteria will cater to the student’s identified learning objectives.  Details regarding student learning objectives, required readings, and assignments will be fully outlined in their individual class contracts.

Content for this course may include (but not be limited to):

  • Literature reviews
    • Critical appraisal of interdisciplinary health research
  • Major aspects of ethical decision-making in research
    • Informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and do no harm
    • Ethics review processes and paperwork
  • Community based research
    • Data collection, management and analysis
  • Effective report writing and communicating ideas to different audiences
    • Strategies for communicating findings to community agencies, policy makers and academic journals
    • Knowledge translation tools
    • Visual aids – PowerPoint and other media
Learning Activities
  • Class discussion
  • Small group work and workshops
  • Community experiences and community-based research
  • Student dialogue and presentations
  • Self-directed on-line learning
Means of Assessment

This course will conform to Douglas College policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations.  Typical means of evaluation would include a combination of:

  • Research proposal
  • Off-campus activities
  • Research report
  • Research presentation
  • Community report
  • Policy brief
  • Peer-reviewed journal manuscript
  • Douglas College ethics review forms
  • Grant application

This is a letter graded course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student, with the support of the faculty instructor, will have selected and achieved a minimum of 4 of the following learning objectives:

 

  1. Conduct a comprehensive literature review to address a specific research question.
  2. Critically analyze and discuss academic literature.
  3. Provide constructive feedback on the academic work of others.
  4. Show and understanding of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans.
  5. Construct an ethics proposal for the Douglas College Ethics Board.
  6. Conduct research, including developing interview, focus group and/or survey instruments, and collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting on research findings.
  7. Write a research manuscript for publication and/or for reporting to a community agency.
  8. Write a research grant application for a community agency.
  9. Participate in the peer review process, including papers, posters and conference presentations.
Textbook Materials

A range of recommended textbooks and other materials will be provided to students at the beginning of each semester.  Students will propose a list of their individualized class readings in their class contract.

Requisites

Prerequisites

THRT 3710 or equivalent research course

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for CFCS 3810
Athabasca University (AU) AU HSRV 3XX (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU ARTS 3XXX (3)
North Island College (NIC) No credit
Simon Fraser University (SFU) No credit
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU RSMT 3XXX (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) No credit
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV CYC 3XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC CYC 3XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025