SI Module D: Research and Innovation in Healthcare Practice
Launches September 2026. This module is run and delivered by Sheffield Hallam University.
Apply Now
Please review our Entry Conditions before applying
Summary
This module runs in September, January and May in each academic year and is for students who have passed Module C(4) and have gained a PGDip in Sensory Integration. If you passed the PGDip or SI Module 4 more than 5 years ago please contact us at [email protected] to discuss your options going forward, providing details of your SI academic progress/credits to date.
Single module fee: £885
- 15 UK university academic credits - globally recognised and highly transferable
- 12-week course (fixed start and end dates)
- 15 hours of content + 135 hours of additional study time
- Online access to partner Sheffield Hallam University Library and Disabled Student Support
- Free Microsoft Office 365
Overview
This course is designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
This module prepares and enables you to embed research and innovation as a core component of your practice and engage in projects that address priorities and seek to transform lives.
It explores the role of research and innovation in healthcare practice and will provide you with an in-depth insight into a range of designs and methods that are used when undertaking such projects.
The practicalities of proposing, implementing and undertaking successful projects is explored and you will be supported to create your own research and innovation plan for practice.
Indicative content:
- Health innovation and research - principles and priorities
The research cycle:
- Research paradigms and methodology
- Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research
- Service evaluation: applying research design and methods
- Literature-based reviews
- Formulating research/evaluation questions
- Ethics and governance
- Public and service user and carer (social care) involvement and co-production
- Funding and support
- Project management
Research impact:
- Dissemination and knowledge exchange (for example, writing for publication)
- Enhancement of career opportunities in research
Learning and Teaching Summary
As a synchronous online distance learning module, it will be delivered with real-time instruction where students and instructors interact via digital platforms such as video conferencing, webinars, or virtual classrooms.
As an online, distance learning module through access to our innovative digital teaching and learning platforms and apps, your learning experience will be enhanced through live streamed teaching and digital learning materials, available for you to use and re-use anywhere at any time.
There will be a clear focus on the creation of an inclusive and collaborative learning community that fosters peer and tutor interaction and support.
You will be encouraged to use real-world examples of research and innovation to inform and support your learning and apply methodological principles to contexts relevant to your own scope of practice and local priorities. This will allow you to tailor the focus for the final assessment accordingly.
Learning materials will include key-note lectures/presentations and links to other relevant resources to help guide your study and consolidate your learning.
Live webinars will also be scheduled as part of your learning and teaching and recordings of these will be added to the learning materials.
The live webinars will be used to consolidate learning from self-directed study and provide a basis for you to meet module learning outcomes. This will also provide opportunities for you to ask questions and gain support from the module team.
The use of formative (non-marked) assessment activities will also support your learning and development, and your achievement of the learning outcomes, including how these are demonstrated within the final summative assessment.
Supervision for SIE Students
Students will have both a SHU and an SIE supervisor.
SIE supervision (3 hours total):
- Hour 1: Proposal development
- Hour 2: Results discussion
- Hour 3: Discussion and dissemination planning
SHU supervision (7 hours total):
- Includes meetings/phone calls, reading drafts, and providing feedback.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and critically evaluate a contemporary issue within your professional practice, synthesising evidence to justify a focused area for research, service evaluation, or scholarly inquiry.
- Appraise and justify the selection of appropriate methodologies, methods, or evaluation frameworks, demonstrating alignment with the aims, context, and epistemological foundations of your chosen inquiry.
- Analyse and apply relevant ethical principles, research governance requirements, and professional standards, ensuring compliance with institutional, legal, and clinical practice frameworks.
- Demonstrate critical awareness of individual, ethical and practical factors influencing the feasibility and impact of your project.
Assessment
Assessment Task Number |
1 task: PRESENTATION of research proposal |
Assessment Type |
The assessment will consist of a presentation of the student’s proposed research project, allowing students to articulate their research design, rationale, and methodological approach, while receiving summative feedback ahead of undertaking their final project within the Dissertation. |
Duration |
15-minute recorded presentation of research proposal. |
Word Count |
N/A |
Pass/fail assessment? |
N/A |
Task Weighting (%) |
100% |

