Research is defined as a study or investigation undertaken based on a systematic understanding & critical awareness of knowledge which generates new knowledge. Being able to critically reflect on research is essential to support the development of physiotherapy and ensure we maintain our commitment to quality of care. The importance of these skills has been regularly emphasised over the course of my studies, as it is an expectation at masters level.. Over the course of my studies I have been able to plan, conduct and manage evaluations and research activity in the form a service improvement project, a business propsoal and through a research proposal.  I have included both as 'research activity' , 'business idea' and 'service improvement idea' within this page. Both these ideas arose from analysing recent research and policy on the anterior cruciate ligament, CSP literature (2) on service improvements and the need for improvements in mental health services respectively. The service improvement idea involved evaluating the effectiveness of a part of practice and identify what is the root cause of the problem in order to bring a solution into practice. Similarly through a research model I was able to compose a research proposal for a study I believed to be relevant and appropriate. Both these pieces of work presented challenges for me to overcome. I was required to complete my own reading around the process involved in research proposals and service improvements. With the research proposal, I felt very overwhelmed and had doubts about whether the steps I was taking were correct. As I was only able to find a small number of proposals through searches, I did not have many examples to go by. I feel that having completed these pieces of work, and received feedback, I am now in a much better position, knowledge wise to complete similar projects in future practice.

As part of the research activity, I was required to complete a literature search of relevant databases to discover journal articles that may inform my future research proposal. In order to comprehensively complete this, I needed to create  'eligibility criteria' and decide on which search terms I would use. The purpose of the eligibility process was to maintain integrity, honesty and openness throughout. A number of the eligibility criteria for my proposal had ethical considerations, for example having no prior ACL injuries prior to signing up to a study which was investigating ACL injuries. This helped to ensure I was working within the legal and ethical boundaries of my profession. 

I am also ,including an example of my use of  'PEdro and PICO' . These are tools, I had earlier learned about in about, which helped with study selection for my literature review. The above examples highlight the use of a range of research methods and tools of enquiry during a research project. This part of the research activity, was not as challenging for me. This was due to being more familiar with the process from completing a small scale assignment version 'SE720', which essentially was a miniature literature review. I now feel much more comfortable with reviews of literature, and am familiar with search strategies and tools to help the process. As previously stated in another domain, I am a kinesthetic learner, so it is no surprise I have learned by 'doing'.  

Evaluation is defined as the systematic process of using specific standards/criteria to make reasoned judgements about the quality of something/someone. As before, with my research activity I was required to reflect on the research and use this information to appraise. This was accomplished within the 'critical appraisal' section of  my literature review, but can also be seen in 'SE720'. Within this, the studies I had included in my review were appraised for methodological quality. To help me complete this I followed a set of questions created by Downs & Black (2) to assess the quality of research. While following the checklist and identifying areas of strengths/weaknesses within the various studies, it allowed me to reflect on how strong the evidence base of my discussion would be. As well as allowing me to reflect on the included studies, the checklist also provided me with a tool for appraising them and giving the a percentage score of how high the methodological quality of the study was. Similar to this checklist, I have previously used the PEDro (3) tool to evaluate studies and reflect on the findings. I was relieved to have critical appraisal tools available to help with this part of the project. I have previously identified that being critical of work is sometimes a weakness of mine and at times I may be too descriptive. Having a pre determined set of criteria available to aid in evaluation made the process much easier. Completing similar projects in future, I would aim to use a validated tool to help with this process.

As the final part of the research activity I reflected on the research project to identify limitations in the work. This was used to appraise and inform future practice. Appraising work is one area I believe to be weak within my practice. To be able to draw on appropriate knowledge and make informed decisions I must continue to improve in this area. I feel appraising ones own work is particularly difficult as it involves being completely honest and subjective about my own work. Due to my own confidence, I never would feel that work I have completed is of excellent quality, so therefore it is sometime challenging to know whether my work is at a good standard, or whether I am being overly hard on myself. This is something I have reflected on and have found a solution of reading the work of others and then reading my own work, as if it were somebody else's. It is an area of practice I strongly hope to develop and will seek guidance from seniors when working in a band 5 role.

The last section of this domain is an area I do not have practical experience doing. However, within my research proposal there is a section regarding how I would attempt to disseminate my future findings. I have presented this as evidence as 'dissemination of evidence'. Although it does not demonstrate the promotion and application of future work, it does demonstrate my considerations about what my findings could mean for future practice.  Within this section I also discuss how I would propose to seek opportunities to share & disseminate findings to both specialist and non specialist audiences. Although I have not had to opportunity to practically complete some of these components, I show my considerations about what the process may entail and what I would expect to find.  Another task I completed related to this criteria was a service improvement 'poster'. This was completed in retrospect, however, I was able to share and disseminate my findings with lecturers and educators. Similarly, if the project had be completed during a placement, I would have needed to disseminate the findings to the MDT and the wider trust.

As a 'novice' in the world of research, I have much to learn. For example, my search strategy techniques, choice of research methods and knowledge of statistical analysis are all areas I know relatively little about. However, I believe it is important to get the of experience of conducting a research activity, as research is a big part of all healthcare professions. While getting involved in conducting research is not something I see in my immediate future, there are a number of important transferable skills that can be taken into practice. Being able to evaluate  current practice and it's effectiveness is not something specific to research and can be undertaken while analysing one's own personal practice.

Speaking of not only of research within profession of physiotherapy, but the whole of healthcare, it has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers worldwide have been mobilised at an incredible rate to attempt to discover potential treatments, vaccines and means of diagnosing Covid 19 (4). The peer review process of journals has been streamlined in an effort to get important research published (4). It is also believed that research in other areas to Covid-19 have reduced, as a huge proportion of funding and effort has been put into finding new evidence that can make a clinical difference (4). There have been positives seen in pre-print and faster peer- review processes, which could be applied to physiotherapy research in the future.