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J/650/1143 Research Methods in Health and Social Care Sample
For information and reference only – not to be submitted as your own work.
This J/650/1143 research methods sample shows how a strong answer to the OTHM Level 5 Diploma in Health and Social Care Management unit could be structured. It covers a compact Task 2 response on approaches to research (assessment criteria 1.1 to 1.6) and an extract of a Task 1 small-scale project (LO2 to LO4). Read the full assessment brief first, then see our step-by-step guide to the unit for the thinking behind each section. All organisation-specific details and data below are hypothetical and illustrative.
J/650/1143 research methods sample: Task 2 extract on approaches to research
1.1 The function of research
Research in health and social care exists to replace habit and anecdote with evidence. It tests whether an intervention works, explains why people experience services differently, and gives managers a defensible basis for changing practice. The Health Research Authority separates research, which aims to generate new knowledge that can be generalised, from audit and service evaluation, which judge local practice against a standard (Health Research Authority, n.d.). A care home manager asking “how are we doing against our own policy?” is auditing; one asking “what do staff across homes find hard about care planning?” is researching.
1.2 Evaluating methodologies
| Approach | Purpose | Typical data | Strengths | Limits | HSC example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative | Measure, compare, test relationships | Surveys, scales, audit counts | Generalisable with a good sample; easy to compare over time | Misses meaning and context; depends on instrument quality | Falls rates before and after a hydration programme |
| Qualitative | Explore experiences and explanations | Interviews, focus groups, observation | Rich detail; surfaces the unexpected | Small samples; interpretation risk; not statistically generalisable | Why residents decline group activities |
| Mixed methods | Combine breadth with depth | Survey plus interviews | One strand explains the other; stronger triangulation | Time-consuming; needs skill in both traditions | Staff survey on workload followed by interviews to explain the results |
The choice follows the question, not personal preference. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2023) describe this as working inward through the layers of the “research onion”, from philosophy and approach to strategy, time horizon and techniques, so each decision is justified by the one before it (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2023).
1.3 Data-gathering methods
Questionnaires suit larger groups and short, closed questions. Semi-structured interviews suit sensitive topics where the researcher needs to probe. Observation captures what people do rather than what they say they do, but raises consent and reactivity issues. Documentary analysis of policies or care plans is low-burden for participants. Clark et al. (2021) stress that the method must be matched to the question and to what access is realistic.
1.4 Tools to analyse and present data
Numerical data can be summarised with frequencies, percentages and means in Excel, and shown in tables or bar charts. Interview data is coded and grouped into themes, following the six phases of thematic analysis set out by Braun and Clarke (2006): familiarisation, initial coding, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining themes and writing up.
1.5 and 1.6 Validity and reliability, and why they matter
| Concept | Quantitative meaning | Qualitative equivalent | How to strengthen it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity | Does the instrument measure what it claims to measure? | Credibility and trustworthiness of interpretation | Pilot the questionnaire; use established scales; member checking; reflexive notes |
| Reliability | Would repeated use give consistent results? | Dependability and a traceable audit trail | Standard wording and procedure; keep a coding log; second-coder check on a sample |
Heale and Twycross (2015) define validity as whether a tool measures the concept intended and reliability as whether it produces consistent results when used repeatedly. Noble and Smith (2015) argue that qualitative work earns trust through transparent decisions, careful handling of researcher bias and a clear account of how conclusions were reached. These matter because weak instruments lead to weak recommendations, and in a care setting weak recommendations can change real people’s daily lives.
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Task 1 extract: an illustrative small-scale project
2.1 Topic and rationale
Illustrative topic: Staff views on barriers to person-centred care documentation in a residential care home. Person-centred care planning is a core expectation in adult social care, yet Smith et al. (2024), interviewing 22 care staff in English care homes, found that time pressure, workload and limited resources made improving care planning difficult. The project asks whether one home’s staff describe the same barriers.
2.2 and 3.1 Aim, objectives and research questions
Aim: to explore the barriers that staff in one residential care home (hypothetical) perceive when recording person-centred information.
- Identify the documentation tasks staff find most time-consuming.
- Explore how staff decide what personal preferences to record.
- Suggest realistic changes to how preferences are captured.
Research questions: (RQ1) Which documentation tasks do staff say limit time with residents? (RQ2) How do staff describe the link between recording a preference and acting on it?
2.3 Ethics
- Consent: voluntary, informed, written, with an information sheet and the right to withdraw before analysis.
- Gatekeeper permission: written approval from the registered manager before recruiting staff.
- Confidentiality and data protection: anonymised questionnaires, pseudonyms in transcripts, password-protected storage, and handling consistent with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR (legislation.gov.uk, 2018).
- Safeguarding: staff will not be asked about named residents; any disclosure of risk follows the home’s safeguarding policy.
- Status check: the HRA “Is my study research?” tool indicates whether the work is research and whether NHS ethics review applies (Health Research Authority, n.d.). A student study of staff opinion in a social care setting normally follows the college’s ethics procedure instead.
2.4 Literature review extract
Smith et al. (2024) identify five themes in staff accounts of care planning, including the support and resources available and how planning information is used. Their finding that resource limits hinder improvement gives this project its starting assumption. A gap remains in how individual homes compare with the national picture, which a single-site study can only partly address.
3.2 Project plan
| Week | Activity | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finalise topic, aims and ethics form | Approved proposal |
| 2 | Literature search and pilot questionnaire (2 colleagues) | Revised instrument |
| 3 | Gatekeeper approval, recruit participants | Signed consent forms |
| 4 to 5 | Questionnaire (n = 12) and three interviews | Raw data, transcripts |
| 6 | Analysis: descriptive statistics and thematic coding | Tables, theme map |
| 7 | Draft findings and recommendations | Full draft |
| 8 | Proofread, Harvard check, submit | Final report |
3.3 and 3.4 Methods and conduct
A mixed, small-scale design fits the aim: a ten-item questionnaire gives a quick picture across the team, and three semi-structured interviews (about 20 minutes each) explain it. Purposive sampling includes care assistants, a senior carer and a team leader so that different roles are heard. The limits are acknowledged: a small, single-site sample means the results describe this home only.
4.1 Findings (illustrative data)
| Statement (illustrative data, n = 12) | Agree or strongly agree |
|---|---|
| Documentation takes time away from residents | 9 of 12 |
| I am clear what personal information I should record | 5 of 12 |
| I see recorded preferences being used on shift | 4 of 12 |
Interview coding produced two illustrative themes: “recording for inspection, not for residents” and “preferences get lost at handover”. Quotations would be anonymised, for example “Participant B”.
4.2 to 4.5 Recommendations, uses in practice and reflection
| Recommendation | Use in practice | Measure of success |
|---|---|---|
| Add a one-page “what matters to me” summary per resident | Read at handover | Staff awareness rises in a repeat pulse survey |
| Short team training on recording preferences | Supervision sessions | Fewer vague entries in a sample of records |
| Review template length with staff | Management meeting | Less time spent on forms, as self-reported |
Reflection (4.3): the illustrative findings support Smith et al. (2024) on workload and resources, but they add a point the literature only touches on, which is the gap between recording and using information. Weaknesses are the small sample, one site, and self-report. A larger multi-home study would strengthen validity, in the sense defined by Heale and Twycross (2015).
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About the expert
This extract was prepared under the guidance of Cheste Hughes, who holds a Master’s in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania and is an expert in health care, public health, nursing research and nursing education. Cheste is a registered nurse who has worked in the field for the past 5 years and has been a nursing tutor at studentsassignmenthelp.co.uk for the past 2 years.
References
- Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), pp. 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa (Accessed: 23 October 2026).
- Clark, T., Foster, L., Sloan, L. and Bryman, A. (2021) Bryman’s Social Research Methods. 6th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Health Research Authority (n.d.) Is my study research? Available at: https://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/research/ (Accessed: 23 October 2026).
- Heale, R. and Twycross, A. (2015) ‘Validity and reliability in quantitative studies’, Evidence-Based Nursing, 18(3), pp. 66–67. doi:10.1136/eb-2015-102129 (Accessed: 23 October 2026).
- legislation.gov.uk (2018) Data Protection Act 2018. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents (Accessed: 23 October 2026).
- Noble, H. and Smith, J. (2015) ‘Issues of validity and reliability in qualitative research’, Evidence-Based Nursing, 18(2), pp. 34–35. doi:10.1136/eb-2015-102054 (Accessed: 23 October 2026).
- Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2023) Research Methods for Business Students. 9th edn. Harlow: Pearson.
- Smith, N. et al. (2024) ‘Care planning in older adult care homes: a qualitative study of care staff experiences and views’, International Journal of Care and Caring. doi:10.1332/23978821Y2024D000000092 (Accessed: 23 October 2026).
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