JCPSLP
Volume 16, Number 3 2014
119
(2000) investigated practitioner-researchers in occupational
therapy and suggested that a predisposition to research
was influenced strongly by university undergraduate project
work, and relationships formed with research supervisors
(p. 16). It has also been noted that medical students who
have a positive research experience are more likely to
engage in research or academic medicine as postgraduates
(Solomon, Tom, Pichert, Wasserman, & Powers, 2003, p.
153). The honours experience enables students to learn
about practice through research, but students should also
develop a sense of how they learn. Practitioners with this
insight are the ones who will continue to grow and develop
throughout their careers (Walker, Golde, Jones, Conklin
Bueschel, & Hutchins, 2008, p. 85).
I just think that you’re in this profession for the next I
don’t know how many years and it’s your life and that’s
what you do and I think contributing to it is important,
especially in our field because there isn’t a lot of
research into a lot of things we do. So if most people
did it [honours] then we would have more research in
areas and we would have different interventions for
things. It’s also my own thing as well … like it further
improves you as an allied health professional.
(Sarah)
This quote illustrates a commitment to the development of
professional knowledge through honours, and suggests
that knowledge generation is intrinsic to professional
development. This is a vital perception particularly for an
undergraduate student, as allied health professionals are
required to: select and utilise knowledge, to modify existing
knowledge, and to create knowledge in the practice setting
through reflection on practice (Higgs et al., 2004, pp.
90–91). Consistent with the philosophy of care in allied
health, these honours students are motivated by wanting to
help others through their research and practice.
Compiling the evidence, doing the actual research
project and [writing] the research study which people
across the world will be able to look at. Helping
improve the way that stroke rehabilitation is undertaken
or people’s knowledge about it, so that further
developments can occur. I suppose that’s the whole
point of me doing it … to make a contribution to
someone outside of myself as well.
(Lauren)
Both learning and research are about making meaning
(Brew, 2003). New perspectives are enabled as a
•
Late stage – “new perspectives”, “practice–research
nexus” and “career decision-making”.
The specific focus of this discussion is limited to three of
the nine key themes and represents only a small portion of
a much larger doctoral thesis. The three themes chosen for
discussion are: “becoming a practitioner-researcher”; “new
perspectives”; “practice–research nexus”. These themes
are the three most appropriate to highlight the value of
honours in enabling undergraduate allied health students to
grapple with the practice–research nexus and to become
critical practitioners, capable of making a contribution to
professional knowledge.
Early stage
interview
Data analysis
and coding
Mid stage
interview
Data analysis
and coding
Late stage
interview
Data analysis
and coding
Total of 61
coded items
Items
prioritised
28 items distilled
to 9 themes
Nine themes mapped to the
three stages of the honours journey
(Figure 2)
Figure 1. Illustration of the process of data analysis
Challenging
self
Late
interviews
Early
interviews
Career decision
making
A different
way of
being
Coping
Research-
practice
nexus
New
perspectives
Becoming a
practitioner-
researcher
Communities
of practice
Self
actualisation
Mid
interviews
Figure 2. Thematic representation of the honours experience
Becoming a practitioner-researcher
Honours may be viewed as an opportunity for self-
development, comprising the potential to make a difference
to professional practice through knowledge generation.
Honours therefore sits very comfortably within the context
of contemporary views on professional education, as it
enables an integration of knowing, acting and being
(Dall’Alba, 2009).
The potential for making a contribution to professional
knowledge is a prominent motivating factor for allied health
students contemplating honours study and research about
practice is a vital way of exploring knowledge (Higgs et al.,
2004). The honours experience enables this exploration for
allied health students who seek a challenge and a different
way of learning. A desired outcome of honours is that
the students will be predisposed to incorporate research
into their future clinical practice, or will engage actively in
research as a practitioner-researcher or academic. Cusick
