JCPSLP Vol 16 no 3 2014_FINAL_WEB

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

(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.

Career decision making

Challenging self

A different way of being

Research- practice nexus New perspectives

Early interviews

Late interviews

Mid interviews

Coping

Becoming a practitioner- researcher

Communities of practice

Self actualisation

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

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JCPSLP Volume 16, Number 3 2014

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