A text analytics evaluation of a first-year engineering project-based unit

In the undergraduate engineering program at Griffith University in Australia, the unit 1006ENG Design and Professional Skills aims to provide an introduction to engineering design and professional practice through a project-based learning (PBL) approach to problem solving. It provides students with an experience of PBL in the first-year of their programme. The unit comprises an underpinning lecture series, design work including group project activities, an individual computer-aided drawing exercise/s and an oral presentation. Griffith University employs a ‘Student Experience of Course’ (SEC) online survey as part of its student evaluation of teaching, quality improvement and staff performance management processes. As well as numerical response scale items, it includes the following two questions inviting open-ended text responses from students: i) What did you find particularly good about this course? and ii) How could this course be improved? The collection of textual data in in student surveys is commonplace, due to the rich descriptions of respondent experiences they can provide at relatively low cost. However, historically these data have been underutilised because they are time consuming to analyse manually, and there has been a lack of automated tools to exploit such data efficiently. Text analytics approaches offer analysis methods that result in visual representations of comment data that highlight key individual themes in these data and the relationships between those themes. We present a text analytics-based evaluation of the SEC open-ended comments received in the first two years of offer of the PBL unit 1006ENG. We discuss the results obtained in detail. The method developed and documented here is a practical and useful approach to analysing/visualising open-ended comment data that could be applied by others with similar comment data sets.

Evaluating impact of clinical guidelines using a realist evaluation framework

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The Remote Primary Health Care Manuals (RPHCM) project team manages the development and publication of clinical protocols and procedures for primary care clinicians practicing in remote Australia. The Central Australian Rural Practitioners Association Standard Treatment Manual, the flagship manual of the RPHCM suite, has been evaluated for accessibility and acceptability in remote clinics three times in its 20-year history. These evaluations did not consider a theory-based framework or a programme theory, resulting in some limitations with the evaluation findings. With the RPHCM having an aim of enabling evidence-based practice in remote clinics and anecdotally reported to do so, testing this empirically for the full suite is vital for both stakeholders and future editions of the RPHCM. METHODS: The project team utilized a realist evaluation framework to assess how, why and for what the RPHCM were being used by remote practitioners. A theory regarding the circumstances in which the manuals have and have not enabled evidence-based practice in the remote clinical context was tested. The project assessed this theory for all the manuals in the RPHCM suite, across government and aboriginal community-controlled clinics, in three regions of Australia. CONCLUSION: Implementing a realist evaluation framework to generate robust findings in this context has required innovation in the evaluation design and adaptation by researchers. This article captures the RPHCM team's experience in designing this evaluation.

Trial for reducing weight retention in new mums: a randomised controlled trial evaluating a low intensity, postpartum weight management programme

BACKGROUND: Failure to return to pregnancy weight by 6 months postpartum is associated with long-term obesity, as well as adverse health outcomes. This research evaluated a postpartum weight management programme for women with a body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg m(-2) that combined behaviour change principles and a low-intensity delivery format with postpartum nutrition information. METHODS: Women were randomised at 24-28 weeks to control (supported care; SC) or intervention (enhanced care; EC) groups, stratified by BMI cohort. At 36 weeks of gestation, SC women received a 'nutrition for breastfeeding' resource and EC women received a nutrition assessment and goal-setting session about post-natal nutrition, plus a 6-month correspondence intervention requiring return of self-monitoring sheets. Weight change, anthropometry, diet, physical activity, breastfeeding, fasting glucose and insulin measures were assessed at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent (40 EC and 41 SC) of the 105 women approached were recruited; 36 EC and 35 SC women received a programme and 66.7% and 48.6% completed the study, respectively. No significant differences were observed between any outcomes. Median [interquartile range (IQR)] weight change was EC: -1.1 (9.5) kg versus SC: -1.1 (7.5) kg (6 weeks to 6 months) and EC: +1.0 (8.7) kg versus SC: +2.3 (9) kg (prepregnancy to 6 months). Intervention women breastfed for half a month longer than control women (180 versus 164 days; P = 0.10). An average of 2.3 out of six activity sheets per participant was returned. CONCLUSIONS: Despite low intervention engagement, the high retention rate suggests this remains an area of interest to women. Future strategies must facilitate women's engagement, be individually tailored, and include features that support behaviour change to decrease women's risk of chronic health issues.