The Master’s Research Paper is a milestone requirement for students in the MPharm program. The milestone requires students to complete a non-thesis research project to address an important problem related to an area of medication use or clinical practice, and orally defend their completed research to the satisfaction of the research paper advisory committee.
To satisfy this milestone requirement, students must write a protocol and conduct all aspects of the research including:
- obtaining ethics approval
- recruiting participants
- data collection
- data analysis
- preparation of the final report.
Students may complete the milestones related to the Graduate Studies Practicum and the Research Paper simultaneously over more than 2 terms. This may be particularly advisable for the Research Paper since approval of the research protocol by the appropriate ethics committee at the University of Waterloo must occur before any data collection or analysis can begin. In addition, it may be advantageous for students who are conducting clinical research involving patients to begin their research while still engaged in the Graduate Studies Practicum.
Research Areas
MPharm research projects should address an important clinical or practice issue with their project. Students will identify a research question in collaboration with their research supervisor, based on interest, importance and need and will work with their faculty supervisor who will be primarily responsible for ensuring that the learning outcomes associated with the research project are achieved.
Active areas of research include but are not limited to:
- Anticoagulation
- Assessment of value and impact of clinical and professional pharmacy services
- Applied pharmacokinetics, drug interactions
- Geriatric care, frailty, and dementia
- Health technology
- Impact of pharmacists as immunizers, travel medicine
- Pharmacotherapy and pharmacoepidemiology of diabetes
- Pharmacoeconomics related to treatment of hepatitis C infection
- Primary care, rural health
- Oncology
- Opioid use and harm reduction
- Neurological diseases
- Nutrition
- Self-care and pharmacist prescribing for common ailments
Follow the link to review current faculty research areas.
Research Supervision
Students will identify a primary research supervisor (or co-supervisors) by the end of the second term* whose research expertise aligns with their own interests in an area that is clinically relevant.
The primary research supervisor must be a faculty member in the School of Pharmacy. In the case of co-supervision, at least one co-supervisor must be a faculty member in the School of Pharmacy.
Follow the link to review current faculty research areas.
Role of the primary research supervisor
In addition to the roles and responsibilities of research supervisors as outline in the Guide for Graduate Research and Supervision, the purpose of the primary research supervisor (or co-supervisors) is to provide guidance to the student as they complete their research project, including but not limited to:
- Arranging a suitable advisory committee for the student.
- Ensuring that the learning outcomes associated with the research project are achieved
- Ensuring the research project adheres to the standards for research and is feasible to be completed within the timeline given
- Guiding in all aspects of the research including obtaining research ethics, recruitment of participants, data collection, data analysis and preparation of a final report
- Signing off on the thesis proposal
- Reading and assessing the final research paper
- Attending and assessing the final research paper presentation
No later than the end of term three for students conducting reserach in collaboration with a rotation site.
Research paper advisory committee
Research paper advisory committee
The guiding principles for research paper advisory committee in the MPharm program are as follows:
- The research paper advisory committee must consist of a minimum of two faculty members from the University of Waterloo, one of whom will be the primary research supervisor
- In a co-supervisory situation, if one co-supervisor is not from the School of Pharmacy, at least one additional committee member must be.
- Additional committee members may be members of the School of Pharmacy community, the Graduate Studies Practicum preceptor or supervisor, or other approved experts in the area of research; members external to the university must have an adjunct appointment.
- The research paper advisory committee will consist of no more than four members
The above guiding principles are in alignment with the minimum requirements for a Master's degree with Research Paper.
Role of the research paper advisory committee
In addition to the roles and responsibilities of advisory committees as outlined in the Guide for Graduate Research and Supervision, the purpose of the MPharm research advisory committee is to provide guidance to the student as they complete their research project, including but not limited to:
- Providing feedback to the student and primary research supervisor on the research proposal
- Advising the student as appropriate in all aspects of the research including, recruitment of participants, data collection, data analysis and preparation of a final report
- Attending and assessing the final research paper presentation
- Reading and assessing the final research paper
Research proposal
Students are expected to develop a research proposal normally by the end of the fourth term. To ensure they have time to obtain ethics approval and complete the research project in a timely manner, students are encouraged to complete the proposal as early as possible.
Students are encouraged to attend the Scientific Writing and Searching Workshop prior to beginning work on their research proposal. This workshop is normally offered once at the beginning of each term by the School of Pharmacy liaison librarian, in collaboration with a member of the Writing and Communication Centre.
The liaison librarian is also available for one-on-one appointments. See the Research and writing resources page in the MPharm student handbook for more information.
Research proposal outline
It is recommended that students follow the accepted format for thesis papers, even though the scope of the MPharm research project is not as broad.
The research proposal should include:
- Title page
- Abstract
- Table of contents
- Table of abbreviations
- Introduction
- Objective(s) of the research and a testable hypothesis
- Proposed methods
- Significance of the research
- List of references
Research proposal assessment
The primary supervisor (or co-supervisors) is (are) responsible for providing final approval of the research proposal before the student is allowed to proceed with the research.
Ethics
Students are responsible for obtaining research ethics approval, with guidance from their primary research supervisor (or co-supervisors). Information about research ethics as it pertains to conducting research at the university of waterloo should review information here: https://uwaterloo.ca/pharmacy/graduate-studies/ethics-and-safety
Final Research Paper and Presentation
Students are required to make an oral defence of their completed research to the satisfaction of the research paper advisory committee, to complete degree requirements. Final research paper presentations will normally be scheduled during the final exam period of the sixth and final term of the program.
Before giving the research presentation, students must submit their publication ready manuscript to the research paper advisory committee and obtain approval from the primary supervisor to present.
Students must submit their final research paper at least two weeks ahead of the oral presentation, to allow the research advisory committee adequate time to review the final manuscript.
Assessment of the final paper and oral defence
The final paper must report findings from original research and be suitable for submission for publication in an academic journal. The primary supervisor (or co-supervisors) will be responsible for ensuring the final written format fulfills this requirement.
Possible recommendations of the committee:
Accepted
The student has passed the milestone, and nothing further is required.
Passed conditionally
The candidate must complete revisions to the satisfaction of the primary supervisor.
Re-examine
There are significant concerns with the submitted work. The candidate must complete revisions to the satisfaction of the research paper advisory committee and re-present their work. Students should arrange fees for the following term as it is expected that they will need an additional term to meet their degree requirements.
Failed
The candidate is required to withdraw from the program.