23036 - FINAL THESIS

Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Luciana Moizé Arcone

Trimester: Third term

Credits: 8

The Final Degree Project is conceived as the culmination, by the student, of a process of development of competences of the methodology of the intellectual work, of specialized reading, of integral application of different areas of the knowledge and of the expressive mastery of oral and written academic discourse.  

This subject involves the student carrying out a research project, a systematic review or a study on a topic of relevance in any of the specialties of physiotherapy. In the elaboration of the TFG the student will apply, integrate and develop the knowledge, capacities, competitions and abilities acquired in the rest of the subjects of the Degree of Physiotherapy. The TFG concludes with the presentation of a written report and the approval and public defense before a court as established in Royal Decree RD 1393/2007 of 29 October on the organization of official university education.

This subject follows the guidelines of the Regulations for Final Degree Project approved by the Governing Council of the UPF on March 2, 2011 and subsequent amendments, the last of February 2019.

The organization of the TFG is the responsibility of the TFG commission formed by the coordinator of the same and 3 vocal members, professors of the TecnoCampus. This one is in charge to assign the relation of professors directors and subjects of TFG, as well as to give seminars, to organize the courts, schedules and to communicate the qualifications to the students.

Adaptation COVID19

This subject has methodological and digital resources to make possible its continuity in non-contact mode in the case of being necessary for reasons related to the Covid-19. In this way, the achievement of the same knowledge and skills that are specified in this teaching plan will be ensured.

The TecnoCampus will make available to teachers and students the digital tools needed to carry out the course, as well as guides and recommendations that facilitate adaptation to the non-contact mode.

In the process of elaborating the report of TFG and defense before court the student will have to show to have acquired the results of learning of the different subjects of the Degree of Physiotherapy cursadas in previous courses: Of specific form the student / a must be able to perform autonomously,

• Incorporate new technologies for obtaining records and processing information and images into physiotherapy: Formulate projects that integrate the various operations.
• Use specific terminology in English related to technology, information and statistics applied to physiotherapy: data tables, graphs, diagrams, procedures, protocols, ...
• Develop a research project focused on treatment and / or prevention through physiotherapy.
•  Apply the scientific method to the various fields of physiotherapy: methodological design, records, databases and statistical analysis.
• Understand substantial problems in physiotherapy and propose hypotheses to design the methodological strategy for their scientific demonstration, which would lead to the best resolution of the problems identified.

This subject is based on project-oriented learning through the learning contract with the student. The subject is therefore structured in tutorials and seminars (face-to-face and online) and in the promotion of the study and autonomous work, both individually and in groups of the student.

The specific contents of the Final Degree Project (TFG) are established according to the topic and modality (project, systematic review or study) that the student chooses. So that these allow each student to elaborate a work of investigation that gives answer of new knowledge in any one of the specialties of the physiotherapy. In the virtual classroom of the subject is the general guide and the scripts (annexes) with the indications for the elaboration of the TFG according to modality.

The directors of TFG, through tutorials, will guide the student in learning the scientific method on which the knowledge of physiotherapy based on scientific evidence is developed.

All students will be given, through face-to-face and / or online seminars, topics related to the different phases of the elaboration of a research work in physiotherapy,

• Operation and regulations TFG
• Sources of information and bibliographic search (BDD)
• Bibliographic citation styles and bibliographic reference managers
• Scientific method. Phases of the research process. Designs of studies in health sciences.
• Systematic reviews
• Statistical tools for research
• Oral and written communication of a final degree project.
• Ethical aspects of research in Physiotherapy

Each student will be assigned a director by the TFG committee, with whom one will be established apprenticeship contract. Through those of  tutorials the principal attends, facilitates and guides one or more students with the aim that each student develops a TFG following the scientific method, with academic roughness and according to the most current knowledge in each of the specialties in physiotherapy. 

They will also be performed seminars in person or online of monographic sessions that will give them tools for the elaboration of the TFG.

The evaluation system has a formative component that consists on the one hand in the evaluation carried out by the director of TFG of the written report. Different evidences of the student's learning and improvement process will be collected through tutorials, follow-up of seminars and delivery of documents (initial TFG and final TFG) to the director, both in face-to-face and virtual follow-up. On the other hand, the written report will be evaluated externally by the members of the tribunal, who will also evaluate the oral defense of the TFG, as indicated in RD 1393/2007 of 29 October.   

The members of the panel and director will be appointed by the TFG committee as established in the UPF and ESCT TFG regulations.  

The following table summarizes the evaluation activities and the weighting of each of them in the calculation of the final grade of TFG.  

It is a necessary condition, in order to pass to the evaluation phase by the court (written report and TFG defense), that the student has a minimum grade of 5/10 in the evaluation of the final report by the director. This note will be communicated to the student along with the notes by the court. Once the final report has been evaluated, by the director and supervised by the TFG committee, the student will be informed if he or she is SUITABLE or NOT SUITABLE for defense in court.

The subject Final Degree Project is approved with a 5/10, being an indispensable requirement to obtain a minimum of 5/10 in the evaluation of the report of the final TFG (both by the director and the court) and of defense.

Important:

It is very important that you answer the TFG subject satisfaction survey. It is a completely anonymous survey. You will help us to improve the quality of the direction and management of TFG. So remember that when delivering the final report, it is necessary to answer it.

Recovery

If the student does not exceed the minimum criteria necessary to average the assessment activities, as set out in the previous paragraph, he / she will be suspended in the subject. If the mark of the Final Report assigned by the director does not reach 5/10, the student will not be able to pass to the phase of the Court. The subject Final Degree Project is approved with a 5/10, being an indispensable requirement to obtain a minimum of 5/10 in the evaluation of the report of the final TFG (both by the director and the court) and of defense

On the other hand, it will only be possible to carry out the recovery if the Final Report and / or the Defense of the TFG has been suspended, and in this case it will only be necessary to recover the part / s not passed. If the qualification is Not presented, it will not be possible to opt for recovery, in accordance with the Academic Regulations for undergraduate studies at Pompeu Fabra University. The rest of the notes (seminars, initial report and tutorials) maintain their weight and are not likely to be recovered.

The Qualification System follows RD 1125/2003, of 5 September, which establishes the European credit system and the qualification system for university degrees of an official nature and valid throughout the state:

• 0 - 4,9: Suspended
• 5,0 - 6,9: Approved
• 7,0 - 8,9: Notable
• 9,0 - 10: Excellent

The total or partial copy in any of the learning activities will mean a "Not Presented" in the subject, without option to present in the proof of recovery and without prejudice of the opening of a file for this reason.

Schedule

All the evaluation activities will have specific dates for completion and delivery, which will be communicated to the student at the beginning of the course through the Schedule.

Argimón Pallás, JM & Jiménez Villa, J. (2019). Clinical and epidemiological research methods. Elsevier.

Thomas, JR, Nelson, JK, & Mata, MJ (2007). Research methods in physical activity. Paidotribo.

Martin, JLR, Tobias, A., & Seoane, T. (2006). Systematic reviews in the life sciences. Toledo: FISCAM.

Sánchez-Villegas, A. (2014). Friendly biostatistics. M. Á. Martínez-González, & FJ Faulín (Eds.). Madrid: Elsevier.

De Morton, NA (2009). The PEDro scale is a valid measure of the methodological quality of clinical trials: a demographic study. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 55 (2), 129-133.

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, DG (2010). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyzes: the PRISMA statement. Int J Surg, 8 (5), 336-341

De Larrucea, JR (2017). Introduction to research. In How to research: final degree project, master's thesis, doctoral thesis and other research work. (pp. 11-26). Profit.

Fletcher, RH, Fletcher, SW, & Fletcher, GS (2016). Clinical epidemiology. Wolters Kluwer.

Gama, ZAS, & Gómez-Conesa, A. (2010). Systematic reviews of epidemiological studies. An instrument for evidence in physiotherapy. Physiotherapy, 32 (1), 25-32.

CASPe critical reading program (various tools). Available in http://www.redcaspe.org

Pompeu Fabra University. (nd). How to write an academic paper: Final degree project. https://guiesbibtic.upf.edu/treball-academic/formats/tfg

Herbert, Robert, et al. Practical Evidence-Based Physiotherapy-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2011

Gisbert, JP, & Bonfill, X. (2004). How to perform, evaluate and use systematic reviews and meta-analyzes? Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 27 (3), 129-149

Velez, RR, Echavez, JFM, & López, MEF (2013). A methodological proposal for conducting systematic reviews of the literature in biomedical research. CES Movement and Health, 1 (1), 61-73

Pompeu Fabra University. (nd). Mendeley: Bibliography Manager. Retrieved from http://guiesbibtic.upf.edu/mendeley