The Evidence-based Management (EBM) course aims at providing students enrolled in programs at RSM with different levels of competencies centered around evidence and that they are expected to develop and maintain throughout their studies and ultimately translate into their working life.  EBM involves the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of the best available evidence about and within business organisations for decision-making. This course is divided into two sequential modules. The first module will equip students with knowledge about EBM and how it strengthens decision-making and practice in business and organisation. In module two, students will learn how to appraise evidence quality before applying it to support decisions and actions. Students will thus be able to not only translate principles from best evidence to management practice and ethical decision-making, but also to reflect on how to use evidence and their position to improve on their learning experience.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Describe Evidence-based practice (EBP) in Management and its basic principles and its core and functional capabilities.
2. Identify problems that require decision-making based on knowledge of research fundamentals and EBP principles and capabilities (ASK)
3. Establish the search strategy to acquire the best available evidence relevant to the problem (ACQUIRE)
4. Ascertain the methodological appropriateness, quality, and trustworthiness of evidence (APPRAISE)
5. Integrate different types of relevant evidence towards finding solutions to the problem (AGGREGATE)
6. Generate and implement best solutions to the problem with due consideration of their social and ethical implications (APPLY)
7. Evaluate feedback obtained on applied solutions for necessary adjustment (ASSESS)
8. Generate insights and decision-making awareness through self-reflection (ASSESS)

Research-Led Teaching

Evidence-based Management education is itself research-based. The approach to learning in this course is grounded in cognitive theories of learning which best support the development of critical thinking and meta-cognitive skills. The content is based on robust research, and in turn decision-making skills are developed. Managers and leaders taking this course will be positioned to ask the right questions, think critically, and acquire the best possible information with which to make management decisions. In this course students will learn to think critically about management problems and their solutions in terms of research findings published in academic journals in addition to other sources of evidence.

The Convener has decades of experience in evidence-based management and decision-making. As a senior executive in the Commonwealth Government he was closely involved in the early years of establishing Evidence-based Medicine in Australia. He has taught this course, MGMT7250, on more than ten occasions, both on-campus at ANU, and at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Field Trips

There are no field trips in this course.

Additional Course Costs

There are no additional class costs expected in this course.

Examination Material or equipment

There is a final examination for this course. It will be conducted during the end of semester examination period in ANU computer labs.

Required Resources

A simple calculator with a memory and square-root function will be needed for the assessments. Note that calculator apps on smartphones and other devices cannot be used in tests.

Recommended Resources

Text book: The textbook for this course is:

Barends, E & Rousseau, D M, 2018, Evidence-based management: How to use evidence to make better organizational decisions, Kogan Page, UK.

It is available through the campus bookshop, and as well a copy of the text book will be held in the ANU library reserve & short loan collection. The ANU Library e-book copy can be found HERE. Please contact the Course Convener if you have difficulty getting access to the book.

In-session resources:

• It is highly desirable that you bring an internet-connected device such as a tablet or laptop with Microsoft Excel to each session. It will be used for information search and solution development in the class discussions.
• Microsoft Excel will be used for a number of the tools and techniques used during the course. Excel is part of Microsoft Office. ANU staff and students can download a copy of Microsoft Office for free, for use on personal devices by visiting the Microsoft Office 365 Online Portal. Please refer to HERE for details. If this isn't possible, please let the Convener know.

Staff Feedback

Feedback: Rubrics are provided for all assessment items so that students can plan their work and can identify areas for improvement. Students may receive feedback in any of the following ways:

1. Written or rubric-based qualitative feedback.
2. Synchronous live feedback to individual learners or consolidated for the whole class;
3. Feedback in numeric, tabular, and graphical formats, and/or comments provided by video or audio recording or in writing; feedback can be to individual learners or consolidated for the whole class;
4. Peer feedback during workshops;
5. Individual feedback can be provided to students in consultation with the teaching team by email or by appointment. If an appointment is required for a telephone, online chat, or in-person meeting, email the tutor, lecturer, or Convenor to make an appointment.

Disagreement and dispute of assessment marks and feedback: ANU has policies and procedures to be followed in respect of disagreement with assessment marks or feedback (see under EDUCATIONAL POLICIES). However, it is suggested that any disagreement with assessment marks and feedback be addressed initially by email to the Convenor, including a clear description of the area(s) of dispute.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Important: Updates and announcements for this course will be circulated via emails and/or Wattle site. Students should ensure that their official ANU email address is effective and that they have access to Wattle. Students should check their ANU email address daily during teaching periods.

Student consultation:  

• Consultation requests to students will be circulated by Course Announcements or by email.
• Every effort will be made to respond to student queries as soon as possible, and within 2 business days unless there are special circumstances. The preferred initial method of contact is email, with other forms of communications (such as in-person consultation, online consultation, chat, or phone) used by agreement.

Course Guidance: Detailed guidance on assessment requirements, marking criteria, assessment submission standards, navigating the teaching facilities, and how to study as well as detailed course notes are all available on the Wattle page.

• Refer to the Study Guide near the top of the page for an overview of learning through this course,
• Then read, watch, or listen to the other resources it identifies for more details, including in the Getting Started block of the Wattle page.

Personal portfolio: You may benefit from a range of learning tools. Consider keeping a personal journal throughout the course to record the thoughts, issues and dilemmas that arise for you. Such a journal may be electronic or maintained in any other format that suits you; and ePortfolio tool is provided to you for the purpose and is accessed through the right-hand column of the Wattle page. The journal is used to record insights gathered from course reading and other sources, as well as for noting personal reflections as the course proceeds. Students may reflect on their skills, resources, capabilities, thinking and learning styles as well as the course content and how it relates to their previous life experiences, and consider how they will prepare themselves for working in a management role deploying the skills and knowledge gained in this course.

Submission size: A maximum submission size is specified for assessment items. The specified sizes are adequate to cover the requirements to a high standard and they encourage focused and business-like writing and presentation. Note that words, slides, pages, or time in excess of the specified maximum submission size will not be marked.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Use of AI is rapidly growing in business, in particular the use of Large Language Models, of which there are many proprietary brands. In this course students may choose to use or to not use AI tools, but in any case where AI tools are used the student must accurately cite and reference the particular tools and must also advise in an appendix how they used the tool.Guidance on how to do this appropriately is provided in the Getting Started block on the Wattle page; the ANU provides further guidance at the following link: ANU Libguide https://libguides.anu.edu.au/generative-ai Students are reminded that they may be requested to meet with the Convenor to discuss any assessment submission, including responding to questions on the content of submissions and on their understanding of the course concepts assessed by the submission.

Assessment submission standards: Detailed advice on assessment submission standards, including detailed guidance on what is counted towards submission size, is provided on the Wattle page.

Procedure for extensions: The procedure for obtaining an extension of time for an assessment item is advised in the section on LATE SUBMISSION.

Scaling: Your final mark for the course will be based on the raw marks allocated for each of your assessment items. However, your final mark might not be the same number as produced by that formula, as marks may be scaled. Any scaling applied will preserve the rank order of raw marks (ithat is, if your raw mark exceeds that of another student, then your scaled mark will exceed the scaled mark of that student), and may be either up or down.

Applicable timezone: The Australian National University is situated in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory and all references to times and dates refer to time in the Australian Capital Territory. Be aware that the Australian Capital Territory observes Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time in summer months; the effect of this is to shift the time by one hour from Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) to Australian Eastern Daylight-saving Time (AEDT). This shift is taken into account in setting times for submission of assessment items or other activities so the set time will be as specified, but AEST or AEDT will apply depending on the time of year.

Support: The University offers a number of support services for students. Information on these services is available online from http://students.anu.edu.au/studentlife/

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Topic 1. Evidence-based management and the scientific method. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 1, 2, 5 and 16.1 to 16.3. TTEBM Notes Chapter I.
2	Topic 1. Evidence-based management and the scientific method. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 1, 2, 5 and 16.1 to 16.3. TTEBM Notes Chapter I.	Practice In-class Test
3	Topic 2. Acquiring Scientific Evidence and Bayesian Aggregation. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 6, 12, 16.4 and 16.5. TTEBM Notes Chapter II.
4	Topic 2. Acquiring Scientific Evidence and Bayesian Aggregation. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 6, 12, 16.4 and 16.5. TTEBM Notes Chapter II.	In-class Test.
5	Topic 3. Acquiring Evidence From Other Sources. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 3, 8, 10 and 16.6. TTEBM Notes Chapter III.
6	Topic 3. Acquiring Evidence From Other Sources. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 3, 8, 10 and 16.6. TTEBM Notes Chapter III.	In-class Test.
7	Topic 4A. Appraisal of Evidence from the Field. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 4, 9, 11, 16.7 and 16.8. TTEBM Notes Chapter IV.
8	Topic 4A. Appraisal of Evidence from the Field. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 4, 9, 11, 16.7 and 16.8. TTEBM Notes Chapter IV.	In-class Test.
9	Topic 4B. Appraisal of Published Scientific Evidence. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 7, 16.9 and 16.13. TTEBM Notes Chapter IV.
10	Topic 4B. Appraisal of Published Scientific Evidence. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 7, 16.9 and 16.13. TTEBM Notes Chapter IV.	In-class Test
11	Topic 5. EBM Application, Assessment and Capacity-building. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 13, 14, and 15. TTEBM Notes Chapter V.
12	Topic 5. EBM Application, Assessment and Capacity-building. Tools and Techniques for EBM (TTEBM). Readings: Textbook chapters 13, 14, and 15. TTEBM Notes Chapter V.	In-class Test
13	No classes. Consultation sessions available for exam preparation.	Final exam in Examination Period.

Tutorial Registration

To enrol in a Seminar please consult the Timetable webpage.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
In-class Tests	80 %	29/10/2024	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Structured Practical Examination	20 %	28/11/2024	2,3,4,5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

This course is a foundational element of post-graduate learning in the Research School of Management, and a substantial proportion is delivered through face-to-face teaching on campus. Teaching will be through interactive seminars that include small group work that reinforces learning and provides practice and guidance for assessable tasks. To gain the best and most effective results from these teaching sessions students are expected to study the topic readings prior to sessions. Resources including recorded lectures, core content, academic research articles, and other audio, visual, or textual resources that will be made available online through Wattle.

Examination(s)

This course has a Final Examination.

Assessment Task 1

In-class Tests

Purpose: Together these Tests will cover aspects of understanding and use of learning under all 8 course learning outcomes. Results will be reported progressively during the semester, with the cumulative result for the first two Tests published by the Census Date.

Description: Five invigilated in-class paper-based tests of about an hour's duration, in weeks 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. The Tests are individual assessments and late submission is not permitted.

Weighting: 80% of the final mark for the course.

Feedback: Up to 10 working days after submission, excluding semester breaks. Feedback for the Test in Week 6 will be provided at the end of Week 6.

Assessment Task 2

Structured Practical Examination

Purpose: This assessment will allow students to demonstrate their ability to conduct a short-form Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) report under reasonably authentic conditions.

Description: This invigilated examination will be conducted in computer laboratories on campus. Students will be assigned a short case study as a prompt and will be required to follow a template to complete a short-form Critically Appraised Topic report.

Marking criteria: The reports will be submitted electronically and will be marked with a rating scale which evaluates competence in each of the steps required to complete a CAT.

Collaboration: This is an individual Final Examination.

Weighting: 20% of the final mark.

Feedback: 28 November, 2024.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

Use of Turnitin: Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Lodgement: You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records.

Identification: On all assignments you should only give your student number as identification; your name should not be included anywhere in the file.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must include the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Not applicable to this course.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Returning Assignments

All assignments will be marked and/or returned according to the timeline specified under ASSESSMENT SUMMARY.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Not applicable to this course.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students