Fundamentals of Research Methodology

BMED 270/3.0

Overview

This course will introduce fundamentals of health-related research methods with a focus on developing critical reasoning skills. Using examples from a wide range of health-related research topics, students will gain familiarity and skills to assess primary literature at a basic level. Throughout the course students will assess various aspects of both qualitative and quantitative research such as origins of research questions, development of study rationales, sampling and participant recruitment, data quality, strengths and limitations of various study designs, internal and external validity, ethics for research involving human subjects, and introduction to knowledge translation.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. Discuss the origins of research questions in human health and disease, and best practices for articulating such questions in the health sciences.
  2. Recognize study approaches and designs by their key features (quantitative, qualitative, mixed method) and identify the situations which best suit the use of each approach to address the research question.
  3. Develop compelling, evidence-based rationales for research studies based upon existing evidence and communicate logical and creative arguments in support of research ideas and associated study designs.
  4. Identify suitable approaches to sampling and recruitment of research participants based on the needs of the study design.
  5. Discuss appropriate approaches and ethical considerations for data collection and recognize threats to data quality.
  6. Discuss strategies (programs and policy development) for the translation of research knowledge into policy and practice for the optimization of human health in populations.