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Summary

This is a basic course in health research methods that covers the following topics: Research design and methodology; designing research studies; quantitative approaches; allocation, randomisation, blinding; interpreting information provided by published research; using research guidelines and checklists; writing research proposals and protocols; ethical issues in medical research; statistical analysis; summarising data (means, medians, measures of spread, proportions, odds); displaying data – why and how; normal distribution and normal tables; quantifying differences and associations (differences in means/medians, relative risks, odds ratios, correlation coefficients); making inferences (significance testing and confidence intervals); parametric and non-parametric analyses; paired and unpaired t-tests; analyzing 2x2 tables; one-way ANOVA; regression; interpretation of coefficients; choosing the best model; model diagnostics.

The objective of this module is to provide you with the tools to carry out quantitative research either as part of your iBSc research project or in your future career as a medical professional.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Formulate a meaningful research question
2. Understand the advantages and disadvantages of different study designs and ways to overcome bias
3. Choose the most appropriate descriptive statistics and displays to explore a sample of data
4. Use significance tests and confidence intervals to make inferences about a population of interest and answer a research question
5. Understand how regression works and how to interpret linear regression coefficients
6. Apply statistical methods to data using SPSS statistical software

Who is this module for?

This is an optional module for students on the iBSc Paediatrics and Child Health.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Learning will be through 10 weekly workshops, which consist of lectures followed by hands-on practical applications of the methods using SPSS.