Applied Research Methods for Public Health (PHCM9132)

Course outcomes

This course aims to introduce you to research in public health contexts and to provide you with an understanding of how to set up a research project in this area and develop the skills to formulate a research proposal. Particular emphasis will be given to identifying research questions, and designing projects, and identifying practical and ethical issues which are likely to emerge in the planning of research. 

This course is not intended to train you to carry out empirical research studies, but it will develop your skills in ascertaining what kind of research can answer what kind of question. You will build on skills learned in other courses and/or your first degree, and learn how to use published research critically to write well-structured and well-referenced reports in public health (e.g. policy development, health service management, disease outbreak investigation, program evaluation, health promotion), using different forms and different media.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

• recognise the value and importance of public health research
  
• evaluate the usefulness of particular research methods for carrying out public health research
• write a simple literature review that identifies a research gap that can be filled by a new study
• devise and refine a research question and develop a research statement
• determine appropriate methods for the research proposal
• develop and write a simple research proposal
• examine and apply the ethical issues involved in research
• assess the motivation and rationale for research design.