Module HEAS42930: QUANTITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH METHODS

Department: Health [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

HEAS42930: QUANTITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH METHODS

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The course provides an overview of common quantitative health service research designs used internationally with training in basic statistics and epidemiological reasoning. It will provide students with the ability to critically appraise published literature in quantitative health research and design quantitative research projects.

Content

• Principles applied to health: critical thought, scientific method, hypothesis testing, cause and effect
• Epidemiological concepts: natural history of disease; disease icebergs; error; variation; causation
• Testing for disease: the principles of diagnostic study design
• Observational designs: cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies, with an-depth look at surveys
• Experimental design: clinical trials, with particular attention to randomised designs
• Reviewing research: descriptive and meta analytic analyses
• Design issues

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of module students will have an understanding of:
• The construction of knowledge about diseases and their treatment
• The variety of quantitative research techniques commonly used in health-related research
• Strengths and weaknesses of different designs (e.g. their vulnerability to forms of bias)
• Awareness of how different professional perspectives, context and paradigms influence research design and use of findings
• Key parameters in research design

• Quantitative research design
• Statistical methods
• Research planning and conduct
• Critical appraisal skills

• Managing and manipulating data
• Using statistical methods appropriately within research
• The ability to organise data, abstract meaning from information and share knowledge at an advanced level
• The ability to select and use appropriate advanced numerical techniques
• Enhanced ability to make effective use of Communication and Information Technology

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lecturing - Outlines key quantitative research methods, their strengths and weaknesses - Explains the basic components of each technique
• Tutorials conducted as Self-Paced Learning - Workbooks, including reading and practical exercises will help students to work through concepts in more detail, encouraging group working, peer support and developing inter-professional working skills. Support will be available and provided throughout tutorials as required.
• Computer/practical classes - allow students to develop skills using common statistical packages for quantitative analysis
• Independent study, research and analysis - Focuses student knowledge more deeply by pursuing aspects of the module that are of special interest to themselves and exploring specific applications in their field of study.
• Essay assessment will test students' critical knowledge and understanding of key concepts, their ability to argue coherently and communicate effectively in writing, and to reflectively assess their proficiency in thinking through how the various quantitative research methods can be best utilised in understanding research questions in health.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Feedback on exercises provided in workbooks plus a 2500 paper on aspects of critically appraising research.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University