Design & Methods for Clinical and Health Research

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Critically evaluate relevant research evidence and synthesise recommendations for your area of research or practice
• Identify and justify appropriate and feasible research question(s).
• Identify questions or topics relating to your area of practice and carry out a comprehensive literature search
• Critically appraise and integrate a wide range of literature related to your area of research, both from a scientific and a pragmatic perspective, and in the context of a health care environment
• Demonstrate an understanding of relevant research design and methods through critical appraisal of selected literature

The value and meaning of scientific research in the context of health care services and systems

2.Information and data management skills, including using effective search strategies

3.Critically appraising research material using appropriate tools

4.Designing research questions, aims and objectives;

5.Research paradigms, philosophies and methodologies;

6.A wide range of research designs, for example randomised controlled trials, complex intervention studies, surveys, economic evaluation, phenomenology, case study and action research

7.Introduction to data collection methods used in quantitative and qualitative traditions; including for example, surveys, use of routine data, physiological measurement, interviews, diary-method

8.Construction of data collection tools used in research;

9.Introduction to the issues of reliability and validity and the naturalistic equivalent of credibility

10.Introduction to data protection and data management

11. Introduction to statistics: e.g. the use of quantitative data in epidemiology and population demographics, describing and summarizing data, estimation and confidence intervals, hypotheses and significance testing, determining sample sizes;

12.Qualitative data analysis techniques;

13.Introduction to ethical principles relating to the conduct of research and research in clinical practice.

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching sessions are designed and facilitated by research active staff from across the School. You will learn collaboratively and inter-professionally throughout the module. The taught sessions are shared with students from the MRes and the doctoral training programme.

Active student participation in all learning activities of the module will be promoted so that you will assume responsibility for your own learning.

A range of student-centred learning and teaching strategies will be employed, for example: workshops, interactive lectures by key experts in their field, tutor- and student-led seminars, independent supported learning and individual supervision.

To support your learning throughout the module, learning materials, resources and course documentation and further reading suggestions will be available via Blackboard - the University’s web-based managed learning environment.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Pope C. & Mays N. (Eds) (2007). Qualitative Research in Health Care. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Oppenheim (2000). Questionnaire design, interviewing and attitude measurement. Continuum International Publishing Group.

Kirkwood BR & Sterne JAC (2003). Essential Medical Statistics. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Aveyard, H. (2019). Doing a literature review in health and social care: a practical guide. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Streiner DL, Norman GR (2008). Health Measurement Scales. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pope C & Mays N (2006). Qualitative research in health care. Oxford: Blackwell.

Bowling A. (Ed.) (2014). Research methods in health: Investigating Health and Health Services. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Kirkwood B.R. & Sterne J.A.C. (2003). Essential Medical Statistics. Oxford: Blackwell Science.

Aveyard H (2014). Doing a literature review in health and social care. Maidenhead: OUP.

Greenhalgh T (2010). The Basics of Evidence-based Medicine. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Portney L.G. (2014). Foundations of Clinical Research. Applications to Practice. London: Pearson Education.

Denzin N.K., Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds) (2018). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks.

Assessment strategy

The formative assessment will comprise a short written summary detailing the choice of topic for review and the rationale for this in relation to clinical/health research.

Completion of the summative assessment for this module, as follows:

You will identify a topic relevant to a specified clinical or practice context and carry out a literature search on this topic. You will produce a literature review which critiques current evidence in your chosen area and use this to develop and justify a research question/questions emerging from your review. The review should be 3,500 words +/-10%.

Feedback Method

For the formative assessment, students will receive brief e-mail feedback on their assignment plan/extract from the module leader, in line with the policy on reading drafts.

For the summative assignment, detailed written feedback highlighting strengths of the assignment and areas for development will be provided by the marker.

A pass mark of 50% must be achieved in this summative assessment to successfully complete this module.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal