HLT505 Research Methods in Health Science A (8)

Abstract

This introductory subject will deepen your appreciation of the importance of applied health research and introduce you to the steps involved in designing, conducting, and reporting on a research study. Topics include the epistemological underpinnings and technical differences and similarities between qualitative and quantitative approaches to research; the types of question that each of these approaches can help to answer; and specific sampling, recruitment, data collection, and data analysis methods employed in quantitative and qualitative studies. The overarching theme in this subject is the importance of ensuring that the research question that drives any study is (a) worth answering and (b) kept central in all methodological decisions. Students are encouraged to view the published work of other researchers appreciatively but critically, and to consider ways in which they might contribute useful knowledge to their respective fields of practice through question-driven research of their own.

+ Subject Availability Modes and Location

Session 1
Online	Albury-Wodonga Campus
Session 2
Online	Albury-Wodonga Campus

Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details: HLT505
Where differences exist between the Handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.

Subject information

Duration	Grading System	School:
One session	HD/FL	School of Community Health

Enrolment restrictions

Incompatible subject(s)	Related subject(s)
BMS500 PHM500 PHM508	HLT506 this HLT505 leads onto HLT506

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:

Be able to explain the importance of empirical research to the advancement of health care practice and policy;
Be able to compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative approaches to research;
Be able to compare and contrast a range of research designs, sampling, recruitment, data collection, and data analysis methods;
Be able to identify the aim of a study as a question and distinguish between a strong versus a weak rationale;
Be able to evaluate the appropriateness of methodological decisions in relation to a study's aim; and
Be able to appraise the validity of research-based claims considering the reported methods and results.

Syllabus

The subject will cover the following topics:

Nature and Value of Health Research;
Traditional Research Approaches - Differences;
Common Stages, Themes, and Issues across approaches;
Qualitative Sampling, Data Collection, and Data Analysis Methods;
Qualitative Research Designs and Purposes;
Issues of Rigour in Qualitative Research;
Quantitative Data Types, Data Collection Methods, and Rigour;
Quantitative Research Designs and Purposes;
Quantitative Sampling Methods, Sampling Error, and Confidence Intervals;
Data Analysis Techniques - Differences between Means;
Data Analysis Techniques - Bivariate Correlational Relationships;
Data Analysis Techniques - Multiple and Logistic Regression;
Statistical versus Clinical Significance and the Importance of Effect Size.

Back

The information contained in the 2017 CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: 25 August 2017. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.