Please note: there may be some adjustments to the teaching arrangements published in the course catalogue for 2020-21. Given current circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic it is anticipated that some usual arrangements for teaching on campus will be modified to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff on campus; further adjustments may also be necessary, or beneficial, during the course of the academic year as national requirements relating to management of the pandemic are revised.

Research Methods (Qualitative, Quantitative and Health Economics) MED5272

  • Academic Session: 2022-23
  • School: School of Health and Wellbeing
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Available to Erasmus Students: No

Short Description

This course will provide an overview of research methods including qualitative, quantitative and health economic approaches. The course will equip students to critically appraise research methodologies employed in peer-reviewed research papers.

Timetable

Semester One

Requirements of Entry

None

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

■ 1. Critical appraisal, 1000 words (50% weighting)

Critique of research methodology in the form of a 15 minute presentation or podcast (50% weighting)

Course Aims

This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the research process, enabling them to design, conduct, analyse and write up a substantive project dissertation based on research or structured inquiry. This will include developing skills to systematically search, synthesise and present literature, and in different methodological approaches to research in population health.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

 

■ Critically appraise and synthesise the paradigms of quantitative and qualitative research, together with the underpinning rationale for methodological approach, sampling, data collection and analysis of each approach

■ Examine and critically evaluate the suitability of innovative research methods appropriate for research in population health in a range of economic settings (including low and middle income countries)

■ Identify and apply effective strategies for literature reviews, including systematic reviews.

■ Critically discuss and evaluate key concepts and analysis methods

■ Discuss and debate the concepts of ethics and research governance and the practical implications of each, in a range of economic settings (including low and middle income countries)

■ Construct research questions and justify suitable methodology for the development of an empirical piece of primary or secondary research which adds to existing theoretical and/or empirical knowledge

■ Effectively communicate research findings and design appropriate research dissemination strategies

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

N/A