HTH RS M *751 / Observational and Analytical Research Methods

3 unit(s)

The course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts and methods used in observational (non-experimental) studies to conduct needs assessments (e.g., prevalence of disease or order), to understand the determinants of health (e.g., association between independent/exposure variables and dependent/outcome variables in analytic research) and to emphasize concepts that are essentialto the conduct of epidemiologic studies including internal and external validity, random variability, bias, effect modification, causality, and generalisibility. The topics will focus on three broad areas: i) the formulation of research questions and use of theory to explicate the relationships among key variables; ii) study design options, sampling, measurement and analysis; and iii) the control of error.