This course provides a thorough introduction to the principles and practice of research relevant to health and social care. It will to enable you to access, critically appraise and review the research literature that is relevant to your field, and to plan and develop research and quality improvement projects linked to your areas of interest.
1 starting date
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Starting date:
- Duration: 10 weeks
- Time: to
- Fees: £2,100 (£3,150 for overseas students)
- Course credits: 30
- Occurs: Monday
- Course code: HRM011
- Location: Online
- Application deadline:
Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis (Online course) Course overview
The aim of this course is to enable you to develop your theoretical, methodological and research skills to enhance your ability to undertake searches of the academic literature, critically appraise research studies, plan and conduct rigorous research and reach sound analytical conclusions. It is these conclusions that can form the basis for the development of effective service delivery in health and social care organisations.
You will develop a thorough understanding of the principles, theory and epistemology of research and data analysis methods. Equal emphasis is given to the teaching of qualitative and quantitative research methods and study designs.
Who is it for?
This course has been designed to meet the needs of clinical practitioners across the medical and non-medical workforce, as well as students pursuing qualifications in public health, health policy, advanced clinical practice and health management.
Timetable
Term 2
Jan: Monday 17, 24 and 31 January 2022
Feb: Monday 7, 14, 21 and 28 February 2022
Mar: Monday 7, 14 and 21 March 2022
Benefits
The aim of this online course is to enhance your ability to critically appraise and conduct rigorous research and reach sound analytical conclusions.
This course may be undertaken as part of the School of Health & Psychological Sciences Masters programmes, or as a CPD course worth 60 CPD hours.
What will I learn?
By the end of the course you will be able to:
Knowledge and understanding:
- Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of methodological theory in Health Services Research
- Demonstrate confidence in formulating research questions in qualitative and quantitative research projects
- Demonstrate critical awareness of methods and study designs in qualitative and quantitative research
- Have developed a specialist skill set in either quantitative, qualitative or systematic review methodology.
Skills:
- Critically appraise the strengths and limitations of research and review proposals and completed studies and reviews across a range of designs
- Design and use search strategies to conduct a systematic review
- Plan a research project or service evaluation, drawing on the available literature and expert guidance to determine design, methods and analysis approaches
- Use specialist software (SPSS) to enter research findings and conduct key analyses
- Determine the most appropriate approaches for the analysis of different types of research data, providing clear rationale for chosen methods.
Values and attitudes:
- Have regard for ethical issues relating to research in health and social care settings
- Respect privacy and confidentiality
- Respect the opinions of others and behave with integrity.
Assessment and certificates
This teaching material are entirely on-line, and involve lecture slides and self-directed worksheets and exercises, made available either via Moodle.
The assessments for this course are as follows:
- An online examination involving multiple choice questions. This exam will cover basic knowledge across the range of topics taught (50% of course marks).
- An analytic report which may take the form of a 'mini-lab' quantitative analysis-based assessment, a piece of qualitative analysis coursework, or a systematic review assignment (chosen by the participant) (50% of course marks).
- Contributions to online discussions (where the minimum contribution is 250 words over at least 5 online activities).
All parts of this course assessment must be passed for successful course completion.
This is a 30 credit course at Level 7.
This course is provided by the School of Health & Psychological Sciences.
Credits
This course is worth 30 credits toward eligible programmes.
Eligibility
Non-EEA students can only apply as part of a programme, not as a stand-alone course.
There are no formal eligibility criteria. However, to complete the course, students will require convenient access to a computer with high-speed internet access, speakers and a microphone (a headphone set with microphone may provide a solution).
English requirements
If your first language is not English, one of the following is required:
- A first degree from a UK university
- A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America.
- International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
- TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
- Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.
Recommended reading
Priority Reading
- Bowling A (2014) Research methods in health: investigating health and health services. Maidenhead: Open University Press
- Field AP (2018) Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS. London: SAGE
- Pallant J (2016) SPSS survival manual: a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS. Maidenhead: Open University Press
- Denzin N , Lincoln YS (eds) (2018)The SAGE handbook of qualitative research, Fifth edition. Los Angeles: SAGE.
- Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York (2008) Systematic reviews: CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health care.