This module will provide students with skills and knowledge to advance research. Students will learn how to conduct exploratory research, formulate a research question, apply literature search techniques and analyse results, assess and apply data collection methods, analyse results using descriptive and inference statistics, conduct content analysis, visualise, interpret and evaluate findings, and document and present results.

Distinction between research and evaluation; research terminology; subject-participant, independent variable and predictor variable, dependent variable and criterion variable, experimental and control groups, population and sample, generalizability and transferability, statistically significant, extraneous variable research concepts: theory, hypothesis, methodology, method, research objective, problem statement, ethics in research The multidisciplinary nature of health research, health systems research and health services research; health informatics and human values; access, confidentiality and good practice; differentiate between evaluation, audit and quality assurance; quality adjusted life year (QALY), measurement of health outcomes. Ethics: data access, confidentiality and good practice, participant protection. Responsibility for computer-based decisions. Research paradigms; underlying assumptions of and basic beliefs associated with the scientific method, positivism and post-positivism, constructivist, transformative and pragmatic; labels commonly associated with different paradigms; merging paradigms. Evaluation design; what is to be evaluated, purpose of the evaluation, stakeholders in the evaluation, constraints affecting the evaluation, the evaluation questions, selection of an evaluation model, data collection, specification, analysis and interpretation strategies; questions to guide critical analysis. Literature review: reasons for conducting a literature review, process for conducting a literature review: problem identification, source of research topics, review of secondary sources, conducting the search, reading and preparing bibliographic information and notes, analysing the findings and synthesizing the results; using the literature review to gain a conceptual framework and formulate research questions and/or hypotheses; issues and questions related to the critical analysis of literature reviews. Data collection: checklists, questionnaires and surveys; interviews; documentation review; case studies; observation; focus groups; quality of data; data collection instruments; sampling strategies; sampling bias. Quantitative techniques: descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing; correlation and regression analysis; questions for critical analysis. Qualitative methods: reason for choosing qualitative methods; strategies for qualitative inquiry; methodological guidelines; approaches; methods; analysis; questions for critical analysis of qualitative methods. Mixed-methods and mixed-models research: philosophical assumptions and methodological implications; approaches to mixed-methods and mixed-models research; critical analysis questions. Interpretation of results. Presentation and dissemination of research findings. Research management.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: Define basic research terms and research concepts. Outline the underlying assumptions and basic beliefs associated with the major research paradigms. Develop a research question. Conduct a literature review. Prepare a research proposal. Apply data collection methods. Apply quantitative research methods and qualitative research methods. Apply critical analysis throughout research activities. Present research findings.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: Appreciate what makes a research study valid. Demonstrate a recognition of the strengths and weakness of quantitative and qualitative research methods.

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Students will gain the confidence to innovate and apply their learning, as individuals and as team members, adopting a patient-centric approach to their decision-making and actions, to solve problems and overcome challenges within their healthcare system. This will be achieved via: classes conducted in real-time; participation in activities and workshops; the utilisation of web-based resources; assessment of the latest techniques, tools and technologies; examination and critical review of recent case studies and research findings; articulating proposals; and engaging in feedback sessions prior to the realisation of a solution or capability.