4 credits
Public health professionals use the results of research in many ways, including in the development of programs and interventions designed to enhance the health of communities as well as to demonstrate the efficacy of programs to stakeholders who provide funding. Students in this course engage in an examination of the research that informs public health programs, policy, and practice. Students examine the logic that underlies scientific research; study design; sampling; identification of variables; methods of data collection and analysis; key concepts in measurement, including reliability and validity; program evaluation; and research ethics. Students also explore the methods of participatory research as well as statistical software used to support research. Gaining practical experience, students develop a research manuscript through which they engage in an integrative literature review and analyze and apply various components of research, including data sets; study designs, variables and measurements, participants; data analysis; and strategies and skills for presentation of research.