Introduction to research in public health

3.00 credits

30.0 h + 15.0 h

Teacher(s)

D'Hoore William (coordinator); Lorant Vincent; Speybroeck Niko;

Language

French

Main themes

30 hours in-class (theory on scientific research) and 15 hours for application and exercises (research on PubMed, Medline ; qualitative research ; questionnaires and interviews)

The course material will mainly consist of slides available on ICampus website, scientific papers, research protocols, access to databases and research websites, screen copies for Pubmed literature search,'

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	At the end of this course and in combination with WESP1009, students will be able to: - to choose a topic of research that fits within the field of public health, community health, nursing care, hospital management, clinical field, epidemiology,' - to build in a conceptual scheme with research hypotheses - to search for information in written documentation and by consulting experts - to choose adequate method of investigation : observation, questionnaire - to choose the sampling method and to plan a research project - to collect and record data - to analyze and to interpret data - to report reliable results with the adequate formats (figures, tables, texts) - to synthesize the results in order to present a clear and concise conclusion

Content

The course provides a background from which postgraduate students may develop their skills and confidence to tackle research problems, to evaluate critically both their own and others' research, to gather information from existing public health data sources, and to communicate their findings accurately and adequately referenced.
A major part of this course is devoted to the scientific method used in the development and implementation of clinical or health services research.
The course emphasizes problematization, which relies on

desk research (scientific literature)
and the documentation of health problems (health databases), and which helps achieving the statement of relevant research questions.

The course emphasizes critical analysis of literature, evidence-based approach of health problems, and the identification of strengths and weaknesses of research output and available data according to the study design. Consequently, links are made with methods courses (e.g. epidemiology) and the requirements of the Master’s thesis.

Evaluation methods

A written exam is planned at the end of the trimester, leading to the evaluation of theoretical skills of the students. A long term evaluation is done through the different reports realised for different courses, but also at the end of the Master training, with the Master thesis.

Bibliography

Beaud M. L'art de la thèse. La découvert: Paris, 2006

Fragnière JP. Comment réussir un mémoire. Dunod: Paris, 1997.

Greuter M. Bien rédiger son mémoire ou son rapport de stage : La synthèse des méthodes efficaces. Poche. 2001

Kalika M. Le mémoire de master : Comment réussir votre projet d'étude. Dunod: Paris, 2005

Labère N et al. Méthodologie de la thèse et du mémoire. Jeunes Editions: Paris, 2005.

Le cours sur la rédaction du rapport de recherche représente aussi le moment-clé pour évoquer les risques du plagiat et la façon adéquate de citer ses sources. Les documents diffusés par l'UCL sont présentés ainsi que le logiciel de détection du plagiat.

Teaching materials

Moodle : Diapositives, exemples d'articles scientifiques ....

Faculty or entity

FSP