Basics of Research Methodology
University graduates including medical doctors at all level and at any time during their carrier pathway come across many problems in their field of interest. These problems are diverse and may relate to development, socioeconomic, health or medical issues. They may observe something while doing their routine work or obtaining services or during an event and they may get interested to study certain phenomena. They also may be asked to conduct research as partial or complete fulfillment for certain degree. Because of this and in the era of evidence-based; knowledge and skills about research and scientific publication are highly needed. This short course builds on the basic knowledge and skills obtained during undergraduate study and during field experience. It aims to put the participants in the tract of continuous professional development in the field of research methodology and scientific publication.
Learning objectives:By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Select a research problem, justify and write a concept note
2. Search published/ grey literature, interpret and write a systematic review
3. State research questions, hypothesis and objectives
4. Identify an appropriate study design for his/her question
5. Select study area/ setting and provide a comprehensive description
6. Define the study population and state inclusion and exclusion criteria
7. Define the inputs needed to calculate sample size and practice calculation of sample size using simple formulae and computer applications
8. Describe sampling method and state cons and pros for each
9. Design suitable data collection tools and techniques and collect data using one of them
10. Manage the collected data, enter the data using the suitable computer programme and check for consistency