Week One: Sections of a Research Article, Abstracts, and the Introduction of a Paper (Literature Review, Significance of Problem, Research Questions, and Operational Definitions)
- Identify the 4 sections of scientific research articles
- Determine the purpose of the abstract
- Identify the 2 key components of the introduction section of an article
- Identify 3 elements of a research question
- Understand why operational definitions are important
Week Two: Methods Section — Study Designs
- Answer 5 questions to identify study designs
- Understand the relation between types of study designs and the time frame of the study
- Identify the data collection procedures by the study design
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses of cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control study designs
Week Three: Methods Section — Sample Selection, Setting, Measureme (Instruments, Validity, and Reliability)
- Differentiate a sample from a population
- Identify the strengths of probability versus on-probability sampling
- Determine inclusion versus exclusion criteria whe developing a plan for sample selection
- Identify different types of instruments included i esearch studies
- Explain how instruments are determined to be valid and eliable
- Identify types of internal validity and reliability
- Identify data collection procedures
Week Four: Methods Section —Bias, Types of Variables and Rates (Incidence and Prevalence)
- Identify types of bias related to all study designs
- Identify types of bias specific to experimental studies
- Determine the difference between parametric and onparametric statistics
- Differentiate categorical and continuous variables
- Identify the difference between incidence and prevalence rates
Week Five: Ethical Issues, Human Subjects Committee / Institutional Review Boards, and the Discussion of a Paper (Clinical Implications, Limitations, and Future Studies)
- Understand the history of research ethics
- Determine the ethical lessons learned from the Tuskegee Study in the United States (U.S.)
- Identify studies conducted in the U.S. that raised new ethical issues
- Identify key components of the discussion section of a research article
Week Six: Final Exam
