Introduction to Health Research

Dr. Muhammad Tahir Rizwan Khan

MBBS (Dow), MS Biostatistics & Epidemiology (Dow), M.Phil (University of Oslo)
Assistant Professor
Research Methodology Course Outline
Introduction to Health Research
Types of Researches
Introduction to Qualitative Research
Steps in Conducting Research
Selection of Research Topic
Literature Review
Protocol Writing-----------------------------------------Assignment
Plagiarism & How to avoid it
Sampling Techniques and Sample Size Estimation
Designing the Questionnaire
Budgeting & Planning the Unseen- Timeline & Gantt Chart
Report Writing (How to write Introduction, Methods, Results &
Discussion) ------------------------------------------------Assignment
Tutorial on EndNote X7
Critical Appraisal ---------------------------------------- Assignment
Motives
What makes you undertake research

Desire to get a research degree along with its

consequential benefits;
Desire to get respectability for promotion
Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved
problems, i.e., concern over practical
Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative
work
Desire to be of service to society
Motives
What makes you undertake research

Many more factors such as directives of government,

employment conditions, curiosity about new things,
desire to understand causal relationships, social
thinking and awakening, and the like may as well
motivate (or at times compel) people to perform
research operations.
And for some..
Lecture Outline
What is NOT Research
What IS Research
Motivators to undertake Research
Types of Research
Research Methodology
Types of Research Methodology
Fundamental types of Research
What is NOT Research

For a layman research may be synonymous to

Googling
Wikipediaing
Yahoo answers- ing
What it actually is

Derived from Middle French recerche: from recercher

meaning search or seek again
Research is a matter of raising a question & then trying to
find an answer
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines:
1: careful or diligent search
2: studious inquiry or examination; especially
investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery
and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories
or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of
such new or revised theories or laws
3: the collecting of information about a particular subject
What it actually is

John W. Best: the systematic and objective

analysis and recording of controlled observations
that may lead to development of generalizations,
principles, or theories, resulting in prediction and
possibly ultimate control of e en

M. H. Gopal: Re ea ch is investigation or
experimentation aimed at the discovery and
interpretation of facts, or practical application of
new or revised theories or la
What qualifies as a research
To qualify as research the process must have the
following characteristics: (Kumar 2005)

Controlled
Rigorous
Systematic
Valid and verifiable
Empirical
Critical
Aims
the idea behind

Finding new truth or knowledge Or can confirm

established truth or knowledge

Purpose is to find out solutions to problems It may

attempt to answer a question or to determine a
relation between two or more variables
Objectives
what the researcher wants to get

1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve

new insights into it
Exploratory or Formative Research

2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a

particular individual, situation or a group
Descriptive Research
Objectives
what the researcher wants to get

3. To determine the frequency with which something

occurs or with which it is associated with something
else
Diagnostic & clinical esearch studies

4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relations between

variables
Hypothesis-testing research studies
Research Methodology
How its done

a procedure designed and defined before conducting

the research
Types of Research Methodology

Two commonly used research methodologies are:

Quantitative Data is Numerical (in numbers)

Qualitative Data is Non-Numerical ( NOT in

numbers)
Comparison of Quantitative & Qualitative
Methods
What kind of a Research to choose?
Depends on the type of research question
Research Questions typically answered by
Quantitative Research methods
How many?

What is the prevalence of dental caries in children?

Research Questions typically answered by
Quantitative Research methods
Is the number rising or falling?

Is the prevalence of dental caries more than that in year

2004?
Research Questions typically answered by
Quantitative Research methods
What factors predict a certain outcome?

What are the factors which are associated with dental

caries?
Research Questions typically answered by
Quantitative Research methods
Testing of any hypothesis

HA: Den al caries occ r more in children ho don br sh

twice a day
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative explanation that accounts
for a set of facts and can be tested by further
investigation

Null Hypothesis
Alternative or Research Hypothesis
Research Questions which cant be answered
using Quantitative Research methods
In-depth knowledge of a phenomenon
When there is a chance of unanticipated variables
popping up during the study
To find out the meaning of a particular event or
circumstance
Types of Qualitative Methods
Interviews
Focus Group Discussions
Case Studies
Ethnographic Methods
Identify the type of research methodology
What is the prevalence of Tuberculosis in Pakistan?

Quantitative
Qualitative
Identify the type of research design
What are the factors associated with Diabetic
Retinopathy in Pakistan?

Quantitative
Qualitative
Identify the type of research design
Is Diabetic Retinopathy associated with poor
glycemic control?

Quantitative
Qualitative
Identify the type of research design
What is the context of gender inequality in Pakistan?

Quantitative
Qualitative
Acknowledgements

Dr. Saadiyah Rao- for sharing her work

References

Research Methodology In Social Science By Arvind

Kumar
(http://www.ebookdb.org/reading/57G31A162F50112
51CG47F69/Research-Methodology-In-Social-
Science)
Research Methodology for Health Professionals By
RC Goyal
An Introduction to Research by John W Best