Tutorial 2: Defining your research

question

Research, Evaluation and Special Studies

(RESS) Year 2
Project tutor
ILOs

Learning outcomes Lecture / Tutorial 2:

5. Be able to describe different types of study design
and understand when each should be used
6. Understand the benefits and limitations of ecological
studies specific to population health research
7. Be able to formulate a research question and
directional hypothesis for your project
From lecture 2 (1)

• Health events are probabilistic – they may, or may not,

happen

HUMAN + CIGARETTE HUMAN ALIVE AT

SMOKING 100

• We study groups of people to better understand and

describe the range of possible effects and outcomes =
From lecture 2 (2)

• A study that examines variations between geographical

areas is called an ecological study
• In ecological studies, the ‘units of analysis’ are not
individual people, but areas
• Examples from the lecture:
– Latitude (proxy for UV irradiance & vitamin D) -> Type 1
diabetes in 51 regions across the world
– Sodium intake -> cardiovascular disease mortality in 255
communities across the world
From lecture 2 - Ecological studies

• Benefits
– Cheap and easy to perform; publicly available data

– Can make large scale comparisons

– Useful for hypothesis generation

• Limitations
– Unlikely to include all members of the group -> potential for bias

– Ecological fallacy if results applied at individual level

– Cannot make causal inference

Task (1)

• In project / breakout groups, identify:

1. Clinical topics of interest

2. Broad health related questions within these topics

3. Exposures and outcomes

• 20 minutes to discuss – choose a spokesperson

• Re-join main group / room for a discussion

• Examples on Minerva: Learning Resources > Tutorials > Tutorial

2 – examples.pdf
Task (2)

• A hypothesis states how the exposure and outcome variables are likely
to be related to one another

• In project / breakout groups, write hypotheses for 3 research questions

that are:
1. Plausible – there’s a likely link between the variables

2. Falsifiable – can be rejected using scientific method

3. Directional – state proposed direction of effect

4. Precise – with detail (as above), but simple

• 10 minutes to prepare (see examples on Minerva)

• Re-join main group / room for a discussion

Homework

• Look at the PHE data and analysis tools at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/phe-data-and-analysis-tools

• Find data for exposure and outcome matched by geographical

area, and across multiple areas. E.g.:

– Government Office Region (GOR) / Local Authority (LA) / Super Output

Area (SOA)

– Strategic Health Authority (SHA) / Primary Care Trust (PCT) OR Clinical

Commissioning Group (CCG)

• Time will be allocated in the next tutorial to share findings in groups

ILOs

Learning outcomes Lecture / Tutorial 2:

5. Be able to describe different types of study design
and understand when each should be used
6. Understand the benefits and limitations of ecological
studies specific to population health research
7. Be able to formulate a research question and
directional hypothesis for your project