The student will be able to:

1. Value the purpose of health research and its role in health care
2. Formulate a research topic
3. Differentiate the types of information needed
4. Conduct an effective literature search
5. Evaluate and analyze information and its sources critically
6. Demonstrate ethical and legal uses of information, including proper citation of sources
7. Differentiate between study designs and methodology
8. Describe the scientific method
9. Discuss sampling a population and methods to minimize bias
10. Develop a research problem statement and write a hypothesis
11. Apply the process of evidence-based decision-making to health care
12. Use the PICO process to develop a good clinical question
13. Critically analyze a research article using accepted criteria
14. Interpret health data by using basic statistical tests and principles

1. Health research and its role in health care
   1. Definition of health research
   2. Validity and reliability of research
   3. Applying research to health care
   4. Ethical principles in health research
2. Formulate a research topic
   1. Identify a research topic
      1. Explore general information sources to increase familiarity with the topic
      2. Identify key concepts and terms that describe the information need
      3. Broaden or narrow search to achieve a manageable focus
3. Types and formats of information sources in health care
   1. Compare and contrast popular sources (trade publications, magazines) vs. scholarly sources (peer-reviewed journals)
      1. Content
      2. Author
      3. Audience
      4. Language (terminology)
      5. Graphics
      6. Layout and organization
      7. Accountability
      8. References
   2. Differentiate levels of evidence (primary, secondary, and tertiary studies)
      1. Clinical practice guidelines
      2. Meta-analysis/systematic reviews
      3. Randomized controlled trials
      4. Cohort studies
      5. Case control studies
      6. Narrative reviews, expert opinions, editorials
4. Conduct an effective literature search using appropriate information-searching tools
   1. Reference sources
      1. Library catalog
      2. CREDO reference
   2. Books
      1. Library catalog
      2. eBook academic collection (EBSCOhost)
   3. Periodicals (journals, magazines, and newspapers)
      1. Electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, and Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source
   4. Internet sources (.gov, .edu, .org, .com, etc.)
      1. Search engines
5. Evaluate health information and its sources critically
   1. Analyze the parts of an original research study
      1. Abstract
      2. Introduction
      3. Methods
      4. Results
      5. Discussion
      6. Conclusion
      7. Tables and figures
   2. Critically analyze database and internet search results
      1. Authority
      2. Accuracy
      3. Bias/objectivity
      4. Currency
      5. Coverage
6. Demonstrate ethical and legal uses of information
   1. Copyright
   2. Plagiarism
      1. Definition
      2. Appropriate documentation style to cite resources
7. Study designs and methodology
   1. Descriptive study designs
      1. Cross-sectional
      2. Qualitative
   2. Analytic study designs
      1. Observational: cohort (prospective), case-control (retrospective)
      2. Experimental: randomized double blind studies
8. Scientific method
   1. Steps in conducting scientific research
      1. Ask a question
      2. State a hypothesis
      3. Conduct an experiment
      4. Analyze results
      5. Draw conclusions
9. Sampling a population
   1. Types of sampling methods
      1. Convenience
      2. Random
      3. Stratified
      4. Judgment
      5. Systematic
   2. Methods for minimizing bias
      1. Sample size
      2. Sampling method
      3. Study design
10. Hypothesis
    1. Alternative hypothesis
    2. Null hypothesis
    3. Hypothesis testing
11. Evidence-based decision-making
    1. PICO process
       1. Problem
       2. Intervention
       3. Comparison of interventions
       4. Outcome/solution
12. Critical evaluation of research
    1. Criteria for evaluating scientific research
13. Statistical tests
    1. Correlation coefficients
    2. p-value
    3. t-test
    4. chi-square test

Not applicable.

Written critical evaluation of a current scientific research
Literature search based on research problem
Exams (multiple choice, short answer, essay questions)
Problem solving exercises
Oral presentation on research
Group work

Lecture presentation
Classroom or online discussion
Case study analysis
Presentations of major projects followed by discussion and evaluation

Patten, Mildred. Understanding Research Methods, 10th ed.. 2017.

Despite being older than five years, this is a seminal textbook in this field of study.

1. Read a 10-page scientific journal article on a contemporary topic in health care and identify the purpose of the study, hypothesis, and independent and dependent variables
2. Conduct a literature search on a health-related topic and compile a list of 10-15 articles from current, peer-reviewed journals. Citations will be written in the NML format
3. Write a review of the literature using 10-15 articles from current, peer-reviewed journals