Research Methods in Public Health

Learn the how, when and why of public health research.

What is research? How do we conduct research? And what can we do with it? Research is what moves public health forward. It answers questions, validates hunches and saves lives. PBHL 6500 Research Methods in Public Health pulls together the key elements of the research process.

In this course, you’ll examine research study designs used in epidemiology, explore components of the research process and the scientific method and focus in-depth on issues related to protecting human subjects in public health research.

Early on, you and your classmates will identify a research problem and go step-by-step through the research process, from hypothesis to data gathering to evaluation to validation and finally to reporting your findings. Sharing observations as a group will be enlightening and will enhance your learning experience. This project will illustrate the process and uses of research in public health.

What You Will Learn in PBHL 6500

This course explores research design, collection and reporting of data, interpretation of findings, inferential procedures and current public health research. You will focus on the whole research process: from developing a research question, to collecting and analyzing data, to writing a journal article/report and presenting your findings.

Course Topics

Throughout this course, weekly topics may include but are not limited to the following:

• Research Process, Designs, and Human Subjects Protection
• Research Question and Literature Review
• Data Collection and SPSS
• Descriptive Data Analysis
• Inferential Data Analysis
• Reporting the Results
• Interpreting the Results
• Writing a Draft Journal Article

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of PBHL 6500 Research Methods in Public Health, you will be able to:

• Understand the role of the scientific method in advancing the mission of public health.
• Distinguish among the different measurement scales and the implications for selection of statistical methods to be used based on these distinctions.
• Formulate health-related research questions, test hypotheses and design a basic study to answer these questions.
• Apply ethical principles in public health research.
• Develop written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences.

Request More Information Today

To learn more about the online Master of Public Health curriculum from Benedictine University, including the class Methods of Research in Public Health, call (866) 295-3104 to speak with a program manager or request more information.

Programs that include this course