Course Descriptions
HPA 477 - DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH
This course provides statistical computing and data management concepts; an overview of qualitative research techniques; and an introduction to survey design including sampling strategies, data collection, item and measurement development, and survey analysis.
Learning Objectives:
- Bring together variables and observations from multiple datasets
- Write programs to properly orient and interpret frequency tables from datasets
- Use statistical software to read an existing data set and create a formatted one
- Demonstrate an understanding of the use of qualitative methods to explore a novel area of research
- Describe the principles of sampling and survey methods, and be conversant in sampling and survey terminology
- Enumerate the major methods of collecting survey data and the strengths and weaknesses each
- Enumerate the various item types and their use
- Describe the development of measures and the issues of reliability and validity they raise
Topics Covered:
1. Statistical Computing II
- Bring together variables and observations from multiple SPSS datasets
- Indicator variable and sub-setting
- Using frequency tables and univariate analyses to characterize datasets
- Managing a series of related data sets
- Important data structures (time series, panel data, nested data)
2. Qualitative Methods
- The need for qualitative methods
- Focus groups
- Cognitive interviews
- Ethnographic interviews
- Case studies
- Using qualitative output-ATLAS etc.
3. Survey Methods
- Use of surveys
- Elements of survey design
- Identifying study subjects
- Inclusion/exclusion
- Sampling frame
- Probability sample
- Simple random sample
- Sampling error and sampling bias
- Stratified sampling
- Systematic sample
- Consecutive sample
- Convenience sample
- Cluster sample
- Survey methods (face to face, telephone, mail) and advantages/disadvantages)
- Item development (scales, continuous measures, skip/conditional items)
- Measure development
- Tests of reliability
- Validity
- Pre-testing survey
- Survey quality issues (response/non-response, out of range/inconsistent data, observed vs. expected relationships, missing data)
- Strengths and weaknesses of surveys
- Interpreting survey results
Prerequisites:
HPA 472 Clinical Research Methods I, graduate or professional standing, and approval of the department
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