INTRODUCTION TO

RESEARCH
MPHP 315
RESEARCH METHODS
 THE COURSE

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 3

Syllabus
• Time and date
• Coordinator/Instructors
• Office hours and emails
• Course learning outcomes
• Course content
• Reading material
• Plagiarism, cheating and collusion
 4

Organization
• Moodle

• Time management

• Deadlines

• Mentors

• Presentations

• Proposal
THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
 A proposal…
is the detailed written plan of the study

forces the investigator to organize, clarify, and refine all the elements of the study, and this enhances
the scientific

rigor and the efficiency of the project

guides the work

is necessary for obtaining ethical approval from the institutional review board (IRB)

helps obtain funds from granting agencies

includes descriptions of the study’s aims, significance, research approach, human subjects concerns,
and the budget and other administrative and supporting information that is required by the specific
agency.
Hulley S. et al.. (2013) Designing clinical research
Characteristics of a good research proposal (1)
scientific quality of the research strategy: good
research question, rigorous and feasible design and
approach, that are, experienced, skilled, and
committed research team

clarity of presentation: concise and engaging, well

organized, thoughtfully written, attractively
presented, and free of errors

must stand out: clear outline, specific aims, short

sections with meaningful subheadings, tables and
figures to break up lengthy stretches of text

Hulley S. et al.. (2013) Designing clinical research

 Reviewers
Diverse points of view and expertise, therefore, include enough
detail to convince an expert reviewer of the significance and
sophistication of the proposed work while still engaging the larger
number of reviewers unfamiliar with the area of investigation

are put off by overstatement and other heavy-handed forms of

grantsmanship

Are skeptical about proposals that exaggerate the importance of

the project or overestimate what it can accomplish

Hulley S. et al.. (2013) Designing clinical research

Reasons why research proposals fail
• aims and objectives are unclear or vague
• mismatch between the approach being adopted
and the issues to be addressed
• problem is of insufficient importance
• overall plan is too ambitious and difficult to
achieve in the timescale
• information about the data collection is
insufficiently detailed
• topic has been done too many times before
• researcher does not seem to have conducted
enough in-depth background research
Dawson, C. (2002) Practical Research Methods
 Some statistics …

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 Factors we can’t control

• Internal politics within the funding agency

• Stiff competition from other applicants

• Limited availability of funds for certain program areas within

funding agency

Said, R. (2017)
 Factors we can control
• Quality of our own proposal

• Requires careful research and planning

• Requires meticulous execution

Said, R. (2017)
 Writing Proposals
• Decide where the proposal will be submitted
• Organize a team and designate a leader
• Follow the guidelines of the funding agency
• Establish a timetable and meet periodically
• Find model proposals
• Work from an outline
• Review and revise repeatedly

Hulley S. et al.. (2013) Designing clinical research

 Funding Proposals
• The government

• Foundations, professional societies and individual donors

• Corporations

• Intramural resources

Hulley S. et al.. (2013) Designing clinical research

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

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 Research is …
…the systematic investigation into and study of
materials, sources, etc.….. in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions (Oxford Concise
Dictionary).
… an endeavour to discover new or collate old facts
by the scientific study of a subject or by a course of
critical investigation (Oxford Concise Dictionary).
… the process of systematically and carefully
investigating a subject in order to discover new
insights about the world (Jacobsen 2017).
There are a number of definitions of research.
Defining research is less important than
understanding its nature.

Research is the studious inquiry or

examination especially:
investigation or experimentation
aimed at the discovery and
interpretation of facts, the creation
or revision of accepted theories or
laws in the light of new facts or
practical application of such new or
revised theories or laws
Webster Dictionary
 The Research Process
Identify study
question

Report findings Select study

approach

Analyze and Design study

interpret data and collect data

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 Health Research
• Examines a broad spectrum of biological, socioeconomic,
environmental and other factors that contribute to the
presence or absence of physical, mental and social health
and well-being.
• Humans as the units of investigation
• Few subjects to thousands of participants
• Diversity of disciplines and tools:
• Laboratory Science: molecular biology, microbiology, immunology,
nutrition and genetics
• Demography: populations and their dynamics; vital statistics and
rates
• Epidemiology: prevalence, incidence, distribution and control of
diseases
• Social Sciences: psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics

Jacobsen, K.H. (2018) Introduction to Health Research Methods

22
 Routine Practice vs. Research
practice research

1. Epidemiologist tracks 1. Outbreak team investigates an

unusual food item as the cause,
down the source of an by doing additional survey/lab
outbreak of work and then shares the
discovery
gastroenteritis 2. Clinician conducts systematic
2. Clinician reads several search, synthesizes, writes and
disseminates
articles 3. Organization uses validated
3. Organization asks questionnaire and sampling
methods, is approved by an
clients to complete a ethics committee, answers a
question based on the literature
satisfaction survey and shares the results

Jacobsen, K.H. (2018) Introduction to Health Research Methods

 Why Research?

Research is important for the advancement of

any academic field or discipline.
 Research helps us ...
• To investigate some existing situation or problem.

• To provide solutions to a problem.

• To explore and analyse more general issues.

• To construct or create a new procedure or system.

• To explain a new phenomenon.

• To generate new knowledge.

Hussey and Hussey (1997)
Functions of Research

Exploratory Descriptive
little or no prior knowledge Describes a particular
of a phenomenon. phenomenon

Attempts to gain some focusing upon the issue of

familiarity and looks for what is happening or how
patterns or ideas without much of it has happened,
any preconceived ideas or rather than why it is
explanation happening

Explanatory Predictive
explaining why something
happens
Forecasts future
assessing causal phenomena, based on the
relationships between interpretations suggested
variables by explanatory research

Adapted from Said, R. (2017)

 Exercise
• What are the attitudes of young people towards the use of social
media to share their views on home care for cancer patients?
• What is the prevalence of autism among children in Lebanon?

• Are young women from higher socioeconomic levels more likely

to initiate smoking during adolescence?
• What is the relationship between GPA and degree of popularity?

• What are the risk factors for postoperative pulmonary

complications after total abdominal hysterectomy?
• What are the effects of academic counseling, on the academic
achievement of children from divorced vs. non-divorced families?
• Will the provision of company accommodation to employees
reduce stress-induced hypertension?
 Types of Research (1)

Pure Applied
• explores a concept or issue • solves a specific problem or
with the aim of gaining a provides a solution to a
better understanding practical question
regardless of whether there
is a problem or what the • eg: the nurse researcher
nature of the problem is may want to increase
• eg: the nurse scientist who attendance at weekly
accumulates information in prenatal classes for young-
order to further our aged women, and thus
understanding of the would test the effectiveness
relationship between of an intervention such as
socioeconomic status and attending to the hospital at
the intention to follow a
healthy diet labor signs.
 Types of Research (2)

Theoretical Empirical

uses the findings from supports the development

existing works to develop of new ideas through the
new ideas through collection of data (empirical
analysing existing theory = observation or
and explanations rather measurement rather than
than collecting evidence in theoretical reasoning)
the form of primary data
 Types of Research (3)

Primary Secondary

• involves the collection of • no original data is

original data specific to a collected, but the
particular research project research project uses
• e.g. such as existing (or secondary)
questionnaires or sources of data
interviews • e.g. census or archive
data
31

Said, R. (2017)
 Health Research Purposes
• Goal: answer one well-defined question
• Needs assessment:
• What is the health status of the population?
• What are the major health concerns of members of the population?
• What health-related needs in this population are not being addressed?
• Risk assessment:
• What are the threats to the health of the population?
• What are the risk factors for morbidity, mortality, disability and other health
issues?
• Applied practice:
• How well are we preventing, diagnosing, and treating health concerns in the
populations that we serve? (depends on fields of practice: medicine, nursing,
public health, physical therapy,…)
• Outcomes evaluation:
• Was this intervention successful at improving health status in this population?
(depends on the intervention: procedure, process, program, policy,…)

Jacobsen, K.H. (2018) Introduction to Health Research Methods

33
Knowledge and theory
 Ways to Gain Knowledge
• Authorities or Experts

• Cultural Beliefs

• Personal and Sensory Experiences

• Research
 Scientific knowledge
• generalized body of laws and theories that are acquired
using the scientific method to explain a certain
phenomenon, behavior, or event of interest

• laws are observed patterns of phenomena or behaviors

• Theories are systematic explanations of the underlying
phenomenon or behavior

• The goal of scientific research is to build scientific

knowledge through the discovery of laws and postulation
of theories that can explain natural or social phenomena.

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 It is important to understand that scientific
knowledge
• may be imperfect or even quite far from the truth

• may not be the only universal truth, but rather part of an

equilibrium of "multiple truths"

• is based on theories that are simply explanations

suggested by a scientist

• progresses over time as our theories improve due to

better observations using more accurate instruments and
more informed logical reasoning
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
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 Pillars of Scientific Knowledge
• logic (theory) and evidence (observations)

• theories and observations co-exist and are interrelated:

• theories provide meaning/significance to observations

• observations validate/refine existing theories

• any other means of knowledge acquisition, such as faith or

authority cannot be considered science.

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 Levels of Scientific Research

theoretical empirical

• developing abstract • testing the theoretical

concepts concepts and
• a natural or social relationships
phenomenon • how well they reflect our
• relationships between observations of reality
those concepts (i.e., • goal of ultimately
build “theories”) building better theories

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 Forms of Scientific Inquiry

inductive deductive

• the goal of a researcher • the goal of the

is to infer theoretical researcher is to test
concepts and patterns concepts and patterns
from observed data known from theory
• theory-building using new empirical
data
• theory-testing

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 Scientific Method
a standardized set of techniques for building scientific knowledge
 Characteristics of Scientific Method
• Replicability: replicate independently and obtain similar
results.

• Precision: theoretical concepts must be defined with such

precision that others can use those definitions to measure
those concepts and test that theory.

• Falsifiability: A theory must be stated in a way that it can be

disproven.

• Parsimony: When there are multiple explanations of a

phenomenon, scientists must always accept the simplest or
logically most economical explanation.
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 A Scientific Theory is …
• a system of constructs (concepts) and propositions
(relationships between those constructs) that collectively
presents a logical, systematic, and coherent explanation
of a phenomenon of interest within some assumptions
and boundary conditions
• scientific theories can be empirically tested using scientific
methods.

• Explanations can be:

• idiographic (explain a single situation or event in idiosyncratic
detail)
• Nomothetic(explain a class of situations or events rather than a
specific)

Bacharach (1989)
 Building Blocks of aTheory
• constructs capture the “what” of theories (i.e., what
concepts are important for explaining a phenomenon)

• propositions capture the “how” (i.e., how are these

concepts related to each other)

• logic represents the “why” (i.e., why are these concepts

related)

• assumptions examines the “who, when, and where” (i.e.,

under what circumstances will these concepts and
relationships work)
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 Why use Theory
Advantages Disadvantages

• provides explanations • limited by a set of

• helps in sense-making
constructs and
relationships
• offers guidance
• designed to be simple and
• allows cumulative parsimonious, while
knowledge reality may be significantly
more complicated
• Might miss out on
important concepts that
are not defined by the
theory
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 Attributes of a GoodTheory
• Logical consistency: Are the theoretical constructs,
propositions, boundary conditions, and assumptions
logically consistent with each other?
• Explanatory power: How much does a given theory
explain (or predict) reality?
• Falsifiability: theories cannot be theories unless they can
be empirically testable; requires presence of rival
explanations
• Parsimony: Parsimony examines how much of a
phenomenon is explained with how few variables.
Parsimonious theories have higher degrees of freedom,
which allow them to be more easily generalized to other
contexts, settings, and populations.
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
Research Approaches
 50

Components of research approaches

Cresswell, J.W. ( 2014) Research Design

 Three Approaches toResearch
Qualitative Quantitative Mixed Methods
• Explores/understands • Examining relationships • qualitative and quantitative
concepts • measurable, pre-categorized, • overall strength of a study is
• Individuals give meaning to a numeric variables greater than either qualitative
social or human problem or quantitative research.
• statistical techniques to test
• Emphasizes the complexity of objective theories. • Triangulation:
meanings in a given context. • validity and reliability of data
• Testing hypotheses
• Generates themes • holistic, and contextual
• deductive process portrayal
• inductive process
• protection against bias, • multidimensional perspective
• emerging questions and
procedures • controlling external variables • Minimizes potential bias

• specific to the general. • generalization of results

• Data collection in the
• Data are collected “artificially”
participant’s setting.

Cresswell, J.W. ( 2014) Research Design

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The choice of a research approach
depends on:
• Research problem and research question

• Prior knowledge about a topic

• Personal experience of researcher (training and personal beliefs)

• Worldview: postpositivism, constructivism, advocacy/participatory, pragmatism

• Audience

• Resources: cost, and time

• Participants vs. Partners

• ethics (protect privacy, confidentiality and ensure “beneficence” and “no harm”
 53

Philosophical Worldviews (paradigms)

• In
general, researchers have philosophical
outlook about the world which directs the
nature of their research.

• Theirworldview needs to be made explicit in

the research in order to permit others to
evaluate the results of the research.

Abi Habib, L. (2013)

 History of ScientificThought
faith

• theological precepts

rationalism (Greek philosophers)

• reason
• intellectual and deductive

empiricism (Francis Bacon)

• inductive methods
• scientific method
• systematic observation, measurement, and experimentation

natural philosophy (Galileo)

• understanding nature and the physical universe

German idealism (Emanuel Kant)

• delve into the subjective nature of experiences

• inspired later development of interpretive techniques such as phenomenology,
hermeneutics, and critical social theory

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 History of Scientific Thought
positivism (Auguste Comte)

• blend rationalism and empiricism

• theory and observations circularly dependent on each other

antipositivism (German idealism school)

• Interpretive sociologists
• qualitative methods

postpositivism (Karl Popper)

• amends positivism by suggesting that it is impossible to verify the truth although it is

possible to reject false beliefs
• human knowledge is based on a set of tentative conjectures that can never be proven
conclusively, but only disproven

Critical research (Max Horkheimer and Jurgen Habermas

• people can and should consciously act to change their social and economic
circumstances

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
 56

Four different worldviews

• Postpositivism: objectivity, experimentation, and
generalizability

• Constructivism: constructed realities, interaction

with participants, and rich description

• Transformative: on issues of social justice, human

rights, and cultural complexity

• Pragmatism: matches the research questions with

the choice of research methods, as indicated by
each specific study’s demands
Cresswell, J.W. ( 2014) Research Design
 57

Characteristics of Worldviews

Cresswell, J.W. ( 2014) Research Design

 58

Research Designs

• strategies
of inquiry with an approach that
provide specific direction to procedures in a
research design

• Identify
a design (qualitative, quantitative or
mixed methods) and a specific type of inquiry

Cresswell, J.W. ( 2014) Research Design

 59

Alternative Research Designs

Quantitative Qualitative Mixed Methods

survey case studies Convergent

longitudinal ethnography Explanatory
studies (participant sequential
observation)
case-control Grounded theory Exploratory
studies sequential
experimental Phenomenology
studies
Narrative
research

Cresswell, J.W. ( 2014) Research Design

 Research Methods
Each design is associated with different :
• Types of questions (predetermined, emerging, open-
ended, closed-ended,…)
• Ways of collecting the information (questionnaires,
semi-structured interviews, observation,…)
• Analysis techniques (statistical, content,…)
• Interpretation of results (statistical, themes,
patterns,…)
• Presentation of results (tables, verbatim,…)
• Validation of results
 61

In conclusion…
• The selection of the research approach depends primarily
on the question being asked.
• If the goal of a research study is to generalize findings from the
sample to the bigger target population then a quantitative study is
the approach of choice.
• If the goal of a research study is to find meaning and understand
the subjective experience of the study participants then a
qualitative study is the approach of choice.
• Each research approach parallels a philosophical world
view (paradigm) and supports specific research designs.
• There are advantages and limitations to every study
design.
• External and internal validity are both important for the
study’s findings to be credible.
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012) Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. Textbooks
Collection. Book 3. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3
Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed
Methods Approaches

Cresswell 2014
 63

The choice of aresearch approach

depends on:
• Research problem and • Audience
research question • Resources, cost, and
• Prior knowledge about time
a topic • Participants as partners?
• Personal experience of (on vs. for)
researcher (training and • Ethics (protect privacy,
personal beliefs) confidentiality and ensure
• Worldview: “beneficence” and “no
postpositivism, harm”)
constructivism,
advocacy/participatory,
pragmatism
Components of the research process

Kothari, C.R.(2004). Research Methodology Methods and Techniques

The best way to begin to develop your
understanding of research, its role, and the
types of research is to undertake some reading.
Choose some appropriate articles, and begin to
read!

Said, R (2017)
 66

Research is teamwork…

• principal investigator

• co-investigators
(multi disciplinary)

• collaborators

• support personnel
 How to work in ateam?

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elKhatib, Z. (2015)
 68

Characteristics of GOOD Teamwork

• Commitment to team success and shared
goals
• Interdependence
• Interpersonal Skills
• Open Communication and Positive Feedback
• Appropriate Team Composition
• Commitment to Team Process, Leadership
and Accountability

Tarricone, P. & Luca, J. (2002). Successful teamwork: a case study. Herdsa 2002 p.641
 Tuckman’s Model

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 71

Group Dynamics

the interactions that influence the attitudes

and behavior of people when they are grouped
with others through
either choice or accidental circumstances.

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 72

Causes of Poor GroupDynamics

• Weak leadership
• Excessive deference to authority
• Blocking:
• Aggression
• Negation
• Withdrawal
• Recognition seeking
• Joking
• Consensus seeking
• Free riding
• Evaluation apprehension

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Have Meaningful Discussions inYour
Group Work

elKhatib, Z (2015)
 74

Time Management Skills

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Good time management is
ESSENTIAL for the
development of a good
research proposal

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