PhD in Translational Health Sciences: Research Methods

"...uses population-level data to examine the relationship between exposure rates and disease rates." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Examples:

  Del Canale, S., Louis, D. Z., Maio, V., Wang, X., Rossi, G., Hojat, M., & Gonnella, J. S. (2012). The relationship between physician empathy and disease complications: An empirical study of primary care physicians and their diabetic patients in Parma, Italy. Academic Medicine, 87(9), 1243-1249.

  Greene, M. S., Mandleco, B., Roper, S. O., Marshall, E. S., & Dyches, T. (2010). Metabolic control, self-care behaviors, and parenting in adolescents with type 1 diabetes: A correlational study. Diabetes Educator, 36(2), 326-336.

  Hu, J., Gruber, K. J., Liu, H., Zhao, H., & Garcia, A. A. (2013). Diabetes knowledge among older adults with diabetes in Beijing, China. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(1-2), 51-60.

"A case report describes one patient. A case series describes two or more patients who have the same disease condition or who have undergone the same procedure." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Examples:

  Sellers, E. W., Ryan, D. B., & Hauser, C. K. (2014). Noninvasive brain-computer interface enables communication after brainstem stroke. Science Translational Medicine, 6(257), 257re7.

  Shayegi, N., Alakel, N., Middeke, J. M., Schetelig, J., Mantovani-Loffler, L., & Bornhauser, M. (2015). Allogeneic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of refractory scleromyxedema. Translational Research: The Journal of Laboratory & Clinical Medicine, 165(2), 321-324.

  Akimoto, J., Haraoka, J., & Aizawa, K. (2012). Preliminary clinical report on safety and efficacy of photodynamic therapy using talaporfin sodium for malignant gliomas. Photodiagnosis & Photodynamic Therapy, 9(2), 91-99.

"A cross-sectional survey provides a snapshot of the health status of a population at one point in time." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Examples:

  Armstrong, R., Waters, E., Moore, L., Dobbins, M., Pettman, T., Burns, C., . . . Petticrew, M. (2014). Understanding evidence: A statewide survey to explore evidence-informed public health decision-making in a local government setting. Implementation Science, 9, 188.

  Manns, P. J., Norton, A. V., & Darrah, J. (2015). Cross-sectional study to examine evidence-based practice skills and behaviors of physical therapy graduates: Is there a knowledge-to-practice gap?. Physical Therapy, 95(4), 568-578.

  Sakushima, K., Mishina, H., Fukuhara, S., Sada, K., Koizumi, J., Sugioka, T., . . . Feldman, M. D. (2015). Mentoring the next generation of physician-scientists in japan: A cross-sectional survey of mentees in six academic medical centers. BMC Medical Education, 15, 54.

"A case control study compares the exposure histories of people with and without a particular disease in order to identify likely risk factors for the disease." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Critical appraisal: 11 Questions to Help You make Sense of Case Control Study
• Examples:

  Andersson, S. O., Wolk, A., Bergstrom, R., Giovannucci, E., Lindgren, C., Baron, J., & Adami, H. O. (1996). Energy, nutrient intake and prostate cancer risk: A population-based case-control study in sweden. International Journal of Cancer, 68(6), 716-722.

  Svahn, B., Remberger, M., Heijbel, M., Martell, E., Wikstrom, M., Eriksson, B., . . . Ringden, O. (2008). Case-control comparison of at-home and hospital care for allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation: The role of oral nutrition. Transplantation, 85(7), 1000-1007.

"A cohort study follows participants through time to calculate the rate at which new disease occurs and to identify risk factors for the disease." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Critical appraisal: 12 Questions to Help You Make Sense of Cohort Study
• Examples:

  Gehring, U., Casas, M., Brunekreef, B., Bergstrom, A., Bonde, J. P., Botton, J., . . . Nieuwenhuijsen, M. (2013). Environmental exposure assessment in european birth cohorts: Results from the ENRIECO project. Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, 12, 8.

  Neophytou, A. M., Picciotto, S., Hart, J. E., Garshick, E., Eisen, E. A., & Laden, F. (2014). A structural approach to address the healthy-worker survivor effect in occupational cohorts: An application in the trucking industry cohort. Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 71(6), 442-447.

Please see our Study Design 101 tutorial for more information. 

Meta-analysis

A quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies, which are drawn from the published literature, and synthesizing summaries and conclusions.

Systematic Review

A review which endeavors to consider all published and unpublished material on a specific question.  Studies that are judged methodologically sound are then combined quantitatively or qualitatively depending on their similarity.

Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

A  clinical trial involving one or more new treatments and at least one control treatment with specified outcome measures for evaluating the intervention.  The treatment may be a drug, device, or procedure. Controls are either placebo or an active treatment that is currently considered the "gold standard".  If patients are randomized via mathmatical techniques then the trial is designated as a randomized controlled trial.

Cohort Study

In cohort studies, groups of individuals, who are initially free of disease, are classified according to exposure or non-exposure to a risk factor and followed over time to determine the incidence of an outcome of interest.  In a prospective cohort study, the exposure information for the study subjects is collected at the start of the study and the new cases of disease are identified from that point on.  In a retrospective cohort study, the exposure status was measured in the past and disease identification has already begun. 

Case-control Study

Studies that start by identifying persons with and without a disease of interest (cases and controls, respectively) and then look back in time to find differences in exposure to risk factors. 

Cross-sectional Study

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of a population at one particular time. 

"...seeks to understand how participants understand, interpret, and find meaning in their own unique life experiences and feelings." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Critical Appraisal: 10 Questions to Help You make Sense of Qualitative Research
• Examples:

  Fortune, L. D., & Hymel, G. M. (2015). Creating integrative work: A qualitative study of how massage therapists work with existing clients. Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies, 19(1), 25-34.

  Kuntz, M., Seitz, C. M., & Nelson, M. (2015). Enforcing a Tobacco-Free Campus through an Ambassador-Based Program: A Phenomenology. Journal Of American College Health, 63(3), 195-202.

"...is an inductive reasoning process that uses observations to develop general theories that explain human behavior." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Critical Appraisal: 10 Questions to Help You Make Sense of Qualitative Research
• Examples:

  Waller, J., Bower, K. M., Spence, M., & Kavanagh, K. F. (2015). Using grounded theory methodology to conceptualize the mother-infant communication dynamic: Potential application to compliance with infant feeding recommendations. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 11(4), 749-760.

  Wong, R., Breiner, P., & Mylopoulos, M. (2014). Shifting contours of boundaries: An exploration of inter-agency integration between hospital and community interprofessional diabetes programs. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 28(5), 447-452.

"...aims to develop an insider's view (an emic perspective), rather than an outsider's view (an etic perspective), of how members of a particular cultural group see their world." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Critical Appraisal: 10 Questions to Help You Make Sense of Qualitative Research
• Examples:

  Higginbottom, G. M. A., Safipour, J., Yohani, S., O'Brien, B., Mumtaz, Z., & Paton, P. (2015). An ethnographic study of communication challenges in maternity care for immigrant women in rural alberta. Midwifery, 31(2), 297-304.

  Woodgate, R. L., Edwards, M., Ripat, J. D., Borton, B., & Rempel, G. (2015). Intense parenting: A qualitative study detailing the experiences of parenting children with complex care needs. BMC Pediatrics, 15, 197.

"An experimental study assigns participants to intervention and control groups in order to examine whether an intervention causes an intended outcome." Jacobsen, K. H. (2017). Introduction to health research methods : a practical guide. Sudbury, Mass. : Jones & Bartlett Learning, c2017.

• Critical Appraisal: 11 Questions to Help You Make Sense of a Trial
• Examples:

  Gleason-Comstock, J., Streater, A., Ager, J., Goodman, A., Brody, A., Kivell, L., . . . Levy, P. (2015). Patient education and follow-up as an intervention for hypertensive patients discharged from an emergency department: A randomized control trial study protocol. BMC Emergency Medicine, 15, 38.

  Morel, V., Joly, D., Villatte, C., Dubray, C., Durando, X., Daulhac, L., . . . Pickering, G. (2016). Memantine before mastectomy prevents post-surgery pain: A randomized, blinded clinical trial in surgical patients. PLoS ONE [Electronic Resource], 11(4), e0152741.