Find resources to learn more about research and appropriate study designs.
Also view Himmelfarb's interactive Study Design 101 Tutorial to learn more about clinical medical studies.
Quantitative/Qualitative Research
- Study Design Basics: Types of Study Designs [Video]2:26 video differentiates between qualitative and quantitative research
Qualitative Research for Public Health and Clinical Investigation
- Getting from What to Why: Using Qualitative Methods in Public Health Systems ResearchOctober 2013
Academy Health
"describes the value of conducting rigorous qualitative methods in public health systems research (PHSR) [and features] examples from public health emergency preparedness" - Qualitative Study Design MethodologiesProduced by Deakin University Library
- How to read a paper: Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research)Greenhalgh T, Taylor R. BMJ. 1997;315(7110):740-743. doi:10.1136/bmj.315.7110.740
Quantitative Research Design
Clinical Question Types and Study Design
Foreground questions can be further classified into four groups: therapy, diagnosis, prognosis, and etiology/harm. Certain study designs are better suited for answering particular question types.
| Question Type | Definition | Appropriate Study Type(s) |
| Therapy | Questions about the effectiveness of treatment to achieve an outcome (drugs, surgical intervention, exercise, counseling, etc.) | Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) |
| Diagnosis | Questions about identification of a disorder in a patient presenting with specific symptoms | RCT > Cohort Study |
| Prognosis | Questions about the progression of a disease or outcome of a patient with a particular condition | Cohort Study > Case Control Studies > Case Series |
| Etiology/Harm | Questions about the negative impact from an intervention or other procedure | Cohort Study > Case Control Studies > Case Series |
- How to ask a clinical question in PICO format5-minute video
"describes how to ask a clinical question about the effects of a physiotherapy intervention in PICO (Patient - Intervention - Comparator - Outcome) format"
Calculating Results
- Sample Size Calculators for designing clinical research [UCSF]"If you are a clinical researcher trying to determine how many subjects to include in your study or you have another question related to sample size or power calculations, we developed this website for you."
Survey Random Sample Calculator
- Determining sample size: how to make sure you get the correct sample size [Qualtrics]"you can get to the right sample size quickly with the online sample size calculator"
