Course List
Summer Courses
Introduction to Research Methodology and Statistical Analysis
The objective of this course is to teach basic architecture of clinical and health services research with an emphasis on the three critical components: the population, interventions, and outcomes. Basic principles of measurement for categorical and continuous data, including the sources of variance and hypothesis-testing for such data are emphasized.
Practical Applications and Computer Lab
The objective of this course is to provide an approach to computer technologies, which facilitate the design, implementation, and data analysis of the fellow's research project. It includes methods of data collection, data coding and error checking, as well as an introduction to data analysis using statistical programs such as SAS.
Decision Analysis
The objective of this course is to teach the basics of probabilistic thinking and the concept of heuristics. Students learn the five-step process, specifically, the structuring of the problem, the application of probabilities, the application of values, the calculation of expected utilities, and sensitivity analysis.
Behavioral Science and Health Education
The objective of this course is to provide an overview of theories of behavioral and social science and their roles in health services research and clinical research. The course also covers the development and evaluation of theory-based health education approaches used in medicine.
Qualitative Research Methods
The objective of this course is to enable participants to gain a basic fluency with qualitative research methods, a research tool for gathering and interpreting descriptive data from surveys, focus groups, and face-to-face interviews. The sessions consistently interweave the theoretical underpinnings of the method with concrete examples of qualitative research.
Introduction to Health Services Research
This course introduces students to critical issues in health organization, financing and policy, which constitute the core of health services research topics. Students are prompted to consider the importance of the interrelationships between these issues.
Principles and Practice of Communicating Research Results
The objective of this course is to teach techniques for oral and written presentation of data Topics include abstract writing, graphic presentation of data, use of slides and overheads, oral presentation skills, and manuscript preparation and submission.
Fall Courses
Advanced Seminar in Health Services Research
The objective of the seminar is to take the candidates through each step of formulating and designing their own research project. The candidates will discuss each others' ideas, progress, and proposed research designs so as to gain a better understanding of the process, and will use the structured opportunity of the colloquium to discuss their work.
Advanced Biostatistics
This objective of this course is to cover a broad range of practical statistical models and to convey the key concepts underlying multivariate analysis. Logistic regression, generalized liner models, experimental design, survival analysis, factor analysis, odds ratios, and risk ratios are covered in the course.
Clinical Economics
This advanced course provides an in-depth exposure to techniques to evaluate the economic attributes of a program or intervention. Participants learn how to critique cost-identification, cost of illness and cost-benefit, and cost-effectiveness studies and use these techniques in their own research projects.
SAS Data Management and Programming Tutorial
The SAS tutorial is designed to provide the basic skills necessary to import databases into SAS, and to analyze data. It covers the use of basic procedures for univariate analyses, using the assist menus, as well as creating simple programs with data transformation.
Information Skills
The objective of this course is to provide a knowledge base, skills and techniques for performing literature searches on a variety of search engines and provides instruction in quality filters. Participants acquire the skills to broaden or narrow searches and to critically evaluate the results by using various search techniques.
Ethics of Research
The objective of this course is to convey the critical issues in the ethical conduct of research. It will focus on key issues in research including conflict of interest, preserving confidentiality, and assuring data integrity.
Spring Courses
Advanced Survey Design
This course reviews survey research methods for collecting, analyzing and evaluating health survey data. Topics include sampling theory, questionnaire design, interviewing, and methods of survey administration.
Research in multicultural populations
This course exposes the students to cultural diversity as it impact on health care delivery in the U.S. It builds appreciation of the importance of culture specific meanings in health, including mental health, and their impact on the design and implementation of health delivery systems and research. A major emphasis is on helping fellows recognize human differences, confront their own biases, and foster the development of awareness, sensitivity, knowledge and skills, required to implement effective health care interventions for culturally diverse populations.
Introduction to Hierarchical Models
Usual statistical methods (multiple regression and basic ANOVA) assume uncorrelated data on continuous responses. Much data from modern experiments violate these assumptions. This course describes the use of hierarchical models as a means to handle more complex data. Specific topics include linear mixed models, generalized linear models (which includes logistic regression and regression for count data), generalized estimating equations, and the incorporation of nested structure and repeated measures.
Cluster Randomized Trials
This course deals with the methodological and ethical issues in the conduct of cluster randomized control trials. Several examples are used to illustrate the key issues of multi-level measurement and analysis in community based prevention trials. This course is particularly useful to those intending to conduct prevention or health services research.
Grant writing
Students are introduced to grant writing and peer review. In the first two weeks, sessions cover study design, writing abstracts, specific aims, background, preliminary studies, and methods. The students are expected to write an R01 grant application. At the end of the month, the grants are submitted to the instructor, and copies are made for the all the students to serve as "study sections" review groups to provide primary and secondary reviews for each proposal.
Teaching How to Teach
The objective of this course is to convey practical skills critical to effective teaching. This course is based on the curriculum designed by Dr. Kelly Skeff and his colleagues at Stanford University and is designed to impart practical skills immediately useful to teachers. Fellows learn effective communication skills that can be employed in research, teaching and patient care.
Credit and Responsibility in Science
Students will be introduced to basic issues in the conduct of research and the publication of scientific findings. Topics will include criteria for authorship, accountability of authors, peer review, responsibility of reviewers, data integrity, and intellectual property. Lectures presenting definitions, guidelines, and policies in each of these topics will be accompanied by discussion of cases that present challenging situations.
Continuous Courses
Advanced Seminar
The objective of the seminar is to take the fellows through each step of formulating and designing their own research project. The fellows discuss each others' ideas, progress, and proposed research designs with faculty mentors present so as to gain a better understanding of the process of clinical research. Fellows are also required to meet weekly in a candidate colloquium. Fellows use the structured opportunity of the colloquium to discuss their work and facilitate and support each other in the development of their theses.
Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine Conference
The CCIM conference is a meeting in which Center faculty, collaborating investigators, and outside visiting scientists present various research projects or reviews of the literature relevant to complementary and integrative medicine. These conferences are held bi-weekly, and provide fellows with the opportunity to hear about diverse research areas in the field. This conference has been approved for Continuing Medical Education accreditation.
Research Methodology Conference
The objective of this conference is to review problems with design and conduct of studies. The course operates as "think-tank", and includes a full meeting of a multidisciplinary group consisting of clinical epidemiologists, biostatisticians, health educators, health services researchers, health economists, data systems experts, psychologists and cooperating investigators. The Core focuses on methodologic issues within a broad range of scientific questions and meets each week. Fellows will be required to present their work at least twice yearly.
