what is research? what are the different attributes of research, statistical methods emplyed in health research

1. Health
Research
Dr. Ahlam Sundus
PharmD, M.Phil. (Malaysia)

2. Introduction to Health Research
Key questions:
What is a question?
What is a problem?
What is a research?
Why a research is conducted?
Who should be involved in research?

3. Basic questions in health system
• What are health needs of people?
• What is the coverage of health interventions?
• How can we use resources cost-effectively?
• How can we control environmental factors?
Without research answering these questions is
unthinkable

4. Health systems research
A systematic collection, analysis and interpretation
of health and health related data
to answer a certain question
or to solve a problem

5. Characteristics of research
• Demands clear statement of the problem
• Requires clear objectives & methods
• Builds on existing data
• Involves systematic process
• Have clear vision of outcome

6. Purposes of health research
• Basic research:
To generate new knowledge and technology
• Applied research:
It seeks to solve practical problems
It is used to find solutions to everyday problems, cure illness, and
develop innovative technologies

7. Quantitative Vs. Qualitative
Quantitative research:
Tries to quantify things in terms of numbers
Explanatory purpose
Qualitative research:
Tries to describe things in terms of contexts
Exploratory purpose

8. Guidelines for successful research
1. Focus on priority problems
2. Action-oriented
3. Multi-disciplinary
4. Participatory
5. Timely
6. Cost-effective
7. Simple, short-term designs
8. Clear results
9. Honest limitations
10. Expressed implications and recommendations

9. It is a must
It is a must for any research to be:
• Purposeful
• Targeted
• Credible
• Timely

10. METHODOLOGY

11. Study designs
Four major study designs
• Experimental
• Non-experimental
• Cross-sectional
• Case-control
• Cohort
• Selection of the study design depends on the
objective of a study

12. POPULATION
Target population: the population to whom
the results would be applied
• Source population: the population from
whom study subjects would be obtained
• Sample: Subjects who are selected
• Study subjects: the actual participants of
the study

13. Sampling techniques
1. Probability sampling
• Simple random
• Stratified random
• Systematic random
• Cluster sampling
• Multistage sampling
2. Non-probability sampling
• Purposive/Judgmental
• Convenience/Reliance
• Consecutive
• Snow ball

14. Study variables
A variable is a characteristic of a person, object
or phenomenon that can take on different
values expressed in numbers or categories.

15. Types of variables
1. Dependent/outcome/response variable
– Used to measure the problem under study
2. Independent/exposure/predictor variable
– Used to measure determinants of a
problem
3. Confounding variable
– A variable associated with both the
exposure and outcome

16. Statistical Procedures
Descriptive statistics
• Descriptive statistics try to describe the relationship
between variables in a sample or population
• It provides a summary of data in the form of mean,
median and mode
Inferential statistics
• Inferential statistics use a random sample of data taken
from a population to describe and make inferences
about the whole population
• It is valuable when it is not possible to examine each
member of an entire population
• Tests hypothesis

17. Understanding Inferential
Statistics
A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed
explanation for a phenomenon. Hypothesis tests are
thus procedures for making rational decisions about
the reality of observed effects
Probability is the measure of the likelihood that an
event will occur
0 and 1
0 indicates impossibility and 1 indicates certainty

18. ‘Null hypothesis’ (H0 ‘H-naught,’ ‘H-null’) denotes that
there is no relationship (difference) between the
population variables in question
Alternative hypothesis (H1 and Ha) denotes that a
statement between the variables is expected to be
true
The P value is the probability of the event occurring
by chance if the null hypothesis is true.

19. The P value is a numerical between 0 and 1 and
is interpreted by researchers in deciding whether
to reject or retain the null hypothesis

20. Measurement of variance
 Commonly used methods are
 Student’s t-test
 ANOVA test

21.  Students’t-test
Employed for comparing means of two
population
Significant difference between means of two
groups/variables
 ANOVA Test
The purpose of ANOVA is to test if there is any
significant difference between the means of two
or more groups

22. One-way ANOVA
 Determines variance between means
obtained from two different populations
Two-way ANOVA
 Analyze factor that interacts with the variables
under study along with analysis of variance

23. THANK
YOU