Postgraduate - UnitMPM5208 - Skills in critical appraisal of research

Students will develop research skills in the area of study design, methodology and analysis.
Week 1. 'Foundations of statistical inference' will cover the techniques used to make statistical inferences, The nature of 'statistical significance' will be the focus. Threats to the validity of inference will be discussed.
Week 2. 'Qualitative research methods' will explore the methods for the analysis of narrative data and case studies. Verstehen and hermeneutics will be explained. Grounded theory will be introduced. Practical steps involved in the conduct of qualitative studies will be presented.
Week 3 'Epidemiological methods' will examine the methods for the assessment of the presence of disorders at the population level and the detection and measurement of risk factors. Prevalence and incidence will be defined. Methods of case ascertainment classification systems and diagnostic tools will be explored. Research designs and methods for the assessment of risk factors for disease will be surveyed. Sources of bias in epidemiological studies will be discussed.
Week 4. 'Intervention Trials' will focus on the design and analysis of studies that examine the efficacy of drug and psychotherapeutic treatments for psychiatric disorders. Topics will include randomised clinical trial (RCT), choice and definition of intervention and control groups, designs, administration and maintenance of intervention, choice of outcome measures and assessment procedures, dropouts and the intention to treat model.
Week 5. 'Meta-analysis' will be an introduction to the various methods for the combination of the outcome of individual studies. Topics to be covered include the discovery and selection of studies, the 'file draw' problem, effect sizes and statistical methods for analysis. Advanced hypothesis formulation and analysis of meta-analytic data will be introduced. Problems and limitations associated with this technique will be discussed. The Cochrane Collaboration will be presented.
Week 6 'Longitudinal methods' will examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of studies that compare the different classes of individuals at one time (cross-sectional studies) and studies that observe the same individual over time (longitudinal studies). Topics will include the design of longitudinal studies, statistical methods, the determination of causality, attrition and other problems.