Overview
This course is intended to enhance your understanding and use of health research methods. Professionals in health administration benefit from having the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed decisions regarding health services. These skills include the ability to understand and interpret the research literature and the capacity to translate knowledge into action. The units and assignments in the course are designed to meet two main goals, which are to help students (1) increase their knowledge about the research process, and (2) enhance their skills in designing a research project. To achieve these course goals, a commentary is provided along with assigned and recommended readings that were chosen to help you broaden your knowledge and understanding of concepts in research methods and be able to apply that knowledge to the health field.
Learning outcomes
At the completion of the course, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate increased knowledge of research methods used in health services
- Use knowledge of research methods to identify key research methods in the published research literature and evaluate the validity of the described methods
- Apply knowledge of research methods to the development of a research proposal for a health program evaluation
Evaluation
To receive credit for HADM 499, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Quiz 1 | 5% |
| Quiz 2 | 7.5% |
| Quiz 3 | 7.5% |
| Assignment 1 | 20% |
| Assignment 2 | 20% |
| Assignment 3 | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Three online quizzes cover the material in the texts and required readings. Assignment 1 is an exercise in reviewing the research literature. Assignment 2 is an exercise in building a health services program. Assignment 3 is an exercise in writing an evidence-based program evaluation proposal.
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Bassil, K., & Zabkiewicz, D. (Eds.). (2014). Health research methods: A Canadian perspective. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press Canada.
Other Materials
All other materials will be accessed online.