MV3403 Research Methods and Statistics for Healthcare Simulation

This course focuses on common research and statistical methods used to assess performance in simulated healthcare environments. Research methods covered include differences between surveys, observational studies, and experiments, sampling procedures, instrumentation, reliability and validity, ethical requirements in conducting human subjects research, and the components of a grant proposal. Statistical methods include hypothesis testing, t-tests, z-tests, ANOVA, regression, and chi square methods. Labs will be conducted using appropriate statistical software that will provide students with hands-on understanding of many of the statistical methods covered in lecture. Prerequisites: None.

Lecture Hours

4

Lab Hours

1

Course Learning Outcomes

  • Describe the general purpose of quantitative and qualitative research.
  • Describe the scientific method.
  • State a research problem, conduct a literature review on that topic, and determine what gaps in knowledge exist regarding the problem.
  • Given a general prediction, state a hypothesis that specifies who is the population of interest, how they will be assessed, and under what circumstances they will be assessed.
  • Describe what is meant by respect for persons, beneficence, and justice (Belmont Report) and how to obtain CITI training.
  • Describe common ways in which participant safety, physical and psychological risks can be minimized, and how data can be protected.
  • Describe the purpose of a survey, observational study, and experiment and how each type of study is conducted.
  • Define the terms reliability, validity, and feasibility, and provide an example of each.
  • After reading a research article, (1) define what type of study was conducted (e.g., survey, observational, experiment), (2) the population of interest and corresponding sample (3) instrumentations used and for each instrument, indicate its type, (4) how performance evaluation was conducted (researcher, peer, learner), (5) the equipment used, and (6) the environment in which the study took place.
  • Given a series of research problems, (1) state H0 and HA, (2) state the alpha level, (3) state the statistical method that should be used and its formula, (4) test H0 by calculating the statistic, and (5) interpret the result in the context of the problem.
  • For the following statistical methods, indicate its nonparametric counterpart and its formula: one sample t test, 2 sample t-test, paired t test, 1 way ANOVA.
  • Given statistical software package and data, calculate descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, range, skew, kurtosis, standard deviation) and interpret each.
  • Given statistical software package and data, conduct linear regression and interpret the output.
  • Describe the circumstances in which we would use 1 proportion z, two proportion z, and the chi square tests.
  • ANOVA/Multifactor ANOVA
  • t-tests, comparing groups and paired samples