HSCI 401 : RESEARCH METHODS AND PRACTICE (R)

This course is the first semester of the two-semester senior requirement for health science majors. This course is intended to enable the student to critically read and evaluate scientific literature, with a focus on clinical research. The course will introduce the research design, methods and statistics used in the clinical literature to help students develop the necessary skills to critically analyze research studies for use in evidence-based practice. Question structure, hypothesis development and research design will be related to the different types of questions asked in medicine, i.e. questions about therapy, risk, etiology, diagnosis, prognosis and epidemiology. Students will also be introduced to how primary studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses are used to develop clinical guidelines.