309.715.01 ADVANCED METHODS IN HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH: RESEARCH DESIGN

Covers components of research design for population-based studies drawn from secondary data. Topics include: a framework for evaluating research design, introduction to secondary data sources, defining study populations, complex sampling designs, data structure, and content in national health surveys, principles of questionnaire design, survey data collection methodologies and measure construction. Addresses important measurement topics, including measurement equivalence and case-mix adjustment. Emphasizes secondary data from national and international health and health care surveys, but also addresses major health program administrative datasets (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid). Student exercises emphasize the development and acquisitions of skills needed to manipulate data from large population survey or administrative datasets to answer a specific research question.

Upon completion of this course students will be able to: Evaluate the design, sampling principles, structure, and data collection methods, of large complex national health and health care surveys , as well as the implications of these for data analysis • Create variables and conduct preliminary analyses using data from a large complex national health or health care survey • Know the general principles of questionnaire development, with particular application to health and health care surveys • Evaluate administrative data applications in health policy and health services research