Unit Code: PHM720

Unit Name: Introduction to Research Methods

Description: Research is a core approach to solving problems and providing solutions in the health sector. This course seeks to introduce students to the core principles of research and apprise students of quantitative and qualitative methods that will provide a foundation for the rest of the degree. Students will use these theoretical underpinnings to begin to critically review literature relevant to pharmacy and determine how research findings are useful in forming health decisions for patients. Also byy understanding the research process, as well as concepts such as validity and reliability, the student will become a better critical consumer and producer of research. Students are expected to be prepared, by completing the readings diligently, for each session.

Learning Target Outcomes: On successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Explore the theoretical underpinnings of descriptive and comparative research 2. Discuss the principles of evidence based practice and critical literature appraisal 3. Evaluate ethical issues in research and clinical trials 4. Recognize the key characteristics of descriptive and comparative research methods 5. Identify different study designs and critically appraise published research studies for validity, relevance and applicability 6. Examine methods of conducting and analyzing descriptive and comparative research

Prerequisite: N/A

Prerequisite Sentence: N/A

Credit Point: 15

Offered In: Semester 2