Quantitative Methods for Health Research

Quantitative Research Methods for Health Professionals: A Practical Interactive Course is a superb introduction to epidemiology, biostatistics, and research methodology for the whole health care community. Drawing examples from a wide range of health research, this practical handbook covers important contemporary health research methods such as survival analysis, Cox regression, and meta-analysis, the understanding of which go beyond introductory concepts. The book includes self-assessment exercises throughout to help students explore and reflect on their understanding and a clear distinction is made between a) knowledge and concepts that all students should ensure they understand and b) those that can be pursued by students who wish to do so. The authors incorporate a program of practical exercises in SPSS using a prepared data set that helps to consolidate the theory and develop skills and confidence in data handling, analysis and interpretation.

Quantitative Methods for Health Research is a practical, interactive course in epidemiology and statistics, designed to achieve a level of knowledge and skills appropriate to a masters in health sciences, public health or related fields. It is based on around ten years of experience with postgraduate teaching on the MPH programme at the University of Liverpool, UK.

The book is practical because much of the learning is built around published examples of research or health-related data, covering a wide range of contemporary topics and settings in the UK, Europe and other countries.The learning in the book is complemented by an optional programme of data management and analysis available on the [publisher’s] website, using datasets developed for this purpose.*

The book is interactive because it places the reader/student at the centre of the learning by use of learning objectives, self-assessment exercises integrated into the text, and clear identification of all key concepts and terms. Together, these features allow ongoing assessment of comprehension and skills development by both student and tutor.

The book acknowledges the varied educational and professional backgrounds of those contributing to contemporary public health and health care, by presenting epidemiology and statistics in an integrated way. Thus, specific statistical techniques are introduced at a point where their use in describing or comparing data can be appreciated. A similar, pragmatic approach is taken to explaining sufficient theory of statistical methods to facilitate understanding of the techniques covered, and to provide a solid basis for more advanced studies if desired.

Finally, the book is structured to allow learning in two stages, one introductory and one advanced, with each of these stages being equivalent to one 15-credit module at postgraduate level.