HI 5351 Research Design and Evaluation in Health Informatics

Course Type: Research
Credit Hours: 3

This course assists the student in the area of technical writing, the development of 
scholarly and academic writing abilities. Each student will complete the process of 
generating a written document from topic selection through outlining, drafting, and 
revising. Writing in the field of Biomedical Informatics will be addressed and the genre 
of written discourse in informatics will be explored by the student. The elements of the 
recursive writing process and a review of the technical aspects of writing will also be 
considered. Critical reading, thinking and writing will be emphasized in the course. 
Weekly assignments require writing throughout the course.  A course writing project is 
required such as developing a manuscript for review, submission and possible 
publication. 

This course provides the student the opportunity to develop more advanced competencies in the design, analysis, interpretation and critical evaluation of experimental, quasi-experimental, pre-experimental and qualitative health informatics research and evaluation studies. The student will identify flaws or weaknesses in research and evaluation designs, choose which of several designs most appropriately tests a stated hypothesis or controls variables potentially jeopardizing validity, and analyze and interpret research and evaluation results. Through exposure to the basic 'building block' designs, students will develop skills to appropriately choose and use the most important and frequently used design procedures for single or multifactor research or evaluation studies. Skills you develop should prove invaluable in your professional roles both as a consumer and a producer of empirical health informatics research and evaluations.

The course will not attempt to cover all possible variations in research and evaluation designs. Rather, students will gain knowledge of the most commonly employed designs, methodologies and procedures. This approach focuses upon the pervasive, predominant, most important and frequently used designs. The approach allows students to most efficiently use resources to solve the most frequently occurring design problems, while helping students recognize the limits of their own competencies and the need for additional consultation regarding solutions for the occasionally occurring anomalous design problems.

Prerequisites

This course requires consent of the instructor. You need to secure that consent before you can register for this course. Contact your instructor for approval or any questions you have.

Additional Information

Course Goals

By the end of the course, the student should be able to:

  • Appropriately conceptualize, design, develop, implement, analyze, interpret and make appropriate decisions concerning research and evaluation studies in health informatics.
  • Comprehend and critically evaluate validity, reliability and statistical aspects of health informatics research and evaluation reports.
  • Comprehend and appropriately implement the most important and frequently used higher order descriptive and inferential statistical procedures.
  • Read, interpret and appropriately implement computer reports involving the most frequently used higher order descriptive and inferential statistical methods.