M2S1: Overview of Research Methodology

At the end of this session, you will be able to –

 Define research in the context of healthcare practices.
 Discuss the purpose of conducting research in healthcare.
 Plot the lifecycle of a research study.
 List the steps for conducting a research study
Health research refers to a systematic study to gain information and understanding about health, with
the goal of finding ways to improve human health, that conforms to or is conducted in accordance with
generally accepted scientific standards or principles that are designed to develop or contribute to general
scientific knowledge.
According to WHO, Research for health spans five generic areas of activity:
 Measuring the magnitude and distribution of the health problem;
 Understanding the diverse causes or the determinants of the problem, whether they are due to
biological, behavioural, social, or environmental factors;
 Developing solutions or interventions that will help to prevent or mitigate the problem;
 Implementing or delivering solutions through policies and programs; and
 Evaluating the impact of these solutions on the level and distribution of the problem.
The purposes of conducting healthcare research may be bulleted as follows: -
 To improve health services to the public and society
 To find solutions to health problems
 To search for, discover, introduce, improve, and assess the quality of drugs treatment and cures
 To search for, broaden and consolidate knowledge and curiosity
 To support evidence in the advancement of science
 To meet educational requirements
 For commercial gains
The life cycle of every research study begins initially with identifying data needs which is actually
synonymous with the uncertainty observed by the researcher in any population, then moves on to spell
out or frame out a research question, followed by formulating appropriate study objectives, then creating
an anticipatory plan for the analysis, moving forward to preparing the data collection instruments, then
collecting data using the instruments prepared, followed by analysing the data that is collected, then
drawing out conclusions from the analysis, formulating appropriate recommendations laying the
foundation for future research and then informing the stakeholders. However, this doesn't end, this step
may leave the researcher with further uncertainty thus leading to subsequent repetition of the cycle
again.
Conducting a research study involves logical sequence beginning with, narrowing down a topic of
interest as the first step, followed by framing the research question, objectives, and hypothesis as the
second, then reviewing the related literature as the third, followed by designing the study and developing
data collection methods and tools as the fourth step, then moving on to seeking ethical clearance and
approval as the next step, then collecting and collating the data as the sixth. This step is followed by
analysing and interpreting the data as step seven and finally culminates with the dissemination of study
findings as step eight.
At the end of this session, are you able to –
Define research in the context of healthcare practices.
Discuss the purpose of conducting research in healthcare.
Plot the lifecycle of a research study.
List the steps for conducting a research study