autumn 2025
HEL-3047 Introduction to Research Methods in Public Health - 10 ECTS
Course content
The course covers fundamental principles of research methods relevant to public health and health research. It includes modules on qualitative methods (2.5 ECTS), epidemiology (2.5 ECTS), biostatistics (2.5 ECTS), and systematic reviews (2.5 ECTS). Students gain the introductory skills in planning, executing and critically assessing research projects that address diverse research questions. The course addresses both general research principles and the specialized knowledge required to apply epidemiological methods in public health research.Objectives of the course
Upon completing the course, students are expected to achieve the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge
- Describe the epistemological foundations of qualitative research and discuss perspectives in qualitative research methods.
- Explain key concepts in epidemiology including measures of disease frequency, measures of association, various study designs and bias.
- Explain the basic principles of choosing the most appropriate statistical method for descriptive and inferential parametric and non-parametric analysis of univariate and bivariate data.
- Define central principles of evidence-based practice (EBP)
- Explain important considerations regarding data syntheses, especially meta-analyses
- Describe the steps involved in conducting a systematic review
- Explain and compare quantitative and qualitative research approaches, including the types of data. methodologies they employ and areas of application.
Skills
- Formulate clear research questions for qualitative and quantitative studies in public health and choose appropriate research methods to address them.
- Compare and critically appraise different qualitative methods, including their strengths and limitations
- Identify and evaluate various study designs used in health research and compute and interpret descriptive and analytical measures in epidemiology.
- Use statistical software to perform computations for univariate/bivariate descriptive and inferential statistics.
- Critically appraise qualitative and quantitative research (perform risk of bias assessment), using appropriate design-specific check-lists
- Apply the principles of systematic literature searching in at least one database, e.g. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
- Identify and interpret the main results in scientific papers
General competence
- Conduct self-assessments to identify areas for personal and professional growth.
- Create and deliver presentations that effectively communicate research findings to a variety of audiences.
- Critically evaluate scientific work published in journals and reports
Information to incoming exchange students
Master's students studying public health from EUGLOH partner institutions, as well as those from institutions with an Erasmus or North2North agreement, are encouraged to attend this course.
Please see "Admission requirements" section.
Do you have questions about this exchange? Please check the following website to contact the course coordinator for exchange students at the faculty: https://en.uit.no/education/art?p_document_id=510412
Schedule
Examination
| Examination: | Duration: | Grade scale: |
|---|---|---|
| School exam | 6 Hours | Passed / Not Passed |
Coursework requirements:To take an examination, the student must have passed the following coursework requirements: |
||
| Home assignment 1 | Approved – not approved | |
| Home assignment 2 | Approved – not approved | |
- About the course
- Campus: Tromsø |
- ECTS: 10
- Course code: HEL-3047
- Responsible unit
- Department of Community Medicine
- Earlier years and semesters for this topic