Preparation
- Definitions of common terms relevant to primary care research from the North American Primary Care Research Group. Annals of Family Medicine, 2008;6:570-71. DOI: 10.1370/afm.932.
- Reusable Learning Objects by subject and description from the Universities' Collaboration in E-Learning, with the University of Nottingham.
- How to read a paper: getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about) by Trisha Greenhalgh. BMJ, 1997 Jul;315:243-46.
- Introduction to epidemiology and study designs, presentation by Janusz Kaczorowski.
- KeyLIME (Key Literature in Medical Education) podcasts from CanMeds, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
- Research Methods Knowledge Base, a comprehensive web-based textbook by William M. K. Trochim.
- Introduction to epidemiology and study designs, presentation by Janusz Kaczorowski.
- Online Research Methods Course formerly offered through the Departments of Family Practice and Paediatrics at UBC. Modules include:
- Refining a Research Question
- Searching the Literature
- Study Designs I
- Study Designs II (Surveys)
- Study Designs III (Qualitative Designs)
- Sample Size Considerations
- Implementation Issues
- Data Management
- Refining Grant Writing
- Searching the Literature, a module for the Online Research Methods Course formerly offered through the Departments of Family Practice and Paediatrics at UBC.
- Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis: An Introduction, presentation by Janusz Kaczorowski.
- Systematic Review of the Literature on Postpartum Care: Methodology and Literature Search Results, by Cheryl Levitt et al. BIRTH, 2004 Sep;31(3):196-202.
- PubMed Tutorial (essential).
- Mendeley, a free reference manager and academic social network.
- RefWorks, citation management software free for UBC students and faculty.
- Family Practice Research Guide at the UBC Library
- Guidance Note on UBC Family Practice Resident Research and UBC Summer Medical Students Research Projects.
- UBC Family Practice Residents: For more detailed information, please go to "Resident Scholar Project" in the Postgraduate Education Intranet webpage. This is a password protected site.
Gathering Data
- Definitions of common terms relevant to primary care research from the North American Primary Care Research Group. Annals of Family Medicine 2008;6(6):570-571.
- For a detailed description of action research, participatory research, and community based research, see the CBPR curriculum guide.
- Participatory Research Toolkit from McGill University.
- Study Designs III (Qualitative Designs), a module for the Online Research Methods Course formerly offered through the Departments of Family Practice and Paediatrics at UBC.
- Guide to Qualitative Data Analysis from Trent University.
- Grounded Theory Research: Procedures, Canons, and Evaluative Criteria by Juliet Corbin and Anselm Strauss. Qualitative Sociology, 1990;13(1):3-21.
- Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA): A Qualitative Methodology of Choice in Healthcare Research by Deborah Biggerstaff and Andrew R. Thompson. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2008;5(3):214-24.
- Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis by Jonathan A. Smith and Mike Osborn. In Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods (J. A. Smith, ed.). 2008, pp. 53-80.
- Using interpretative phenomenological analysis for public health nutrition and dietetic research: a practical guide by Stepahnie Fade. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 2004;63:647-53.
- A critical evaluation of the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in health psychology by Joanna M. Brocki and Alison J. Wearden. Psychology & Health, 2006;21(1):87-108.
- NVivo software will help to organize your data. It won’t do the analysis for you – you need to immerse yourself in your data. 30-day trial available for download. Student licenses are also available.
- Surveys and Interviews, summary by Eugene Leduc.
- Introduction to Survey Sampling, presentation by Janusz Kaczorowski.
- Survey Research in Research Methods Knowledge Base, a comprehensive web-based textbook by William M. K. Trochim.
- Design and use of questionnaires: a review of best practice applicable to surveys of health service staff and patients by E. McColl et al. Health Technology Assessment, 2001;5(31).
- A Catalog of Biases in Questionnaires by Bernard C. K. Choi and Anita W. P. Pak. Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy (CDC). 2005 Jan;2(1):1-13.
- Guide to reliability and validity from Colorado State University.
- Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis: An Introduction, presentation by Janusz Kaczorowski.
- Study Designs II (Surveys) and Sample Size Considerations, modules for the Online Research Methods Course formerly offered through the Departments of Family Practice and Paediatrics at UBC.
- Use sociodemographic questions that have already been validated in Canada (e.g. Statistics Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada).
- Consider using an open source survey tool that has been validated in similar populations (e.g. WHO Quality of Life tool).
- Likely your topic has been studied before. Email authors of publications to ask for a copy of their validated survey tool.
- Creative Research Solutions, a commercial survey company, provides free research apps online including a Sample Size Calculator, Sample Size Formula, and overviews of Significance, Survey Design, and Correlation.
- Verita Strategy Group, a commercial survey company that has taken on the research functions of UBC's Applied Research and Evaluation Services (ARES), will design online survey tools for a fee.
- Refer to the UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board statement for guidelines regarding ethical review of online survey research.
- UBC Memorandum on The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Online Surveys outlines privacy concerns when using USA-based online survey tools. Online survey designs that do not link survey participants’ email addresses to survey responses do not generate the same degree of privacy concern, as such surveys gather no identifiable data of participants. However, these survey designs do not enable response rate calculations and do not provide information on non-respondents, which decreases survey design rigour and validity.
- Statistics at Square One (9th ed.) by T. D. V. Swinscow. BMJ, 1997.
- StatsDirect is a statistical program designed for health care professionals. Uses data from an Excel spreadsheet. Amazing tutorial. 10-day free download trial.
- Statpages provides links to free online statistical tools.
- Research Randomizer is a tool to assist you in selecting random samples.
- SPSS, an advanced statistical package available for UBC owned computers.For students, the SPSS GradPack is available at a discounted price.
- Residents in places where local support isn’t available can contact the Short Term Consulting Service (STCS) provided by UBC's Department of Statistics.
- The University of Victoria also has a Statistical Consulting Centre that provides services to those working on research problems for a fee.
Service Evaluation
- CEBM: Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford.
- CHEWS: Canadian Health Evidence Web Site provides teaching resources for evidenced based medicine.
- Dr Chris Cates' EBM Website provides a variety of resources related to Evidence Based Health Care.
- Checklists, jargon busters, websites, and published resources for Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) from the University of Glasgow.
- GATE – a Graphic Appraisal Tool for Epidemiological Studies by Rod Jackson. BMJ Clinical Evidence Blog, 12 Nov 2015.
- Trip Database can help you find high-quality clinical research evidence.
- Evaluation Research in Research Methods Knowledge Base, a comprehensive web-based textbook by William M. K. Trochim.
- A Guide to Evaluation in Health Research from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
- Tools to develop an evaluation plan from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
- A Framework for Program Evaluation from the US CDC.
- Building Better Policies: The Nuts and Bolts of Monitoring and Evaluation Systems by Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Philipp Krause, and Keith Mackay. World Bank, 2012.
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook. W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2004.
- Competencies for Canadian Evaluation Practice from the The Canadian Evaluation Society.
- Evaluation Checklists from Western Michigan University.
- The Logic Model: a blueprint for describing programs by Nancy Porteous, Barbara Sheldrick, and Paula Stewart.
- Introducing Program Teams to Logic Models: Facilitating the Learning Process by Nancy Porteous, Barbara Sheldrick, and Paula Stewart. The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 2002;17(3):113-41.
- The Precede-Proceed Model of Health Program Planning and Evaluation.
- Immunization Program Evaluation Toolkit from the BC CDC.
- Community Tool Box, an online resource providing frameworks and toolkits for guiding, supporting, and evaluating the work of community and system change.
- Splash & Ripple: A SMART Fund Guide to Using Outcomes to Design & Manage Community Health Activities by the Strathcona Research Group.
- Pan-Canadian Primary Health Care Indicators from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
- Aiming for Excellence, quality standards from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.
- Quality Book of Tools by Cheryl Levitt and Linda Hilts. McMaster Innovation Press, 2010.
- Quality Improvement in General Practice by Paresh Dawda, Richard Jenkins, and Robert Varnam. The King's Fund, 2010.
- Quality Improvement Toolbook from the Health Quality Council and National Primary Care Development Team, 2005.
- FPM Toolbox with over 150 free practice management tools from the American Academy of Family Physicians.
- Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Worksheet from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. IHI also provides tools, white papers, and other resources for healthcare improvement.
- Models and guides from Improving Chronic Illness Care.
- Toolkits, Workbooks, and Worksheets from the Dartmouth Institute Microsystem Academy.
Disseminating Research Findings
- The Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication at UBC offers free workshops and one-on-one appointments. The UBC Learning Commons also provides a Science Writing Resource and LEAP video on writing research papers.
- Writing a Research Paper, from OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab at Purdue University.
- The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina) provides handouts and videos on numerous topics concerning academic writing.
- Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis: An Introduction, presentation by Janusz Kaczorowski.
- RAMESES publication standards: meta-narrative reviews by Geoff Wong et al. BMC Medicine, 2013;11(30).
- RAMESES publication standards: realist syntheses by Geoff Wong et al. BMC Medicine, 2013;11(21).
- How to write an abstract, presentation by Janusz Kaczorowski.
- Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
- The Editing Life, writing workshop by John Hoey (editor, Canadian Medical Association Journal)
- Writing for Publication, writing workshop by John Hoey (editor, Canadian Medical Association Journal)
- Scientific Poster Design, presentation by Cornell Center for Materials Research
- IT Printing Services at UBC specializes in printing professional wide format conference posters for all levels of research and academia. Supplementary services include thesis printing, mounting, laminating, and full graphic design services.