Research method(Phar4211)

Session objective
At the end of this session the students will be able to
• Define what research is
• Describe types of research
• Differentiate the different types of research
• Explain essential features of health system research

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Definition of research
• From the French word "recherche" which means to travel through or
survey

• Research is a scientific inquiry aimed at learning new facts,

testing ideas, etc.

• It is the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of

data to generate new knowledge and answer a certain
question or solve a problem
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 What is ‘not’ Research?
 Just collecting facts or information with no clear purpose.

 Reassembling and reordering facts or information

without interpretation.

What is Research then?

Something that people (Researchers/scientists) undertake in
order to find things out in a systematic way, there by increasing
their knowledge’ (Saunders et al. (2009).
Characteristics of research

• It demands a clear statement of the problem

•It requires a plan (it is not aimlessly “ looking” for something in

the hope that you will come across a solution)

•It builds on existing data, using both positive and negative

findings

•New data should be collected as required and be organized in

such a way that they answer the research question(s)
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Types of research
The classical broad divisions of research basic and applied
research.

•The basic research is necessary to generate new knowledge

and technologies to deal with major unresolved health problems.

•Applied research is necessary to identify priority problems

and to design and evaluate policies and programs that will
deliver the greatest benefit, making optimal use of available
resources.
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Features of Research: Basic and Applied
Types of research
Quantitative research
• Early forms of research originated in the natural sciences
such as biology, chemistry, physics, geology etc. and was
concerned with investigating things which we could
observe and measure in some way.
• Such observations and measurements can be made
objectively and repeated by other researchers. This
process is referred to as “ quantitative” research.
• This type of research is more concerned with questions
about: how much? How many? How often? To what
extent?, etc.

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Qualitative
• It attempts to increase our understanding of why things are the way
they are in our social world and why people act the ways they do.
• It is concerned with developing explanations of social phenomena. It
seeks to answer questions about:
• Why people behave the way they do
• How opinions and attitudes are formed
• How people are affected by the events that go on around them
• The differences between social groups

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Health Research and Health System
Research
• Health research is a systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of
data to solve a health problem or generate new knowledge

• Health system research(HSR) is ultimately concerned with improving the

health of people and communities, by enhancing the efficiency and
effectiveness of the health system as an integral part of the overall process
of socio-economic development, with full involvement of all partners

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 Health Research and Health System
Research
• Health system: all public and private sectors/institutions which directly
influence and support the health of people, embedded in the wider
environmental context(geographical, socio- economic, cultural, political,
demographic, epidemiological factors)

• The major objective of HSR is to provide health managers at all levels, as

well as community members, with the relevant information they need to
make decisions on health-related problems they are facing

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 Health research

• Health research is the application of the principles of

research on health.

• It is the generation of new knowledge using

scientific method to identify and deal with health
problems.
• Health research is both global and local in nature.

• In most cases, health research has been divided into

three overlapping groups.

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 Types of health research
a) Essential health research

• Consists of activities to define the health problems of a given

country or community, to measure their importance and to
assure the quality of activities to deal with them.

• Much of this research comes within the category of health

service research but there will be elements of clinical
research and development of technology, depending on the
situation. The information, which may be obtained in a
number of ways, is essential and specific to each country for
planning and monitoring health services.

• Some of the research conclusions, however, may be

generalized and applicable to other areas.
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 Types of health research
b) Clinical research:

● In its widest sense, this group of topics ranges from studies of

the prevention and diagnosis of diseases through new
methods
of treatment to problems of care and rehabilitation.
● The sophistication will vary from problem to problem and there
will be overlapping with the fields of essential and biomedical
research.
● Some of the research will be mainly of local importance; much
will be useful for other individuals in other countries.

● Wherever clinical facilities exist, there is a potential for

clinical research.
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 Types of health research
c) Biomedical research:

 It is the most basic part of health research which demands

more resources, facilities and skilled investigators.

 The results of biomedical research are more often of universal

importance and thus of general significance.

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 Types of health research
During the past four decades, concepts and research approaches to support health development
have evolved rapidly. Many of these have been described by specific terms such as operations
research, health services research, health manpower research, policy and economic analysis and
decision-linked research.

Each of these has made crucial contributions to the development of health research.
Health systems research

Research that supports health development has come to be known as

Health Systems Research.

It is ultimately concerned with improving the health of a community, by enhancing the

efficiency and effectiveness of the health system as an integral part of the overall
•
process of socioeconomic development.

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 Health systems research
Definition of “ health system”

A health system may be described as:

● A set of cultural beliefs about health and illness that forms the
basis for health-seeking and health-promoting behaviour.

● The institutional arrangements within which that behaviour

occurs; and

● The socioeconomic (political) physical context for those

beliefs and institutions.

In short, it consists of what people believe and know about

health and illness and what they do to remain healthy and
cure diseases. Beliefs and action are usually closely
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 Essential Features of Health Systems
Research (HSR)
Bearing in mind that HSR is undertaken primarily to provide information to support
decision-making at all levels that can improve the functioning of the health system, some
of the essential features are summarized as follows:
• HSR should focus on priority problems.
• It should be action oriented (i.e., aimed at developing solutions)
• An integrated multidisciplinary approach is required (research approaches from many
disciplines)
• The research should be participatory in nature (from policy makers to community
members)
• Research must be timely.
• Emphasis should be placed on comparatively simple, short-term research designs
that are likely to yield practical results.
• The principle of cost-effectiveness is important in the selection of research projects.

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 Essential Features . . .
• Results should be presented in formats most useful for
administrators, decision-makers and the community.

- A clear presentation of results with a summary of the major

findings adapted to the interests of the party being targeted
by the report.
- Honest discussion of practical or methodological problems
that could have affected the findings.
• Evaluation of the research undertaken - An HSR project
should not stop at finding answers to the research questions
posed, but include an assessment of what decisions have
been made based on the results of the study. This is the ability
of research findings to influence policy, improve services
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 Main components of any
research work

I. Preparing a research proposal

II. Fieldwork (i.e., data collection)

III. Analyzing data and preparing a

research report

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