RES 512A - Research and Statistics in Psychophysiology Lecture

This course covers the basic steps and time-line of a project, steps in formulating and maturing a question, research ethics, the protocol approval process, background and literature searches, and methods of determining a project's feasibility and relevance. The logic and progression of study designs used to evaluate the efficacy of behavioral medicine studies is detailed and exemplified. Topics include single subject and single group designs - cohorts, multiple group designs, strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, prospective experimental vs. observational and retrospective designs. Students will learn how objective tests, surveys, and inventories are normalized in comparison with various groups, analyzed, and critiqued. The course also covers research protocol design, the consent form, and the protocol review process. This section covers subject selection techniques (sampling, inclusion - exclusion, etc.), kinds of data (dichotomous, nominal, ordinal, continuous, etc.), techniques for hardening subjective data, validity and reliability, survey and questionnaire design, as well as pilot studies and the initial power analysis - feasibility and resources. The statistics section is designed to teach students how to analyze typical study designs used in behavioral medicine. It includes qualitative and quantitative data reduction and analysis, descriptive statistics in clinical practice, inferential statistics - parametric and non-parametric, power analysis, pattern analysis, and analysis of outcome and quality of life studies. Students use standard data analysis software to analyze practice data sets so they become familiar with the use of these programs. 3 credit(s)

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