Research Methods in Community Medicine – Surveys, Epidemiological Research, Programme Evaluation, Clinical Trials 6e

J.H. Abramson, Emeritus Professor of Social Medicine, The Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Jerusalem. Author of five previous editions of the formerly titled Survey Methods in Community Medicine and Making Sense of Data with OUP. Z.H. Abramson, Beit Hakerem Community Clinic (Clalit Health Services) and Department of Family Medicine, The Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem.

Preface 1. First steps 2. Types of investigation 3. Stages of an investigation 4. Formulating the objectives 5. The objectives of evaluative studies 6. The study population 7. Control groups 8. Sampling 9. Selecting cases and controls for case-control studies 10. The variables 11. Defining the variables 12. Definitions of diseases 13. Scales of measurement 14. Composite scales 15. Methods of collecting data 16. Reliability 17. Validity 18. Interviews and self-administered questionnaires 19. Constructing a questionnaire 20. Surveying the opinions of a panel: consensus methods 21. The use of documentary sources 22. Planning the records 23. Planning the handling of data 24. Pretests and other preparations 25. Collecting the data 26. Statistical analysis 27. Interpreting the findings 28. Making sense of associations 29. Application of the study findings 30. Writing a report 31. Rapid epidemiological methods 32. Clinical trials 33. Programme trials 34. Community-oriented primary care 35. Using the Web for health research Appendix A Community appraisal: a checklist Appendix B Random numbers Appendix C Free computer programs Index