Research Methods in Community Medicine: Surveys, Epidemiological Research, Programme Evaluation, Clinical Trials, 6th Edition

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