Courses

NURS 683 - Design Problems in Nursing Research

Offered by Dr Carole Estabrooks and Dr Matthias Hoben

The purpose of this course is to increase proficiency in the design and critical appraisal of research and to enrich knowledge about the basic principles of scientific inquiry. Seminars will centre on problems relevant to quantitative research, ranging from observational to experimental designs. Opportunities will be provided to understand and apply criteria for quality appraisal of research, and develop and review a research proposal that meets specified criteria.

Course Objectives

  • Examine underlying principles of quantitative research designs
  • Explore research design issues in nursing science
  • Examine important research designs and their selection.
  • Develop knowledge and skills in matching methods to design.
  • Apply principles of critical appraisal to evaluate issues of research design
  • Develop a research proposal appropriate for scientific merit review

INT D 690 - Topics in Knowledge Utilization

This course examines the scientific, theoretical, and historical underpinnings of the field of knowledge utilization. Attention is given to contemporary manifestations in Canadian society such as evidence based decision-making, and in Health Care such as evidence based medicine, and evidence-based practice. Particular attention will be given to the challenges facing knowledge use in complex organizations. There will be a focus on the central conceptual and methodological challenges facing investigators undertaking knowledge utilization research.

This course is open to graduate students from a variety of disciplines with consent of the instructor. The course is well suited to students in the health and social science disciplines. Students should have background such as (i) a graduate course in discipline specific theory development or equivalent, (ii) a graduate course in research methods, (iii) a graduate course in policy analysis and/or organizational change. It is normally offered in winter term in weekly seminar format. Students in the Centre for Knowledge Transfer have first designation for seats in this course.

Related Course Work

Recommended/potentially suitable courses

EDPY 505/605Advanced Univariate Statistics in Educational Research/ Multivariate Statistical Methods in Educational Research

EDPY 507 Test Theory
EDPY 508 Item Response Theory
EDPY 605 Multivariate Statistical Methods in Education Research
HIST 396 History of Medicine I
INTD 540 Qualitative Research Methods
NURS 535 Promoting Health-enhancing Public Policy
ORG A 633 Managing Organizational Change
PHS 591/691Statistical Methods in Epidemiology I/ Statistical Methods in Epidemiology II
PHS 693 Critical Appraisal of Health Science Literature in Epidemiology
SOC 565 Seminar in Work
SOC 609 Multivariate Analysis
SOC 616 Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL

Additional Suggested Courses

The following are potential courses for graduate students interested in developing a broader base in the social sciences and humanities. Other departments on campus also offer appropriate courses (e.g., English, Philosophy, Psychology). This list should not be considered exhaustive. The philosophy at KUSP is that the broader one's education the better equipped one will be to address the complex issues in the knowledge utilization field. Not all of these courses are offered every year and professors vary.

HIST 353 History of American Medicine (Susan Smith), relevant to health care
HIST 397 History of Science 1
HIST 496 Topics in the History of Science (Robert Smith)
INTD 498 Historiography of Science and Technology: Problems and Methods (Julian Martin)
HIST 650 US Women's History (Susan Smith), work on Black women's health organizations and Japanese midwifery raises important issues for health care

SOC 363 Sociology of work and industry
SOC 367 Knowledge and human society
SOC 462 Science and society
SOC 465 Sociology of complex organizations
SOC 490 Sociology and public policy
SOC 515 Quantitative methods in social research
SOC 632 Seminar in theory construction

ANTHR 521 Topics in Medical Anthropology
ANTHR 531 Traditions, Technology and Knowledge
ANTHR 532 Science and Culture

POL S 422 Canadian Public Policy
POL S 428 Provincial Government and Politics
POL S 429 Government and Politics of Alberta
POL S 441 Gender and Public Policy
POL S 492 Psychology of Politics
POL S 524 Canadian Political Culture
POL S 540 Topics in Public Policy
POL S 592 Political Psychology