This 6-hour course will be offered via Zoom over 2 mornings (10/31/23 and 11/2/23). Attendance is required as the course will not be recorded.

Course overview:

Measuring someone’s health by means of questionnaires is a challenging task. The concept of health is very broad – it encompasses a person’s physical, social and mental state – which makes conceptualization difficult. In addition, there is a high risk of socially desirable answers, since people like to indicate that they are doing well. Finally, health research is often conducted among people who are not fit or the elderly for whom surveys are a cognitively demanding task.

This course will focus on both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques to measure health. First, participants will learn about collecting qualitative data on health through semi-structured interviews and researcher driven photo-elicitation interviews. Ensuring the scientific quality of these forms of data collection will be discussed on the basis of Guba and Lincoln’s trustworthiness criteria. Finally, we pay attention to analyzing qualitative data by means of a thematic analysis. Second, we give an introduction to the design and implementation of quantitative surveys.  Participants will learn more about the design of survey questionnaires and the survey features that affect data quality. Special attention will be paid to the design of response scales.

Level: Beginner, some basic knowledge on survey research methodology is helpful

Course Objectives:
At the end of this course participants will be able to:
1. describe and recognize the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages and practical consequences of quantitative data collection (surveys) and qualitative data collection methods (semi-structured and photo-elicitation interviews) in a health research setting;

2. apply knowledge of the basic questionnaire design decisions in actually implementing and designing questionnaires
3. set out quality criteria for assessing qualitative research and discuss these criteria with regard to their own research;
4. apply the basis of the thematic analysis to own data.

This course will count as 6.0 CSS short course credit hours.