On Academics : Teaching Research Methods to Graduate Students in Public Health

Abstract

In The Future of Public Health, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended improved instruction in quan-titative methods and research skills in public health. 1 The IOM emphasized the ethical commitment of public health professionals to use quantitative knowledge to reduce suffering and enhance quality of life. A Har-vard study found that two-thirds of the alumni ranked quantitative skills as directly applicable to their pro-fession, supporting IOM's position. 2 The IOM report recognized inadequate education and training of the workforce as one of the causes of disarray. 1 The Public Health Faculty/Agency Forum addressed the educational dimensions of IOM's findings, and core competencies were developed for Master of Public Health (MPH) students. 3 Embedded in these competencies were specific objectives: the ability to (1) define, assess, and understand factors that lead to health promotion and disease prevention, (2) under-stand research designs and methods, (3) make infer-ences based on data, (4) collect and summarize data, (5) develop methods to evaluate programs, (6) evaluate the integrity of data, and (7) present scientific infor-mation to professional and lay audiences. The Forum also suggested that faculty review, evaluate, and refine established courses and develop new ones. However, the Forum did not outline teaching strategies to achieve these objectives. 4 Employing improved teaching meth-ods implies stronger evaluations of existing classes from which stronger teaching methods may be derived. Two methods of instruction have been empirically validated: Keller's Personalized System of Instruc-tion (PSI) 5 and Socratic-Type Programming. 5,6 Keller emphasized the following components: (1) identifica-tion of specific terminal skills or knowledge, (2) indi-vidualized instruction, (3) use of teaching assistants, and (4) use of lectures as a way to motivate students, not just to transmit information. PSI has been more effective than conventional instruction in a variety of educational settings and has increased student achievement and consumer satisfaction more than conventional instruction.