PHVIT9530 Assessment and Methods of Measurement Course description

This course offers an overview and adopts a critical perspective of different types of mapping, testing, and evaluation of health-related activities at individual, group, and society levels. The course covers mapping, testing, and evaluating quality of life, mental health, physical health, functional ability, and disease mechanisms. It will take a critical look at the classification of measurement methods as disease-specific vs. generic, and self-reported vs. performance-based, as well as screening vs. diagnostics, quantitative vs. qualitative evaluation, and standardisation vs. individualisation.

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On completion of the course, the PhD candidate has achieved the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The PhD candidate

• is at the forefront of knowledge of conceptual understanding and of theories on the significance of different types of scientific instruments for measuring, testing, evaluating, and assessing health
• is at the forefront of knowledge of national and international mapping systems for health indicators

Skills

The PhD candidate can

• critically evaluate different theories and approaches with methodological significance for measuring, testing, evaluating, and assessing
• apply measurement methods, testing, evaluation, and assessment to his or her own research project
• critically reflect on and evaluate different psychometric properties of measurement methods, tests, evaluations, and assessments
• address the results of mapping, testing, and evaluation applied in health science research

General competence

The PhD candidate can

• discuss ethical and social issues associated with different types of measurement methods, testing, evaluation, and assessment
• present and discuss knowledge of methods of measurement, testing, and evaluation in the health sciences

Work and teaching methods consist of lectures, seminars, self-study, and practical exercises in the use of different software programmes for statistical analysis The outcomes of the seminars are presented and discussed in plenary sessions.

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Healthcare decisions for individual patients and for public health policies should be informed by the best available research evidence. The evidence comes from good reviews which is a state-of-the-art synthesis of current evidence on a given research question.Systematic reviews and meta-analyses play an important role in clinical guidelines, patient information, in clinical and political decision-making and in an evidence-based practice. A systematic review can also play an important role in a PhD Thesis by providing an overview of the thesis topic.

This course offers an overview of the use of systematic reviews, the method of systematic reviews, qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) and meta-analysis and how to critically appraise a systematic review or QES. The course will focus on systematic reviews of qualitative and quantitative studies, and will be partly organized as parallel sessions. The course will be run as a five day course over a period of three months.

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Pass / Fail

One internal and one external examiner will assess the answer papers submitted by all candidates.

This course is primarily aimed at PhD candidates admitted to the PhD Programme in Health Sciences but is also open to other applicants. Admission requirements are a completed hovedfag, master's degree (120 credits) or equivalent qualification.

The course can also be offered to students who have been admitted to the "Health Science Research Programme, 60 ECTS", by prior approval from the supervisor and based on given guidelines for the research programme.