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Media Releases
Free Online Course to Help Physicians, Health-care Professionals Evaluate Research
Columbia, Mo. (April 1, 2005) - Evaluating results of studies can be difficult for a person who is not well versed in research and statistical methods. However, a new online course through the Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC) at the University of Missouri-Columbia is now in place to help those interested in synthesizing and comprehending research results.
Dubbed "Arthritis Treatments: Methods for Evaluating Information," the course's goal is to help physicians and health care professionals learn how to critically review research methods and statistical aspects of studies. The course also will aid in developing skills for individuals interested in becoming an investigator or who wish to participate in reviewing research articles both pre- and post-publication. Individuals who participate in disability research as consumers and health care providers interested in research methodology will find this course helpful.
"This course was motivated by the highly successful Research Enrichment Program for Physiatrists, which was funded by NIDRR for 10 years," says John Hewett, director of biostatistics at the MU School of Medicine and the project's principal investigator.
The course is free of charge and will take place May 9, 2005 through July 8, 2005. Some of the topics that participants will cover include:
- Types of Research and Developing the Research Question
- Designing Experiments
- Types of Variables, Levels of Measurement and Descriptive Statistics
- Basic Probability
- Basic Statistical Inference
- Choosing Statistical Methods to Answer the Research Question
- Additional Statistical Inference Topics
- Determination of the Appropriate Sample Size
- Writing and Reviewing Research Papers and Research Proposals.
Each week's topic must be completed before moving on to the next. A live one-hour interactive session with the instructor and other participants will be conducted on Thursday mornings for discussion questions. These interactive sessions are mandatory for participants wishing to receive the General Continuing Education Units (CEU). Non-CEU students may participate in the interactive sessions, but it is not mandatory. Participants may post observations, questions, or ideas to the discussion board at any time during the coursework.
If these approaches don't help or if sleep and pain problems don't go away, it may be time to consult your physician. For information about the course, visit the Web site at www.marrtc.org.
This project is made possible by federal grant number H133B031120. The opinions contained in this news release are those of the grantee and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education.
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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