Introduction:
This course is the result of a collaboration between the EQUATOR Network and the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization. It is aimed at increasing the value of research and reducing research waste by enabling people who are planning to conduct, report, edit, publish or appraise research for health, with current research reporting standards. This includes, among others, graduate and undergraduate students, PAHO-OAS Scholars, PAHO staff and other professionals at international organizations and research institutions, researchers and research managers, editors, peer reviewers, and others with an interest in improving the quality of research for health projects and increasing the usability of reports for decision-making.
This is an introductory course. It does not replace formal training in research methods, such as graduate degrees in epidemiology. The course provides an overview of good reporting practice at all stages of the research pathway.
The course aims to help participants to deliver impactful high-quality research in line with the recommendations of PAHO’s Policy on Research for Health and the Strategy on Research for Health of the World Health Organization. The ideal time to take this course is as an introductory activity before beginning and finalizing your research proposal.
Objectives:
At the end of this course, participants will be able to use research reporting guidelines at many stages, from the planning of the research proposal to the dissemination of the research findings. This will make their research processes more transparent, well reported, and relevant for national and international health agendas. We intend students to first use reporting guidelines at an introductory level with assistance from more experienced colleagues or within a research team, rather than becoming independent experts.
Course Structure:
Module 1. Importance of good research reporting: be ethical, thorough and make your editor “happy”
Module 2. Road map to reporting guidelines: how to find them and use them
Module 3. Getting your work published more easily: structure and rationale to make your report relevant for health
Module 4. Linking research planning, knowledge translation, and policies