| Unit name | Qualitative and survey design methods for health economics and policy analysis |
|---|---|
| Unit code | BRMSM0051 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Coast |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
Concepts in the economics and policy of health and care |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Bristol Medical School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to the use of qualitative and survey design methods in health economics research. The usefulness of qualitative techniques in informing health economics research questions will be discussed as will the importance of data collection methods for survey techniques. Students will explore core practical techniques around sampling, data collection and exploratory data analysis. Issues such as ethical and governance considerations, rigour and reflexivity (qualitative methods) and feasibility, validity, reliability and sensitivity to change (survey methods) will be considered and relevant software packages will be introduced. Throughout, two key purposes will be considered: qualitative and survey methods to inform the assessment and evaluation of outcomes for economic assessment, and qualitative and survey methods to inform economic theory and understanding. Qualitative approaches discussed will include purposeful sampling, in-depth interviews and focus groups, ethnographic fieldwork and analytic approaches including the application of an economic lens. Survey methods for collecting outcome data will include cross-sectional willingness to pay and introduce discrete choice experiment approaches; survey methods for informing economic theory and understanding will include the collection of longitudinal data.
By the end of the Unit, students should be able to:
The course will be delivered using blended learning. There will be a three-day teaching block (18 hours) which will deliver most of the material related to the use of qualitative methods. This will comprise a mixture of presentation and interactive sessions, and provide a forum for the exchanges required for the qualitative exercises. Online teaching (25 hours) will be linked with the fortnightly tutorials (7 hours, fortnightly across TB1) and will be used to teach the survey element of the course (20 hours asynchronous), and to extend the qualitative methods work to an online environment (5 hours, live online, held as one full day of teaching). Tutorials will offer the opportunity to interact with peers and tutors around various formative assessment tasks related to the qualitative and survey material. The Unit also requires self study of around 150 hours.
There will be ongoing formative assessment of the qualitative methods aspect of the course throughout the three-day face-to-face teaching block and the one day live online teaching, through methods including individual and group exercises around sampling, interview techniques and analytic techniques, with both tutor and peer feedback (ILOs 2-4) and critique of papers using qualitative methods in health economics (ILOs 1-5). Formative assessments related to the survey aspect of the course will be conducted through the fortnightly tutorials and linked to the asynchronous materials related to that tutorial. These assessments will involve activities such as: presentation of content in seminar settings around choice of technique, sampling, data collection, and concepts related to ethics and rigour; peer and tutor feedback on aspects of survey design, (ILOs 2-4) critique of papers using survey design techniques (ILOs 1,5). These activities will prepare students for the summative assessment.
There will be a single summative assignment with marks weighted for specific elements. The summative assessment will test students on their ability to analyse a small existing qualitative dataset and use the information from that analysis alongside their knowledge of qualitative and survey research and their ability to evaluate methods, to design a survey instrument and associated data collection protocol to collect data to inform economics and policy in the health and care setting (ILOs 1-5). Students will be asked to submit:
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. BRMSM0051).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
