home | curriculum | description Our curriculum is designed to provide trainees with a strong epidemiology-based research foundation. While some of our course offerings vary from year to year depending on each cohort’s needs, the courses listed below are part of the core curriculum. Introduction to Epidemiology This course focuses on principles of epidemiology, measures of disease frequency, measures of association, and causal inference. In addition, this course provides an overview of surveys, case-control studies, and cohort studies. Epidemiology Methods This course focuses on design and conduct of epidemiologic studies, focusing primarily on chronic diseases. The course will include discussion of cancer control study designs, and of cultural considerations in design and implementation of cancer control studies. We will examine systematic errors that are important to study design, implementation, and to analysis of results of the study. We will also consider topics of importance to observational epidemiologic studies, such as selection bias, information bias, and confounding. Reading assignments for this course will include journal articles, as well as chapters from the assigned text. Questionnaire Design and Survey Methods This session targets participants engaged in designing questionnaires as a part of their ongoing or planned research activity. The session will review the strengths and limitations of questionnaires and encourage participants to apply this knowledge in improving the design of their own instruments. The session will also discuss practical considerations for selecting particular survey methods and how this selection influences the nature of the questionnaire instrument used. And where possible, participants will be asked to provide drafts of their questionnaires to gain insights into how questionnaires can be developed or improved. Research Design and Grant Development This session helps students tie together the information learned in the epidemiology courses and other seminars and apply that knowledge to designing a research project. The session will cover how to plan, design, and develop a NIH-style research proposal, from the abstract to the research design and methods. © 2005 Oregon Health & Science University. Last Updated 12/07. Contact Esther Dunn with website concerns.