Pilot e-SORT IT Course

Pilot e-SORT IT Course

Online mode

Start Date: 01 May 2021

Training mode: Online/SORT IT Platform: https://sortitresearch.com/en

Pre-module preparations: All trainees and mentors will receive a one-to-one briefing on how to use the SORT IT platform.

Resources: There will be two experienced facilitators for each module of the course who will be providing online support participants for hands-on mentorship (see the modules description below). The participant will have access to the SORT IT platform and recorded course lectures/videos, and other course materials. 

  1. Purpose: To develop the practical skills for conducting operational research and publishing the findings.

  2. Course modules and expected outputs: The course is composed of three practical modules of 6-7 days each and conducted over a period of 5-7 months.

MODULE 1 – Research questions and protocol development 

The purpose of this six-day module is to develop a thorough understanding amongst participants about what operational research is all about and to ensure that a draft research protocol and an ethics submission form is produced before they return to their own Institutions/countries. The teaching will be through lectures, discussions, exercises and use of completed and published operational research. Most important, the participants will actually develop their research questions and written protocols during the week with the support of the facilitators.

Brief content overview

  • Introduction to operational research 
  • Research terminology 
  • Asking the right research questions 
  • Aims and Objectives 
  • Developing research protocols
  • Patients and data
  • Simple analysis
  • Ethics

Output: Draft protocol and ethics submission form from each participant.

MODULE 2 – Quality assured data capture and analysis

The purpose of this module is to ensure that participants understand the importance of good data quality, have the skills to produce an efficient electronic data entry form, based on principles adaptable to their specific needs and understanding about data analysis.

Brief content overview

  • Importance of good data
  • Designing an efficient data entry instrument (Epi Data or the statistical data management program that is used in the specific health programs/institutions )
  • Making an efficient computer data entry questionnaire
  • Entering and validating data entry
  • Applying the knowledge to specific needs of individual participants
  • Introduction to data analysis
  • Exercises

Output: Draft instrument for electronic data entry for each participant

MODULE 3 – Scientific paper writing for publication

The purpose of this module is to help participants perform a final analysis and interpretation of the results of their studies and turn these into a scientific paper for submission to a national or international peer review journal for publication. The module also covers how to deal with on-line submission and editors’ and reviewers’ comments.

        Brief content overview

  • Conduct data analysis and construct tables and figures for the papers
  • Learn the principles of writing a scientific paper in a step by step manner
  • Writing a scientific paper (hands on exercise)
  • Learn how to deal with online submission and peer review

Output: Draft manuscript