The Structured Operational Research and Training IniTiative’s is also available in modular video resources. They were developed as a resource for individuals and institutions interested in building their operational research capacity and improving health policies, practices and outcomes.
The videos cover the three modules of the SORT IT course through short lectures.
Module 1: Operational Research and Protocol Development (19 videos)
In this module, you gain a thorough understanding of what is operational research, develop a proposed research protocol and complete an ethics application form.
View the individual sessions by clicking the links below.
1. The SORT IT model for sustainable operational research (OR)
2. Operational research: what, why and how?
3. Translating operational research into policy and practice
4. Research principles: determinants and outcomes
5. Operational research on TB and HIV care in Malawi
6. Example of operational research project with a critique of the strengths and limitations: Recurrent tuberculosis
7. Research terminology and definitions: study design, population, sampling and variables
8. The research question: Treatment outcomes in new TB patients
9. The data collection tool
10. Presentation of data and sample size calculations on Open Epi
11. How to do a literature search using PUBMED – an overview
12. How to organize and cite references for the protocol
13. Demonstration of the use of a reference management tool
14. Demonstration of a final participant protocol from the Asian course
15. Example of operational research: Loss to follow up is associated with payment for ART in Mbgathi Hospital, Kenya
16. The role of investigators and authors
17. Ethics considerations of research protocols
18. How to complete The Union Ethics Advisory Group (EAG) form
19. How to complete the MSF Exemption Form
Module 2: Quality-assured Data entry and analysis (19 videos)
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 understand about data analysis. The EpiData software used in this module can be obtained from http://www.epidata.dk/ and video 2 covers the details of installing the software and other preparatory steps.
EpiData used in the formation can be downloaded here.
1. Overview of topics covered in Module 2
2. Demonstration of how to install EpiData software and other preparatory steps
3. EpiData Entry: Overview of the software
4. EpiData Entry: What is a data documentation sheet and how to create it?
5. EpiData Entry: How to create a QES-REC-CHK triplet?
6. EpiData Entry: Learning CHK commands unrelated to a specific field, creating derived fields and concept of temporary variables
7. EpiData Entry: Double Data Entry and Validation
8. EpiData Entry: How to use an external file for creating a label block and use it in EpiData?
9. EpiData Entry: How to capture data entry time?
10. EpiData Entry: Exporting Data to other Analysis Software
11. EpiData Entry: Data Safety and Security
12. Introduction to data analysis
13. Introduction to basic statistics
14. EpiData Analysis: An overview of the software
15. EpiData Analysis: Summary statistics (calculating mean, median, standard deviation, interquartile range, percentiles, frequencies, proportions, 95% confidence intervals around mean and proportion)
16. EpiData Analysis: How to prepare the data for analysis (defining new variables, recoding of variables)
17. EpiData Analysis: Inferential statistics (calculating measures of effect, such asodds ratio, relative risk, statistical tests of significance, stratified analysis)
18. EpiData Analysis: How to create graphs
19. EpiData Analysis: Importing data from Excel
Module 3: Operational research and scientific paper writing
The purpose of this module is to help participants perform a final analysis, interpret the results of their studies and turn these into a scientific paper for submission to a national or international peer review journal for publication. How to deal with on-line submission and editors’ and reviewers’ comments will also be covered. The lectures remove some of the myths surrounding scientific writing and explain the process of submission, peer review and publication.
1. Publishing without perishing
2. Refreshing data analysis
3. Paper narrative: introduction, methods, results, discussion
4. Tables and figures
5. Bits and pieces: abstract, title, funding, authorship
6. Bits and pieces: example
7. Submission of the paper and peer review
8. Dealing with peer review: example 1
9. Dealing with peer review: example 2
10. Communication after publication