[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Epidemiology](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/) › Research methods

# Research methods

The question, the protocol, population and sampling, variables, questionnaires, study management and publication.

14 pages

- [**Applying for research funding** How a project is put to a funding call: its parts, how the budget is built and the criteria used…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/applying-for-research-funding/)
- [**Authorship, peer review and scientific communication** Being an author requires meeting four criteria; peer review filters articles, and predatory…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/authorship-peer-review-and-scientific-communication/)
- [**Choosing and defining variables** Saying exactly what is measured, with which instrument and cut-off, so that anyone would get the…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/choosing-and-defining-variables/)
- [**Literature search** An orderly search for what is already known about a question, with controlled keywords, logical…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/literature-search/)
- [**Outcomes, surrogate and composite end points** The result a study measures to decide whether something works: hard (death), soft, surrogate (a…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/outcomes-surrogate-and-composite-end-points/)
- [**Questionnaire design** How to write, order and test questions so that everyone understands them the same way and the…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/questionnaire-design/)
- [**Questionnaire validation** Checking that a questionnaire measures consistently (reliability) what it claims to measure…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/questionnaire-validation/)
- [**Race and ethnicity in research** Race and ethnicity are social constructs; in research they are recorded by self-identification…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/race-and-ethnicity-in-research/)
- [**Sampling methods** How a part of the population is chosen for study so that it stands for the whole and the error…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/sampling-methods/)
- [**Study management and data quality** What makes data trustworthy: a procedures manual, clear forms, trained staff, monitoring and…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/study-management-and-data-quality/)
- [**Study population and selection criteria** Who the result is meant for, who can be reached and who actually enters the study, according to…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/study-population-and-selection-criteria/)
- [**The research protocol** The written plan of a study: what is asked, how, with whom, when and with what resources](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/the-research-protocol/)
- [**The research question and objective** Every study starts from one precise question](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/the-research-question-and-objective/)
- [**The scientific article (IMRAD)** An original article is ordered as Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, with a title…](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/the-scientific-article/)

## A to Z

- [A](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/a/)
- [B](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/b/)
- [C](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/c/)
- [D](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/d/)
- [E](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/e/)
- [F](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/f/)
- [G](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/g/)
- [H](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/h/)
- [I](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/i/)
- [K](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/k/)
- [L](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/l/)
- [M](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/m/)
- [N](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/n/)
- [O](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/o/)
- [P](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/p/)
- [Q](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/q/)
- [R](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/r/)
- [S](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/s/)
- [T](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/t/)
- [U](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/u/)
- [V](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/v/)
- [W](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/w/)
- [Y](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/a-z/y/)

[← Epidemiology, biostatistics and public health](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/)

Educational content on epidemiological and statistical methods; the examples use made-up numbers to teach the calculation. Not a clinical or legal guide: current Colombian rules are in the official sources.

Representative model, for educational purposes only.

---
Source: https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/areas/research/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/areas/research/