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National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)

Health Services Research Methodology Core Library Recommendations, 2007

Compiled by AcademyHealth
Funded by the National Library of Medicine

Background

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) contracted with AcademyHealth to develop a core and a desired list of books, journals, bibliographic databases, web sites, and other media in the field of health services research methods. Both lists are intended to serve as a guide for librarians who want to develop a health services research methods collection.

Due to the breadth of the methodological areas covered by health services research, this module is organized both by core and desired materials, as well as by topic area. As such, the module offers a framework for developing a collection of HSR methods resources. The benefit of dividing the resources based upon "core" and "desired" resources, as well as by discipline, is that librarians will have a choice of which specific subtopics they deem to be most beneficial for their collection.

Across all topic areas identified, the core listf contains 56 books, 50 journals, 6 bibliographic databases, and 23 web sites (and 'other' resources such as instructional videos). In developing this list, we focused intentionally on U.S. publications. Although the amount of items purchased for a collection will hinge on budgetary constraints, care was taken to define the core list as one that might be reasonable for moderately sized collections. Some books are downloadable in PDF format from the Web for free. Others, such as reference books and textbooks, are quite expensive. Likewise, some of the databases and websites are free while others require large subscription fees.

What Are Health Services Research Methods? Why Are They Important?

In the 1960's, the field of health services research was created by combining several study sections at the National Institutes of Health to create the Health Services Research Study Section . The HSR study section sought to define HSR as a distinct field of scientific inquiry at the intersection of public health and medical care, informed by disciplinary perspectives. Since that time, the field has evolved to encompass multiple disciplinary perspectives, including methods from cognate disciplines such as economics, statistics, political science, sociology, and many other schools of thought. The field has also developed new models and techniques to address research questions in specialized areas of inquiry such as patient safety and access to care.

Due to the breadth of the field, two terms are critical to defining the scope of health services research methods. These are: 1) health services research, and 2) methodology.

The AcademyHealth definition of health services research, developed in 2000 by Kathleen Lohr and Don Steinwachs, is as follows:

Health services research is the multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately our health and well-being. Its research domains are individuals, families, organizations, institutions, communities, and populations.

An additional definition of health services research is provided by Lexikon:

Research concerned with the organization, financing, administration, effects, and other aspects of health services. Health services research is often concerned with the relationships among need, demand, supply, use, and outcomes of health services. Structure, process, and outcome of health services may be evaluated. Evaluation of structure is concerned with resources, facilities, and manpower; process, with matters, such as where, by whom, and how health care is provided; and outcome, with the results of the services (such as the degree to which individuals receiving health services actually experience measurable benefits).

To assess which methods are applicable to HSR, AcademyHealth staff developed a core definition of methodologies that are applicable to health services research, expanding from a 1994 definition of methodology in Lexikon:

Methodology is the collection or study of methods (practices, procedures, and rules) used by those who work in a discipline or engage in an inquiry, as in the methodology of measuring, assessing, and improving performance. Methodology addresses the full range of issues confronted by empirical work in health services research, including conceptualization, modeling, literature review, study design, sampling, data collection, measurement, and research ethics.

By combining the definitions above, it is apparent how wide the scope of methods employed by health services researchers is. HSR methods encompass a variety of study frameworks, designs, and analytic techniques. These include a spectrum of methods, from understanding of various epistemological perspectives on research, to study designs including focus groups and randomized controlled trials, to specific analytic techniques such as longitudinal data analysis.

To help organize the array of HSR methods, core and desired resources have been divided into 18 major topic areas , including:

  • Economics & Cost Effectiveness
  • Epidemiology
  • Ethics
  • Evaluation
  • Health Services Research Applied Methods
  • Information Technology
  • Management Sciences
  • Medicine
  • Outcomes Research
  • Policy
  • Psychology
  • Public Health
  • Qualitative Research
  • Quality and Safety
  • Sociology
  • Statistics, Biostatistics & Econometrics
  • Survey Research
  • Trials

Reviewing the topic areas above, it is apparent that HSR methods are not confined to disciplinary methods, but rather, are unique in their approach to medical and health care delivery questions because the field was developed to facilitate study of applied questions. These include:

  • Who has access to health care?
  • Do patients in large urban areas receive the same level of services as those in rural areas?
  • At different levels of care, which patients have the best outcomes?

Many of these types of questions have policy implications. As a result, funding for health services research has often been linked to political interests. Yet, HSR studies are girded by the same methods as many other disciplines. As discussed above, econometric, epidemiological, survey research, and other widely accepted methods form the backbone of HSR.

A related challenge for health services researchers is that the types of questions of interest to the field rely on the ability to generalize from data to the population at large. In order to collect information that may be generalized to the population, it is often necessary to draw associations from existing sources of data such as claims databases or large population surveys - frequently referred to as observational data. Observational data is collected in situations when it would be unethical or impractical to randomize participants to one condition or another - such as having or not having health insurance. Because the data is not randomized, it is not possible to assume that an intervention causes a particular outcome; rather, researchers rely on statistical analyses to draw associations between factors in a study.

Despite concerns about the shortcomings of using non-randomized data in HSR studies, there are major benefits to studying the implications of care delivery or policy at the population level. The scope of HSR studies often allows for greater understanding of an intervention's effectiveness, or effect in a real-world population, as opposed to randomized controlled trials, which are better at assessing efficacy -- the outcome in an ideal, controlled population. In addition, HSR studies have always been closely linked to policy considerations, and as such, have the potential to enhance understanding of health care systems and impact care delivery for large numbers of individuals.

Since the 1960s at the inception of HSR, health care spending has grown from 4-6% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 16% of GDP in 2004. In response to rising costs and concerns about quality and satisfaction with the current system of care, demand for new data on the appropriateness, effectiveness, and equity of medical care in the US health care system has grown in step. In order to thoroughly evaluate these questions, it is imperative to emphasize understanding and use of the most appropriate research methods for HSR.

For librarians it is becoming increasingly important to create a collection of materials that address the types of applied questions that health services research addresses. This is a daunting task because of the breadth and depth of the disciplines and subjects encompassed by HSR. As the list of disciplines and topic areas relevant to HSR demonstrates, a wide array of disciplines are included in the health services research methodological 'toolkit'.

Librarians may wish to utilize the module by choosing specific content areas that will benefit their personal library needs. Likewise, faculty developing new courses may look to this list for suggested current textbooks in the field. The organization of the list is intended to facilitate understanding of the array of options in different disciplines.

This list of resources is not intended to define the full range of HSR methods texts, rather, to provide a set of resources considered valuable by librarians and academics in the field of health services research.

The field of health services research is continually expanding and developing new methods to apply to health care and health care delivery questions. Due to the fact that the field is growing rapidly, we recommend that users of this list search for updated versions of the resources cited here in order to ensure the most recent information on methodological topics.

Core Books in Health Services Research Methods

The following list of core books in health services research methods is divided into topic areas and alphabetized by last name of the primary author.

Some of the resources focus on the application of research methods rather than on the specific method itself; these are noted with an asterisk (*).

We suggest that libraries developing a collection in health services research methods periodically check the publisher's Web site for the most recent editions available.

Economics & Cost-Effectiveness

Cuyler A.J., Newhouse J.P., 2000. Handbook of Health Economics 1A. North-Holland.

Cuyler A.J., Newhouse J.P., 2000. Handbook of Health Economics 1B. North-Holland.

Folland, S., Goodman, A., Stano, M., 2007.The Economics of Health and Health Care (5th Edition) Prentice Hall.

Gold, M.R., Siegel, J.E., Russell, L.B., Weinstein, W.C., eds. 1996. Cost-Effectiveness in Health Care. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Johnson-Lans S., 2006. Health Economics Primer. Boston, MA: Person/Addison Wesley.

Phelps, C.E., 2002. Health Economics, 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Addison Wesley.

Rice, T., 2002. The Economics of Health Reconsidered, Second Edition. Chicago: Health Administration Press.

Santerre R., Neun S., 2003. Health Economics: Theories, Insights, and Industry Studies with Economic Applications Card, 3rd edition, South-Western College Publishing, 2003.

Epidemiology

Gordis, L., 2004. Epidemiology, 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders.

Haynes, R.B., 2006. Clinical Epidemiology: How to Do Clinical Practice Research, 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Piantadosi, S., 2005. Clinical Trials: a Methodologic Perspective, 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Rothman J.K., Greenland, S., 1998. Modern Epidemiology, 2nd edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Young T.K. 2005. Population Health: Concepts and Methods, Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press.

Evaluation

Grembowski, D., 2001 The Practice of Health Program Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Mertens, D.M. 2005. Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology: Integrating Diversity with Quantitative, Quanlitative, and Mixed Methods, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Patton, M.Q., 1990. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. 2nd edition Newbury Park: Sage.

Patton, M.Q., 1986. Utilization-focused Evaluation. 2nd edition Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Veney, J.E., Kaluzny, A.D. 1998. Evaluation and Decision Making for Health Services Programs, 3rd ed. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.

Wholey J., Hatry, H., Newcomer, K. 2004. Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, 2nd edition, Jossey-Bass.

Health Services Research Applied Methods

Aday, L.A., Begley, C.E., Lairson, D.R., Balkrishnan, R. 2004. Evaluating the Healthcare System: Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Equity, 3rd ed. Chicago, IL, Washington, DC: Health Administration Press, AcademyHealth.

Bowling, A., Ebrahim, S. 2005. Handbook of Health Research Methods, Investigation Measurement and Analysis. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Campbell, D.T., Stanley, J.C. 1969. Experimental and Quasi-experimental Designs for Research. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.

Choi, T., Greenberg, J.N., eds. 1983. Social Science Approaches to Health Services Research. Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press.

Harkness, J.A., van de Vijver, F.J.R., Mohler, P.P., eds. 2003. Cross-cultural Survey Methods. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Israel, B.A., Eng, E., Schulz, A.J., Parker, E.A., eds. 2005. Methods in Community-based Participatory Research for Health. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Minkler, M., Wallerstein, N., eds. 2002. Community Based Participatory Research for Health. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Polit, D.F., Beck, C.T. 2000. Essentials of Nursing Research: Methods, Appraisal, and Utilization. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Shi, L. 1997. Health Services Research Methods. Albany, NY: International Thomson Publishers.

Medicine

Gehlbach, S.H. 2006. Interpreting the Medical Literature, 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Professions Division.

Greenhalgh, T., et al. 2005. Diffusion of Innovations in Health Services Organizations, Malden MA: BMJ Books/Blackwell Publishing.

Guyatt, G., Rennie, D., eds. 2002. Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: a Manual for Evidence-based Clinical Practice. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association.

Sackett, D.L., Strauss, S.E., Richardson, W.S., Rosenberg, W., Haynes, R.B. 2005. Evidence-based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM. Scotland: Elsevier.

Outcomes Research

McDowell, I., Newell, C. 2006. Measuring Health: a Guide to Rating Scales and Questionnaires, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Stangl, D. and Berry, D., eds. 2000. Meta-Analysis in Medicine and Health Policy, New York, NY: Marcel Dekker.

Qualitative Research

Denzin, N.K., Lincoln, Y.S., eds. 2005. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M. 1994. Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Patton, M.Q. 2002. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Strauss, A., Corbin, J. M. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Statistics, Biostatistics, and Econometrics

Armitage, P., Berry, G., Matthews, J.N.S. 2001. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 4th ed. Boston, MA, Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.

Fitzmaurice, G., Laird, N., Ware, J. 2004. Applied Longitudinal Analysis (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics). New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Greene, L. 2003. Econometric Analysis, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Hambleton, R. K., Swaminathan, H., Rogers, J. 1991. Fundamentals of Item Response Theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Hollander, M., Wolfe D. 1999. Nonparametric Statistics, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Wiley-InterScience.

Hosmer D.L., Lemeshow S. 2001. Applied Logistic Regression, 2nd edition. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Iezzoni, L.I., ed. 2003. Risk Adjustment for Measuring Healthcare Outcomes, 3rd ed. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.

Kennedy, P. 2003. Guide to Econometrics, 5th ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Kleinbaum, L., et al. 1998. Applied Regression Analysis and Other Multivariable Methods, 3rd Edition. Pacific Grove: Duxbury Press.

Kohler, U., Kreuter, F., 2005. Data Analysis Using Stata College Station, TX: Stata Press.

Long, J.S. 1997. Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Long, J.S., Freese, J. 2006. Regression Models for Categorical Data Using Stata, 2nd ed. College Station, TX: Stata Press.

Munro, B.H. 2005. Statistical Methods for Health Care Research. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Netter J., Wasserman W., Kutner M.H. 1989. Applied Linear Regression Models. 2nd ed. Boston, MA:Irwin.

Rosner, B. 2006. Fundamentals of Biostatistics, 6th ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Duxbury Press.

Stata Corp. 2005. Stata Version 9 Base Reference Manuals (or complete documentation), Stata Press.

Van Belle, G., Fisher, L.D., Heagerty, P., Lumley, T. 2004. Biostatistics: a Methodology for the Health Sciences, 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Surveys

Aday, L.A., Cornelius, L.J. 2006. Designing and Conducting Health Surveys: A Comprehensive Guide, 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Dillman, D. A. 2007. Mail and Internet Surveys - The Tailored Design Method, 2nd edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Groves, R.M., et al. 2004. Survey Methodology. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Krueger, R.A., Kasey, M.A. 2000. Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Nardi, P.M. 2006. Doing Survey Research: a Guide to Quantitative Methods, 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Core Journals in Health Services Research Methods

Journals marked with an asterisk (*) are categorized as application of methods. This means that these journals may not discuss actual methods, but that they show various applications of methods. Journals marked with a carrot (^) have an international focus.

Economics & Cost-Effectiveness

  • Health Care Financing Review*
  • Health Economics * ^
  • International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics*
  • Journal of Health Economics
  • PharmacoEconomics

Epidemiology

  • American Journal of Epidemiology*
  • American Journal of Preventive Medicine
  • Epidemiology
  • International Journal of Epidemiology
  • Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
  • Journal of Clinical Epidemiology*

Evaluation

  • Evaluation & the Health Professions
  • Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice*
  • Evaluation Research

Health Services Research Applied Methods

  • BMC Health Services Research (online journal)*
  • Health Services Research*
  • Health Services & Outcomes Research Methodology
  • Medical Care*
  • Medical Care Research and Review (MCRR)
  • Social Science and Medicine
  • Qualitative Health Research

Information Technology

  • International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care*

Management Sciences

  • Inquiry: a Journal of Medical Care Organization, Provision and Financing*
  • The American Journal of Managed Care*

Medicine

  • American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy: AJHP: Official Journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists*
  • British Medical Journal (BMJ)
  • Journal of General Internal Medicine
  • JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association
  • Lancet
  • Medical Decision Making: an International Journal for the Society for Medical Decision Making*
  • The New England Journal of Medicine

Outcomes Research

  • Value in Health: the Journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
  • Quality of Life Research

Policy

  • Health Affairs*
  • Health Research Policy and Systems (online journal)
  • Inquiry*
  • Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law*
  • Journal of Health Services Research & Policy

Public Health

  • American Journal of Public Health*
  • Annual Review of Public Health*
  • Journal of Public Health Management and Practice*
  • Public Health Reports

Quality and Safety

  • American Journal of Medical Quality: the Official Journal of the American College of Medical Quality
  • International Journal for Quality in Health Care: Journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care*
  • Quality and Safety in Health Care*

Statistics, Biostatistics, and Econometrics

  • Journal of Econometrics
  • Journal of the American Statistical Association
  • The Stata Journal
  • Statistical Methods in Medical Research
  • Statistics in Medicine

Trials

  • BMC Medical Research Methodology (online journal)*
  • Controlled Clinical Trials

Desired Books in Health Services Research Methods

The following list of desired books is alphabetized by last name of the primary author. Prior to purchasing these resources, it is recommended that a search be performed to ensure there is not a more recent edition available.

Economics & Cost-Effectiveness

Boardman, A.E., et al. 2004. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Drummond, M.F. 1980. Principles of Economic Appraisal in Health Care. New York, NY, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Drummond, M.F., et al. 2005. Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes, 3rd ed. New York, NY, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Feldstein, P. 2004. Health Care Economics 6th edition. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Learning

Getzen,T. 2003. Health Economics: Fundamentals and Flow of Funds. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Hammond, J.S., Keeney, R.L., Raiffa, H. 1999. Smart Choices: a Practical Guide to Making Better Decision. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Miller, M., Robinson, L., Lawrence, R., eds. 2006. Valuing Health for Regulatory Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. Washington, DC: Committee to Evaluate Measures of Health Benefits for Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation, Board on Health Care Services, The National Academies Press.

Tolley, G., Kenkel, D., Fabian, R., eds. 1994. Valuing Health for Policy: An Economic Approach. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Epidemiology

Abramson, J.H. 2001. Making Sense of Data: A Self-Instruction Manual in the Interpretation of Epidemiologic Data, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Hulley, S.B., et al. 2001. Designing Clinical Research: an Epidemiologic Approach, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Jekel, J.F., Elmore, J.G., Katz, D.L. 2001. Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Preventive Medicine, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders.

Kleinbaum, D.G., Kupper, L.L., Morgenstern, H. 1982. Epidemiologic Research: Principles and Quantitative Methods. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Marczyk, G.R., DeMatteo, D., Festinger, D. 2005. Essentials of Research Design and Methodology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Pol, L.G., Thomas, R.K. 2001. The Design of Studies for Medical Research. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Strom, B.L. 2000. Pharmacoepidemiology, 3rd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Sukhatme, P.V., Sukhatme, B.K., Sukhatme, S. 1984. Sampling Theory of Surveys with Applications, 3rd ed. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.

Ethics

Daniels, N. 1985. Just Health Care. New York, NY: University of Cambridge.

Evaluation

Friedman, C.P., Wyatt, J.C. 2006. Evaluation Methods in Biomedical Informatics, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer.

Gomm, R., Davies, C., eds. 2000. Using Evidence in Health and Social Care. Thousand Oaks, CA, London: Sage Publications in association with Open University Press.

Patton, M.Q. 1996. Utilization Focused Evaluation, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Rossi, P.H., Lipsey, M.W., Freeman, H.E. 2003. Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, 7th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Steckler, A.B., Linnan, L. 2002. Process Evaluation for Public Health Interventions and Research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Thorogood, M., Coombs, Y. 2004. Evaluating Health Promotion: Practice and Methods, 2nd ed. New York, NY, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Windsor, R.A. 2004. Evaluation of Health Promotion, Health Education, and Disease Prevention Programs, 3rd ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.

Health Services Research Applied Methods

Allen, P., Black, N., Clarke, A., Fulop, N., Anderson, S., eds. 2004. Studying the Organisation and Delivery of Health Services: a Reader. New York, NY, London: Routledge.

Bickman, L., Rog, D.J., eds. 1998. Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Bowling, A. 2002. Research Methods in Health: Investigating Health and Health Services, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA, Buckingham: Open University Press.

Cook, T.D., Campbell, T.D. 1979. Quasi-experimentation: Design & Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally College Publishing Company.

Creswell, J.W. 2003. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Crombie, I.K. 1996. Research in Health Care: Design, Conduct, and Interpretation of Health Services Research. New York, NY, Oxford: Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

DeFries, G.H., Ricketts, T.C., Stein, J.S., eds. 1989. Methodological Advances in Health Services Research. Ann Arbor, MI: Health Administration Press.

Depoy, E., Gitlin, L.N. 2005. Introduction to Research : Understanding and Applying Multiple Strategies, 3rd ed. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier, Mosby.

Fink, A. 2004. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Glanz, K., Lewis, F.M., Rimer, B.K., eds. 2002. Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice, 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Haggerty, L.A., Hawkins, J.W. 2003. Diversity in Health Care Research: Strategies for Multisite, Multidisciplinary, and Multicultural Projects. New York, NY: Springer.

Institute of Medicine. 2000. Protecting Data Privacy in Health Services Research. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Ironside, P.M. 2006. Beyond Method: Philosophical Conversations in Healthcare Research and Scholarship (Interpretive Studies in Healthcare & the Human Sciences). Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.

Kumar, R. 2005. Research Methodology: a Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA, London: Sage Publications.

Leedy, P.D., Ormrod, J.E. 2005. Practical Research: Planning and Design, 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Miller, D. C. 2002. Handbook of Research Design And Social Measurement, 6th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications.

Morgan, G.A., et al. 2006. Understanding and Evaluating Research in Applied and Clinical Settings. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Petitti, D.B. 2000. Meta-analysis, Decision Analysis, and Cost-effectiveness Analysis: Methods for Quantitative Synthesis in Medicine, 2nd ed. New York, NY, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Shadish W.R., Cook T.D., Campbell D.T. 2002. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Design for Generalized Causal Inference. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Sobo, E.J., Kurtin, P.S., eds. 2003. Child Health Services Research: Applications, Innovations, and Insights. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Stout, C.E., Hayes, R.A., eds. 2004. The Evidence-based Practice: Methods, Models, and Tools for Mental Health Professionals. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Trochim, W.M.K. 2001. The Research Methods Knowledge Database, 2nd ed. Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog Publishing.

Ver Ploeg, M.,Perrin, E., & National Research Council (U.S.). Panel on DHHS Collection of Race and Ethnicity Data. 2004. Eliminating Health Disparities: Measurement and Data Needs. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

White, K.L., Frenk, J. et al., eds. 1992. Health Services Research: an Anthology. Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization, Pan American Sanitary Bureau, Regional Office of the World Health Organization.

World Health Organization. 2001. Health Research Methodology: a Guide for Training in Research Methods, 2nd ed. Phillipines: The World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO).

Information Technology

Maheswaran, R., Craglia, M., eds. 2004. GIS in Public Health Practice. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

McGlynn, E.A., et al. 1998. Health Information Systems : Design Issues and Analytic Applications. Santa Monica, CA, Washington, DC: RAND.

Medicine

Stevens, A., et al. 2001. The Advanced Handbook of Evidence Based Health Care. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Outcomes Research

Bowling, A. 2001. Measuring Disease: A Review of Disease-Specific Quality of Life Measurement Scales. Buckingham, Philadelphia, PA, Open University Press.

Bowling, A. 2005. Measuring Health: a Review of Quality of Life Measurement Scales, 3rd ed. New York, NY, Berkshire: Maidenhead, Open University Press.

Carey, R.G. 2003. Improving Health Care with Control Charts: Basic and Advanced SPC Methods and Case Studies. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press.

Haines, A., Donald, A. eds. 2002. Getting Research Findings into Practice, 2nd ed. London: BMJ Publishing Group.

Kane, R.L. 2006. Understanding Health Care Outcomes Research, 2nd ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Murray, C.J.L., et al. 2002. Summary Measures of Population Health: Concepts, Ethics, Measurement, and Applications. Switzerland: World Health Organization.

Roberts, A.R., Yeager, K.R., eds. 2004. Evidence-based Practice Manual: Research and Outcome Measures in Health and Human Services. New York, NY, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Stevens, A., Abrams, K., Brazier, J., Fitzpatrick, R., Lilford, R. 2001. The Advanced Handbook of Evidence Based Health Care. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Qualitative Research

Anfara, V.A., Jr., Mertz, N.T., eds. 2006. Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Crabtree, B.F., Miller, W.L., eds. 1999. Doing Qualitative Research, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hesse-Biber, S.N., Leavy, P., eds. 2003. Approaches to Qualitative Research: a Reader on Theory and Practice. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Kreuger, R. 1997. Developing Questions for Focus Groups. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kreuger, R. 1997. Moderating Focus Groups. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kreuger, R., King, J. 1997. Involving Community Members in Focus Groups, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kruger R. 1998. Analyzing and Reporting Focus Group Data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Lincoln, Y.S., Denzin, N.K. 2003. Turning Points in Qualitative Research: Tying Knots in a Handkerchief. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

May, T. 2002. Qualitative Research in Action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Morgan, D. 1997. The Focus Group Guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Morgan, D. 1997. Planning Focus Groups. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Morse, J.M., Swanson, J.M., Kuzel, A.J., eds. 2001. The Nature of Qualitative Evidence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Murphy, E. 2003. Qualitative Methods and Health Policy Research. New York, NY: Transaction Publishers.

Parse, R.R. 2001. Qualitative Inquiry: the Path of Sciencing. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Rapport, F., ed. 2004. New Qualitative Methodologies in Health and Social Care Research. New York, NY, London: Routledge.

Rice, P.L., Ezzy, D. 1999. Qualitative Research Methods: a Health Focus. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Richards, L. 2006. Handling Qualitative Data: a Practical Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Seale, C., et al. 2004. Qualitative Research Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Ulin, P.R., Robinson, E.T., Tolley, E.E. 2005. Qualitative Methods in Public Health: a Field Guide for Applied Research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Yin, R.K. 2003. Case Study Research: Design and Methods (Applied Social Research Methods S.), 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Statistics, Biostatistics, and Econometrics

Agresti, A. 2002 Categorical Data Analysis, 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Altman, D.A., et al. 2000. Statistics with Confidence: Confidence Intervals and Statistical Guidelines, 2nd ed. London: BMJ Publishing Group.

Armitage, P., Colton, T., eds. 1998. Encyclopedia of Biostatistics, 2nd ed. Chichester, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Bailar, J.C., III. 1992. Medical Uses of Statistics, 2nd ed. Boston, MA: NEJM Books.

Baker, F.B. 2004. Item Response Theory: Parameter Estimation Techniques, 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Bollen, K.A. 1989. Structural Equations with Latent Variables. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Carlin, B.P., Louis, T.A. 2000. Bayes and Empirical Bayes Methods for Data Analysis, 2nd ed. London: Chapman & Hall.

Congdon, P. 2001. Bayesian Statistical Modeling. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Conover W.J. 1999. Practical Nonparametric Statistics, 3rd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Daniel, W.W. 2004. Biostatistics: a Foundation for Analysis in the Health Sciences, 8th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Dawson-Saunders, B., Trapp, R.G. 2004. Basic and Clinical Biostatistics, 4th ed. New York, NY: Lange Medical Books-McGraw-Hill.

Delwiche, L.D., Slaughter, S.J. 2001. The Little SAS Book: a Primer, 3rd ed. Cary, NC: SAS Publishing.

DeVeaux, R.D., Vellman, P.F., Bock, D.E. 2005. Stats: Data and Models. Boston, MA: Addison Wesley.

Diggle, P.J., Liang, K.Y., Zeger, S.L. 1994. Analysis of Longitudinal Data. London: Oxford University Press.

Diggle P.J., et.al. 2002. Analysis of longitudinal data, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Devellis, R.F. 1991. Scale Development: Theory and Applications. Newbury, NY: Sage Publications.

Fleiss J.L. 2003. Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions, 3rd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Gelman, A., et al. 2004. Bayesian Data Analysis, 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC.

Hastle, T., Tibshirani, R., Friedman, J. 2002. The Elements of Statistical Learning: Data Mining, Inference and Prediction. New York, NY: Springer.

Kraemer, H.C. 1987. How Many Subjects?: Statistical Power Analysis in Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Lee, P.M. 2004. Bayesian Statistics: An Introduction, 3rd ed. London: Arnold.

Levy P. S. and S. Lemeshow. 1999. Sampling of Populations: Methods and Applications. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Little, R.J.A, Rubin, D.B. 2002. Statistical analysis with missing data, 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Loehlin, J.C. 1986. Latent Variable Models: An Introduction to Factor, Path, and Structural Analysis, 3rd ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum Associates.

Maddala, G. S. 1983. Limited-Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Muller, K.E., Fetterman, B.A. 2003. Regression and ANOVA: an Integrated Approach Using SAS Software. Cary, NC, Hoboken, NJ: SAS Institute, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Pett, M.A. 1997. Nonparametric Statistics for Health Care Research: Statistics for Small Samples and Unusual Distributions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pettiti, D. 2000. Meta-Analysis, Decision Analysis, and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Methods for Quantitative Synthesis in Medicine. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Pindyck, R.S., Rubinfeld, D.L. 1991. Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Rabe-Hesketh S, Everitt B. 2004. A Handbook of Statistical Analyses with STATA, 3rd ed. Boca Raton: Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Rice, J.A., 1994. Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press.

Rothman, K.J. 1986. Modern Epidemiology. Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Company.

Sandefur, J.T. 1993. Discrete Dynamical Modeling. New York, NY, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Selvin, S. 2004. Statistical Analysis of Epidemiologic Data, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

Singer, J.D., Willet, J.B. 2003. Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis: Modeling Change and Event Occurrence. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Spiegelhalter D., Abrama, K., Myles, J. 2004. Bayesian Approaches to Clinical Trials and Health-Care Evaluation. Chichester, West Suzzex: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Tanner, M.A. 2002. Tools for Statistical Inference: Methods for the Exploration of Posterior Distribution and Likelihood Functions, 3rd edition. New York, NY: Springer.

Twisk, J.W.R. 2003. Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis for Epidemiology: A Practical Guide. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Van Belle G. 2002. Statistical Rules of Thumb. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Verzani J. 2005 Using R for Introductory Statistics. Boca Raton: Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Vogt, W.P. 2005. Dictionary of Statistics and Methodology: a Nontechnical Guide for the Social Sciences, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Weiss, Robert E. 2005. Modeling Longitudinal Data (Springer Texts in Statistics). New York, NY: Springer.

Wooldridge, J. 2000. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach. New York, NY:Thompson Learning.

Maruyama, G. 1997. Basics of Structural Equation Modeling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Wooldridge, J.M. 2002. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Surveys

Chambers, R. L., Skinner, C. J., eds. 2003. Analysis of Survey Data. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Korn, E. L., Graubard, B.I. 1999. Analysis of Health Surveys. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Presser S., et al. 2004. Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questionnaires. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Trials

Gallin, J.I., ed. 2002. Principles and Practice of Clinical Research. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Desired List of Journals in Health Services Research Methods

In the process of developing a collection, it may be useful to consider acquiring selected specialty journals appropriate to their respective audience, (e.g., The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics or Statistics in Medicine).

Economics & Cost Effectiveness

  • Applied Health Economics and Health Policy*
  • Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation (online journal)
  • The European Journal of Health Economics: HEPAC: Health Economics in Prevention and Care*
  • The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics*
  • Review of Economics and Statistics

Epidemiology

  • AIDS Research and Therapy (online journal)*
  • Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology
  • Infection, Genetics, and Evolution: Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics in Infectious Diseases*
  • Journal of Exposure and Environmental Epidemiology
  • Population Health Metrics (online journal)

Ethics

  • Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics: CQ: the International Journal of Healthcare Ethics Committees
  • Bioethics

Health Services Research Applied Methods

  • Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Health Services Research
  • Evaluation Review
  • Frontiers in Health Policy Research
  • International Journal of Health Services: Planning, Administration, Evaluation
  • Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology
  • Journal of Health Services Research and Policy
  • The Journal of Rural Health: Official Journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association

Management Sciences

  • Health Care Management Science
  • Management Science

Medicine

  • Advances in Dental Research*
  • Annals of Internal Medicine
  • Applied Nursing Research: ANR*
  • Archives of Internal Medicine
  • Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
  • Nursing Research
  • Nursing Standard
  • Teaching and Learning in Medicine
  • Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
  • Pediatrics

Policy

  • Health Policy and Planning*^
  • Health Policy*^(formerly titled Health Policy & Education)
  • Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
  • Journal of Official Statistics
  • Public Opinion Quarterly

Psychology

  • Applied Psychological Measurement
  • Health Psychology
  • International Journal of Psychology
  • Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology
  • Journal of the American Psychological Association
  • The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
  • Journal of Community Psychology
  • Psychiatric Services
  • Psychometrika

Quality and Safety

  • Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety
  • Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (online journal)
  • International Journal of Healthcare Quality Assurance
  • Journal of Nursing Care Quality*
  • Quality Management in Health Care
  • Quality of Life Research: an International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation

Sociology

  • American Journal of Sociology
  • Journal of Education and Behavioral Statistics
  • Journal of Health and Social Behavior
  • Social Work Research
  • Sociology of Education
  • Sociological Methodology
  • Sociological Methods & Research

Statistics, Biostatistics, and Econometrics

  • Biometrics
  • Biometrika
  • Biostatistics
  • Econometrica
  • Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology
  • Journal of Business and Economic Statistics
  • Journal of Survey Methodology
  • Journal of the Royal Statistical Society
  • Journal of the American Statistical Association
  • Lifetime Data Analysis (LIDA)
  • Statistics in Medicine
  • Statistical Science

Trials

  • Aging Clinical and Experimental Research

 

Core Bibliographic Databases in Health Services Research Methods

Database Name
URL
Description
ABI/Inform
This is a general business databases that includes business, management, economics, and other fields. Some of the over 1,000 journals are available in full text from 1987 and on, but all abstracts are available from 1971 and on. Log-in information is needed, and database is now available through ProQuest Direct service.
CINAHL(Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)
The CINAHL database provides abstracts of over 924 journals. Primarily covering nursing issues, the database also gives journal information in the topics of allied health and health sciences. It provides patient perspective, but the user must search for "methods" to retrieve articles that would relate to health services research methods.

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE (NLM)

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/

The National Library of Medicine is the world's largest medical library. Its materials cover biomedical and health care information and research services. The NLM provides access to a variety of free bibliographic databases as well as access to data used to conduct health services research.

NLM: PubMed

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

 

This database, which is available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Entrez retrieval system, is a part of both the NCBI and the National Library of Medicine. It provides bibliographic information on biomedical literature from MEDLINE, OLDMEDLINE, out-of-scope citations, citations that are earlier than when the journal was selected for MEDLINE, and other life science journals.
APA PsycNET

http://psycnet.apa.org/search

From the American Psychological Association, this database provides users with citations and abstracts for mental health and behavioral science literature. Related fields are also covered, for example psychiatry and law.

 

Desired Bibliographic Databases in Health Services Research Methods

Database Name
URL
Description
Fee-base
Bandolier: Evidence Based Thinking about Health Care
Provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references found in 5,900 of the world's leading scholarly science and technical journals. Covers more than 150 disciplines
No, Internet version is free (print version costs)
BioMed Central Databases
A collection of databases related to biomedical research listing 1,100 sites.
Most sites are free, but not all
EconLit
Provided by the American Economic Association, this database provides users with abstracts, indexing, and full-text article links. A search for the term "methods" will return resources related to methodology.
Yes
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI)
This site is sponsored by the Behavioral Measurement Database Services (BMDS), and gives validation measures for health and psychosocial instruments. Instruments themselves are not provided.
No
Science Citation Index
The Science Citation Index is a database that includes over 100 disciplines in science and technology journals
Yes
Scopus
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database. Its specific coverage includes 4500 titles on chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering, 5900 titles on life and health sciences, 2700 titles on social sciences, psychology, and economics, 2500 titles on biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences, 50 titles on general sciences.
Yes
NLM: Health Services and Sciences Research Resources (HSSR)
Provided by the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR), this database offers a summary of datasets, instruments/indices, and software used for analysis of health services research, public health, and the behavioral and social sciences.
No

 

Core Health Services Research Methods Web Sites

(This list also contains "other" core sources, such as electronic papers and videos.)

Site Name
URL
Description
AcademyHealth
AcademyHealth is the professional home for health services researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners, and is a non-partisan resource for the health research and policy.
Against All Odds: Inside Statistics (video recording)
A video created by the Annenberg/CPB Project (Santa Barbara, CA: 1989) to review statistical methods. Topics include picturing distributions, describing distributions; characteristics of normal distributions and normal calculations; time series data; models for growth; correlation; multidimensional data analysis; causation; experimental design; blocking and sampling; samples and surveys; probability; random variables; binomial distributions; confidence intervals; significance tests; inference; comparing two means; and case studies.
SAS
Information on SAS statistical software, including product and support information, as well as training opportunities. Manuals, software updates, and samples are available.
Stata
Information on Stata statistical software, including product and support information, as well as training opportunities and free access to PDFs of articles in The Stata Journal.
The R Project
Information on the free statistical software package, R. Link to download software, as well as user manuals and updates are available.

AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE RESEARCH AND QUALITY (AHRQ)

AHRQ's website provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes, quality, cost, use, and access. The site includes access to data, analyses, and papers funded by AHRQ.

AHRQ: Quality Tool site
QualityTools provides abstracts and links to give providers, health plans, policymakers, purchasers, and consumers tools for "assessing, measuring, promoting, and improving" health care quality.
AHRQ: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project is a family of databases and related software tools and products developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by AHRQ..
AHRQ: National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
This link provides information on quality measurement for "practitioners, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others." The overall subject coverage is about dissemination, implementation, and use to make health care decisions.
AHRQ: Measuring HealthCare Quality

Provides access to measures used to assess health care quality.

AHRQ: National Healthcare Disparities Report

This site provides a description of specific measures used in the above "Measuring HealthCare Quality" report.

American Statistical Society (AMSTAT): Section on Survey Researchers
This is a part of the American Statistical Society, and works toward the improvement of survey practice and the understanding of survey methods. The division works on sampling, nonsampling areas, education, publication, and ethics all of which are related to survey research.
Bandolier: Evidence Based Thinking about Health Care
Provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references found in 5,900 of the world's leading scholarly science and technical journals covering more than 150 disciplines.
BUBL LINK

BUBL LINK provides a "catalogue of internet resources." This specific link gives users the sources listed under the search term, "research methods."

(**This link also only works part of the time.)
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)
CDC is recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people - at home and abroad, providing credible information to enhance health decisions, and promoting health through strong partnerships. By searching for "health outcomes" in the search bar, visitors will be directed to a variety of health outcomes information. National and state health data is available through the site.
CDC: CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) - Monitoring the Nation's Health
Statistical information relating to actions and policies geared toward improving the health of the nation's people. Includes documentation of the national population's health and evaluations of current programs. Designed to provide rapid access to a variety of health data.

NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI)

A division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute is part of the Public Health Service (PHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The NCI coordinates the National Cancer Program, and supports research projects, and educational programs, as well as collecting and disseminating research on cancer. Statistical tools and data, as well as reports and funding opportunities are available on the site.

NCI: Health Services and Economics website
This site is a part of NCI's Cancer Control and Population Sciences and provides tools for researchers, areas of research, surveys and studies, and research networks to give information on cancer in the specific areas of health services and economics.
NCI: Statistical Research and applications
This is the website of the Statistical Research and Applications Branch (SRAB) of NCI, and is a part of NCI's Cancer Control and Population Sciences. The organization's research is aimed at "improving and developing statistical methods and models for use in the analysis and presentation of population-based cancer statistics, as well as in the broader areas of cancer surveillance and cancer control research."
NLM: HTA 101: Introduction to Health Technology Assessment
This text, by Clifford S. Goodman, Ph.D, the Lewin Group, was written in January, 2004. It provides an introduction to health technology assessment, covers fundamental concepts and issues, including methodological validity and integrative methods.
NLM: National Health Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)
The NICHSR provides access to a variety of information, including current medical guidelines on a variety of topics; data tools and statistics; links to grant opportunities and other funding; ways to track federal and state legislation; meeting announcements; and training opportunities.
NLM: Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC)
The OERC provides assistance in helping librarians plan evaluation of outreach activities, to encourage public use of federal and state data. The Center conducts educational activities designed to help staff target and measure outreach success, as well as offering information on best practices in outreach.

 

Desired Health Services Research Methods Web Sites

(This list also contains "other" desired sources, such as electronic papers and videos.)

Database Name
URL
Description
AHRQ: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Provides questionnaires and data from the MEPS survey, which is designed to measure health care utilization, expenditures, health insurance, and health status. Demographic, social, and economic information is also provided.
AHRQ: MEPS Methodology Reports. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD
This website gives information about sample design and survey methods used to conduct MEPS.
AHRQ: MEPS Working Papers. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD
Staff from the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends develop these working papers, which have not been peer-reviewed, in order to "provide preliminary analysis of substantive, technical, and methodological issues" related to MEPS.
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR)
AHFMR was established in 1980 by the provincial government. The Foundation authors reports on issues related to health care quality, including improving standards of care, and develops initiatives in quality research, as well as promoting improved communication about health care quality in Alberta.
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
AMIA promotes best practices in health care and information management. The organization sponsors the American College of Medical Informatics, a group of fellows recognized as leaders in the field. Grant opportunities for projects related to health information technology are listed.

CDC: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS)

Technical documents, data files, and user support for the BRFSS. The BRFSS is the world's largest ongoing telephone survey (since 1984), and is conducted by the CDC to provide nationally representative data on chronic illness, nutrition, and other behavioral health issues.
CDC: Eighth Conference on Health Survey Research Methods
A conference series started in 1975 to examine "critical methodological issues in health services research." Each conference focused on current issues in HSR. The eighth conference included topics such as capturing the diversity of the United States population, and how to address decreasing response rates that have been observed over time. Please note, proceedings from the 6th, 7th, and 8th conferences are available as PDF's from the CDC website. Proceedings from the 3rd Biennial Conference (1981) are available in paper but are difficult to locate.
CDC: National Center for Health Statistics Data Linkage Activities

The NCHS developed this page to provide links to data files, including surveys focusing on factors related to "disability, chronic disease, health care utilization, morbidity, and mortality." Source data that are linked to this site include the National Death Index (NDI), and Social Security Administration (SSA) data.

CDC: Summary of Surveys and Data Systems, June 2004
This file provides a list of current surveys and data systems in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). They are organized by name, data source/methods, selected applications of data produced, planned sample, race/ethnicity and SES, planned periodicity, and FY 2003-2007 plans.
CDC: Vital and Health Statistics. Series 2, Data Evaluation and Methods Research
Provides access to studies employing new statistical methods. Medthods used by U.S. researchers are compared to those in other countries. Part of the "rainbow series".
CDC: Vital and Health Statistics. Series 3, Analytical and Epistemological Studies

Reports on analytical and interpretive studies conducted using vital and health statistics. Part of the "rainbow series".

CDC: Vital and Health Statistics. Series 6, Cognition and Survey Measurement
This website provides reports from the National Laboratory for Collaborative Research in Cognition and Survey Measurement. The reports primarily focus on the "methods of cognitive science to design, evaluate, and test survey instruments." Part of the "rainbow series".
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine
The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine is a part of the University Health Network in Canada. The site is provided to help medical trainees and practitioners practice and teach evidence-based medicine. The website supports a book, How to Practice and Teach EBM, by D.L. Sackett, et.al.
The Centre for Evidence Based Social Services
This website is still active, though the Centre for Evidence Based Social Services closed in October, 2004. The site is supported by the Research in Practice for Adults, which works on evidence-based practice and policy.

CENTRE FOR REVIEWS AND DISSEMINATIONS (CRD)

The Centre for Reviews and Disseminations (CRD) is a part of the University of York, United Kingdom, and produces reviews on literature written about health and social care intervention effects.
CRD: Finding studies for systematic reviews: a checklist for researchers
This paper provides a checklist for researchers who are beginning work with systematic reviews. The site breaks up areas where methods are well developed and areas where methods are less defined.
CRD: Undertaking Systematic Reviews of Research on Effectiveness
This paper takes the reader through a step-by-step process on how to plan, conduct, and report a review. The steps are divided into phases, and the last phase discusses translating evidence into practice.
CRD: Review Methods and Resources
This site provides numerous links describing systematic reviews, economic evaluations, and health technology assessments. It also includes links to CRD Reports, databases, and other useful resources on these topics.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Catalog of Approved Drugs
Provides a list of approved and tentatively approved prescription, non-prescription, and discontinued drugs. Also includes drug labeling and review packages. Information is organized alphabetically by drug name and active ingredient.
The Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund supports independent research on health care issues and makes grants in order to promote high standards of health care. The group aims its work at the low-income and uninsured, minorities, children, and the elderly. All papers and reports produced by the Fund are available to download.
Health Policy Statistics Section, American Statistical Association (ASA)
This section of the ASA's membership works to improve "quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care" The group also works with government agencies to develop new statistical analysis techniques.
Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Vortal
Provides information on health technology assessment. Includes sections on emerging technologies, glossaries and methods.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private organization that conducts research and communications programs which focus on major national health care issues. All Foundation reports are available to download.
International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
ISPOR is an international organization which works to "promote the science of pharmacoeconomics and health outcomes research. The site provides access to ISPOR research digest, an online database of research papers presented at ISPOR research meetings since 1998. ISPOR research practice guidelines, suggested reading, and working papers on other methodological issues are also provided.
Milbank Memorial Fund
The Milbank Memorial Fund is a foundation that is supported by endowments, and works to provide decision makers in the health arena with evidence and information about policy for health care and population health. The site provides links to recent reports in these areas; and, "Milbank Quarterly" may also be viewed here.
Health services research: a historical perspective, 2000
//resource.nlm.nih.gov/100964117 This video by the NLM, provides a video narrative with interviews describing the history of health services research as well as research in the field.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
NBER is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that provides information on how the economy works. Four main areas are the focus of research: new statistical measurements, quantitative models of economic behavior, effects of public policy on the economy, effects of alternative policy proposals. Most papers are available to download.
Oregon Health Sciences University's (OHSU) Evidence Based Practice Center
The OHSU Evidence Based Practice Center conducts healthcare topic reviews for federal and state governments, and private foundations. Primary research areas include cost-effectiveness analysis, evidence-based informatics, and technology assessment. This site offers information on the Center's comparative effectiveness work, and provides access to many of the Center's publications.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation's largest philanthropy that works to improve health. Information on current areas of research interest, grants, books and newsletters, as well as tips and tools for conducting evaluations are available.
RTI International
RTI International is an independent and nonprofit research organization that works on worldwide including health and healthcare delivery. Information on services provided by RTI as well as descriptions of current projects are provided.
Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM)
The SMDM website aims to provide a forum for researchers and policymakers to connect and educate themselves regarding clinical decision making and public policy. The "Education Modules" of this website offers training for clinicians in terms of reviewing the efficacy of diagnostic tests. The "reference" section provides links to PDFs for a number of publications.
Statpages.org

Provides over 600 links to "online statistics books, tutorials, downloadable software, and related resources." Also includes a statistical tree and other sources to begin statistical analyses.

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program is a part of the National Cancer Institute. SEER collects and publishes cancer incidence and survival in 26 percent of the United States population.
"Surveying Persons with Disabilities: A Source Guide." Jason Markesich, James Cashion, and Martha Bleeker, June 2006.
This source guide is a collaboration between the Cornell Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics at Mathematica, and provides up-to-date and easily accessible research on the methodological issues associated with surveying persons with disabilities. The guide contains 150 abstracts, summaries, and references, as we as a subject index, and will be updated periodically.
U.S. Census Bureau Health Insurance Data
The Census site contains a wealth of health insurance data, including definitions, reports, access to data files, and links to relevant sites.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the primary department of the United States government devoted to protecting the health of all Americans. Information on disease conditions and special populations is available, as well as funding announcements.
HHS: Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)
OHRP works to promote safety of and protection for volunteers participating in health research. This site provides an overview of the organization, as well as regulations, policies, guidelines, and education. Upcoming conference information is also listed.
HHS: Data Council Guide to HHS Surveys and Data Resources
This website is designed to complement other government websites such as FirstGov and FedStats. The site covers health and human services data and statistics, on the federal, state, and local government level.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the specialized health agency for the United Nations. It is governed by 192 Member States through the World Health Assembly.
WHO: Regional Office for Europe: Data and Publications
Provides a link to data and publications by the World Health Organization' Regional Office for Europe. Links to the Health Evidence Network (HEN); the World health report and European health report; country profiles, and the Atlas of health in Europe are included.
WHO: Statistical Information System (WHOSIS)
Up-to-date statistics on 50 health indicators of the World Health Organization's 192 member states is provided by WHOSIS
WHO: NATIONAL COORDINATING CENTRE FOR HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT (NCCHTA)

This center is part of the World Health Organization, and is based out of Southampton, United Kingdom, and works to ensure that high quality information is produced on health technology assessment. Reports are available, as well as links to related research, journals, and statistical tools.

NCCHTA: Development and validation of methods for assessing the quality of diagnostic accuracy studies
This study was conducted with the goal to develop a quality assessment tool for reviews of diagnostic accuracy. Reviews were then conducted using electronic databases, and 28 items were produced which could be included in the quality assessment tool. A final tool was produced at the conclusion of the study, which is available for download.
NCCHTA: Identification and assessment of ongoing trials in health technology assessment reviews
This study stresses the importance of health technology assessment reviews in ongoing trials. It was conducted for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to provide recommendations on trials and their impacts. A PDF version of the recommendations is available for download.
NCCHTA: Generalizability in economic evaluation studies in healthcare: a review and case studies
This study was conducted to evaluate methods used in economic evaluation studies. One of its aims was to increase the generalization of economic, including cost-effectiveness, evaluations. A PDF version is available for download.
NCCHTA: A pilot study on the use of decision theory and value of information analysis
Developed as part of the NHS Health Technology Assessment Program, this paper describes a pilot study conducted by the University of York's Centre of Health Economics Research Team. A PDF version is available for download.
NCCHTA: Research Methods and Statistics Links by Subtopic
This website is part of the Social Psychology Network, and provides links to subtopics including research methods, research methods, and statistics. It includes tools to help the user begin conducting research, and resources on research methodology, research ethics and institutional review, and data and statistics. This site also provides links to related research, organizations, and journals, and statistical tools.
NCCHTA: Netting the evidence: A ScHARR Introduction to Evidence Based Practice on the Website, Library
This website provides resources on evidence-based practice, including a virtual library, software, and journals. Includes a virtual library of full-text documents, user guides to the medical literature, resources arranged by broad categories, and a search engine for all resources listed on the site.
WK Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation funds grants in several areas, including health, food systems and rural development, youth and education, and philanthropy and volunteerism in the United States, Southern Africa, and Latin American and the Caribbean. Information on grants, grantseeking tips, papers by grantees, and the Foundation annual report are available.
World Bank
The World Bank provides financial and technical support to countries through two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). Both serve the goal of reducing poverty and improving living standards worldwide. A wide variety of publications are available on the website, primarily as PDF documents. Information on trainings and events is also provided.