The National Palliative Care Research Center

Curing suffering through palliative care research.

2015

Media Training

Description: Speaking to the media has become an increasingly important yet challenging component of disseminating research. Whether it's talking to the press over the telephone, talking face to face with a journalist or being interviewed on the radio or television it is imperative that investigators provide a consistent and clear message regarding their research findings and implications. This workshop will introduce the essential skills, knowledge and techniques required to give confident and successful media interviews. Participants will be asked in advance to bring an abstract of their current or recently completed research and will be assisted in identifying the key message and 2-3 take-home points that are key to successful media dissemination. The workshop will also include a mock interview session where participants will have the opportunity to respond to an interviewer’s questions, deal with difficult or “trick” questions, manage the interviewer's expectations, and stay on message. 

Link to slides: Here

Introduction to Hierarchical Modeling

Description:This workshop will begin by describing the conceptual basis for using hierarchical modeling in palliative care research. Hierarchical linear modeling (or “multilevel analysis”) allows variance in outcome variables to be analyzed at multiple hierarchical levels. For example, data are often considered as patients nested within physicians nested within hospitals. Hierarchical modeling allows one to estimate the variance in an outcome at the patient, physician and hospital levels. Using examples with real data, the presenters in this workshop will demonstrate the importance of accounting for variation at different "levels" of analysis and will provide an overview of how to interpret results of a hierarchical model.  

Link to slides: Here

Qualitative Research Methods and Data Analysis

Description: This workshop will provide an understanding of the theoretical principles and practical skills needed for conducting and evaluating qualitative research. The first half of the workshop will cover topics related to participant recruitment and data collection including in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. The second half of the workshop will introduce and demonstrate the principles of qualitative data analysis. Topics covered will include data preparation, developing codes, coding data, and analytic tools (e.g., description, comparison, and categorization). Using data from recent qualitative studies, workshop leaders will demonstrate the software and methods for qualitative data analysis. At the end of this workshop the participant will have a more in-depth understanding of the theoretical principles and practical skills needed to conduct rigorous qualitative data analysis.