A practical training manual covering the basic concepts and principles of scientific research, from the selection of objectives and study design, through the execution of studies and trials, to the analysis of data and presentation of results.

To accommodate requests from readers to incorporate recent developments on research methodology and experiences of past training courses, the manual has been revised and reissued. The manual, which can be used in training courses or for self-instruction, is designed for young health scientists who are getting started in research and need to understand the basic steps in research design, including the way a research idea is translated into a feasible research proposal and the steps that must then be taken to implement the proposed study. Throughout the manual, principles and methods are illustrated with real data from research projects concerned with common problems in the health sciences. The core of the manual consists of eleven training modules, moving from an explanation of the basic principles of the scientific method through advice on the design of epidemiological, experimental, and clinical studies, to chapters dealing with bias and confounding the measurement of reliability, significance tests, and the establishment of association and causation.