=
AcademyHealth
Health Services Research (HSR) Methods
Print Page
Alphabetical Link List

A

AcademyHealth Professional Development Catalog
The community of health services researchers, policy makers, and practitioners use a wide array of methodologies to answer applied questions about health policy and practice. AcademyHealth's methods seminars address key methods topics identified by the AcademyHealth Methods Council. All seminars have an applied focus, and emphasize researchers' ability to understand and apply current methods in the field. Seminars are offered for a variety of audiences with different levels of methodological experience.

AcademyHealth Methods Council: Suggested Guidelines for HSR Methods Reviews
Provides recommendations for reviewers when ad­dressing apparent methodological flaws in articles or other products, including examples of both substandard and constructive reviews.

Administrative Offices of US Courts
Links to State and Circuit Courts -- access to opinions on these individual sites.

Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ): Quality Tools
QualityTools provides abstracts and links to give providers, health plans, policymakers, purchasers, and consumers tools for assessing, measuring, promoting, and improving health care quality.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Measuring HealthCare Quality
Provides access to measures used to assess health care quality.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): MEPS Methodology Reports.
A series of reports on sample design and survey methods used to conduct MEPS.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): MEPS Working Papers
Staff from the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends develop these working papers, which have not been peer-reviewed, in order to provide preliminary analysis of substantive, technical, and methodological issues related to MEPS.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): National Healthcare Disparities Report
Provides a description of creating specific measures of access and disparities used in the Measuring HealthCare Quality report.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
Provides information on quality measurement for practitioners, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Data and Surveys
A link to major surveys and data products offered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), including links to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS); Health Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP); HIV and AIDS Cost and Use; and the Safety Net Monitoring Initiative.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) MEPS-IC Tables
Estimates related to employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) in firms with 50 to 99 employees have been made available by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS IC). While most states currently define small employers as firms with 50 or fewer employees, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) defines a small employer as a firm with 100 or fewer employees; however, states have an option to limit the small employer health insurance market to firms with 50 or fewer employees until 2016. This new state-level data about offer, eligibility, take-up, premiums, and enrollee cost sharing for firms with 50 to 99 employees will be helpful to states as they make decisions about how to implement the ACA.

Agingstats.gov Glossary
A glossary of terms used in the Older American 2008 Project.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Effective Health Care
Information on projects funded to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of medical interventions and therapies. Information about ongoing projects including grantees, project descriptions, and reports.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Effective Health Care Glossary
A glossary of terms used in the AHRQ Effective Health Care program focused on making the best health care decisions.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Finding Evidence on Ongoing Studies
Comparative effectiveness reviews may not always synthesize sufficient evidence to completely answer specific questions about healthcare topics. In response, this report aims to identify research gaps and make recommendations for future research to address these unanswered questions.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews
Through a collaborative effort of the Effective Health Care (EHC) Program, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the EHC Program Scientific Resource Center, and the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Centers have developed a Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews. This Guide presents issues key to the development of Comparative Effectiveness Reviews and describes recommended approaches for addressing difficult, frequently encountered methodological issues.

American Health Information Management Association
Resource for medical records professionals, with detailed information on all aspects of handling and protecting medical records.

American Health Information Management Association Practice Briefs
Oriented towards providers. Includes models and guidance for designated record sets, notice of privacy practices, minimum necessary, uses and disclosures, record destruction, consents, authorizations, marketing and fundraising, record retention, privacy official and security official job descriptions, and privacy training.

American Statistical Society (AMSTAT): Proceedings from the Section on Survey Researchers
Provides links to the proceedings of the Survey Research Section of the American Statistical Society annual meeting from 1978-2005. Full text of select papers is available. Topics include sampling, non-sampling areas, education, publication, and ethics related to survey research.

Analyze US Government Survey Data with Free Tools
This blog announces obsessively-detailed instructions to analyze US government survey data with free tools - the r language, the survey package, and (for big data) sqlsurvey + monetdb.

B

Bandolier: Evidence Based Thinking about Health Care
Systematic reviews on a wide variety of health topics including evidence-based studies organized by age groups to which the studies apply. White papers and booklets on methods in evidence-based medicine, as well as a glossary of terms.

Bayesian Initiative in Health Economics and Outcomes Research
The objective of the Bayesian Initiative in Health Economics & Outcomes Research (“The Bayesian Initiative”) is to explore the extent to which formal Bayesian statistical analysis can and should be incorporated into the field of health economics and outcomes research for the purpose of assisting rational health care decision-making.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a data system of health surveys that provide a comprehensive resource of state based surveys of health-risk behavior. Survey topics are focused on health behaviors, clinical preventative practices and patient access to health care. BRFSS is conducted annually with a cross-sectional telephone survey by state health departments. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has sponsored the BRFSS since its establishment in 1984.

Best Practices for Mixed Methods Research in the Health Sciences
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed this guidebook on best practices for development and evaluating mixed methods research.

BioMed Central Databases
A searchable collection of more than 1,000 databases related to biomedical research.

C

CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report — United States, 2011
Released as a supplement to CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, this report addresses disparities at the national level in health care access, exposure to environmental hazards, mortality, morbidity, behavioral risk factors, disability status and social determinants of health – the conditions in which people are born, grow, live and work. This report explains that while substantial progress in improving health for most U.S. residents has been made in recent years, persistent disparities continue to exist.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS)
Technical documents, data files, and user support for the BRFSS, the worlds largest ongoing telephone survey (since 1984). BRFSS is designed to provide nationally representative data on chronic illness, nutrition, and other behavioral health issues.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Eighth Conference on Health Survey Research Methods
The eighth in a series of conferences to examine critical methodological issues in health survey research. The conference was held in Peachtree City, Georgia on February 20–23, 2004. Survey papers focused on a variety of current issues in health survey research including: measuring diversity and change in a dynamic population; community participation in surveys; cross-cultural challenges including language issues and measurement of small populations; current issues related to conducting surveys in the 21st century, including new survey modes such as web surveys; and HIPAA and Privacy issues.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): National Center for Health Statistics Data Linkage Activities
Provide links to data files on disability, chronic disease, health care utilization, morbidity, and mortality. The National Death Index (NDI) and Social Security Administration (SSA) data are linked through this page.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Summary of Surveys and Data Systems, August 2008
A summary of NCHS' current surveys and data systems organized by name, data source/methods, selected applications of data produced planned sample, race/ethnicity, SES, and other factors.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Vital and Health Statistics. Series 2, Data Evaluation and Methods Research
Provides access to studies employing new statistical methods. Methods used by U.S. researchers are compared to those in other countries. Part of the rainbow series.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Vital and Health Statistics. Series 3, Analytical and Epidemiological Studies
Links to PDFs of analytical and interpretive studies conducted using vital and health statistics. Part of the rainbow series.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Vital and Health Statistics. Series 6, Cognition and Survey Measurement
Provides PDFs of reports from the National Laboratory for Collaborative Research in Cognition and Survey Measurement. The focus of these papers is the methods of cognitive science to design, evaluate, and test survey instruments. Part of the rainbow series.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Methodological Issues in Measuring Health Disparities
The report was created by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) under the CDC in their Vital and Health Statistics Series. The objective of the report is the discussion of six issues that affect the measurement of disparities in health between groups in a population. These issues represent choices that are made when disparities are measured.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Seventh Conference on Health Survey Research
The seventh in a series of conferences to examine critical methodological issues in health survey research. The conference was held in Williamsburg, Virginia on September 24-27, 1999. Survey papers focused on a variety of current issues in health survey research including: collecting information on children and adolescents; cross-cultural adaptation and response by cultural group; and data comparability across a variety of modes of data collection.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The Privacy Rule and Public Health
The Privacy Rule and Public Health.

Centers for Education & Research on Therapeutics (CERTs)
Conducts research and provides education that will advance the optimal use of drugs, medical devices and biological products.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
The official site for HIPAA information related to Medicare and Medicaid. Includes a notice of privacy practices that has been reviewed for compliance.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): Basic Stand Alone Medicare Claims Public Use Files
This first release contains the "CMS 2008 BSA Inpatient Claims PUF" with information from 2008 Medicare inpatient claims. This is a non-identifiable claim-level file in which each record is an inpatient claim incurred by a 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries. The PUF is available to researchers as a free download in CSV format along with comprehensive documentation and SAS data user’s guide.

Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine
The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine is a part of the University Health Network in Canada. This helps medical trainees and practitioners practice and teach evidence-based medicine and supports a book, How to Practice and Teach EBM, by D.L. Sackett, et.al.

Centre for Reviews and Disseminations (CRD)
This site provides numerous links describing systematic reviews, economic evaluations, and health technology assessments. Links to CRD Reports, databases, and other resources are also available.

Centre for Reviews and Disseminations (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. Steps are divided into phases. Translating evidence into practice is also discussed.

Childinfo
Part of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), an organization within the United Nations system that focuses on global children's issues. UNICEF collects and disperses statistics on the status of women and children across the globe through Childinfo. Data can be searched and browse by statistics based on area and topic, and through Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

Clinical Trials Networks Best Practices: NIH Roadmap - Education and Training
Offers resources for those who want a better introduction to clinical trials by providing links to the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, research and writing documents, conferences, clinical series, training on good and ethical clinical practices, and popular symposiums and presentations.

Clinical Trials Networks Best Practices: Publications/Articles
Provides links to publications and articles related to clinical research including NIH reports on policies and budgets, grant policies, and topics on biomedical research.

Clinicaltrials.gov
A part of the National Institutes on Health (NIH), ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details. Users can search for clinical trials and receive investigator instructions and background information on the trials.

Cochrane Collaborative Glossary of Research Terms
A glossary of research terms related to systematic reviews.

CONSORT Extension: Abstracts
This extension to the CONSORT Statement provides a minimum and detailed list of elements that authors should include in an abstract when reporting the main results of a randomized trial in any journal or conference abstract. The abstract extension emphasizes a structured format for this section of a report.

CONSORT Extension: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trials
A modification to the CONSORT checklist with recommendations focusing on cluster trials. Cluster randomized trials (CRCTs) randomize interventions to groups of patients (e.g., families, medical practices) rather than to individual patients. This means that CRCTs use two different units of measurement—the cluster and the patient. This extension of CONSORT provides a checklist of 10 recommendations for reporting key aspects of design, analysis, and interpretation with CRCTs.

CONSORT Extension: Harms
This CONSORT extension of harms in RCTs addresses the need to improve reporting of harms-related data from RCTs. This extension includes ten reporting recommendations focusing on harms in addition to the main CONSORT checklist.

CONSORT Extension: Herbal Medicinal Interventions
This extension provides an additional 9 items to the CONSORT checklist focused on guidelines for testing and reporting of RCTs with herbal medications.

CONSORT Extension: Non-Inferiority and Equivalence Trials
A modification to the CONSORT checklist with recommendations for reporting of RCTs focused on non-inferiority or equivalence. Equivalence trials aim to determine whether one intervention is therapeutically similar to another while non-inferiority trials aim to determine whether one treatment is no worse than another. Non-inferiority and equivalence trials have specific features in terms of research design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation. The checklist provides illustrative examples and explanations for these items to enable readers to assess the validity of their results and conclusions.

CONSORT Extension: Non-Pharmacological Interventions
A modification to the CONSORT checklist with recommendations for reporting of RCTs focused on non-inferiority or equivalence. Equivalence trials aim to determine whether one intervention is therapeutically similar to another while non-inferiority trials aim to determine whether one treatment is no worse than another. Non-inferiority and equivalence trials have specific features in terms of research design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation. The checklist provides illustrative examples and explanations for these items to enable readers to assess the validity of their results and conclusions.

Consort Guide to Reporting the Results of Randomized Clinical Trials
CONSORT statement of guidelines for the conduct of RCTs.

CTSPedia: A Knowledge Base for Clinical and Translational Research
CTSPedia is a product of the Biostatistics Epidemiology Research Design (BERD) Online Resources and Education Taskforce of the CTSAs. CTSpedia provides tools, educational materials, and other resources to advance clinical and translational research.

The Cochrane Collaboration Training Resources
A series of online resources for individuals who are participating in the process of conducting a Cochrane Collaboration review. Guides to using Cochrane reviews are also available, as is a list of training workshops.

D

Data Systems and Social Determinants of Health: Public Health Reports Volume 126 Supplement 3
A supplement focused on data systems and their use in addressing social determinants of health (SDH)—the underlying economic and social conditions that influence the health of individuals and communities as a whole. Articles in the supplement describe novel ways to use surveillance data from both national and state-level data collection systems and demonstrate innovative ways of linking labor, housing, and policy data with public health data to assess health outcomes.

DataWeb & DataFerret
A network of online data libraries compiled by the US Census to provide access to a wide variety of public data files. Topics range from vital statistics, unemployment, and family dynamics. DataFerrett is an application available through the DataWeb that allows users to select variables of interest from various data sets and customize tables and graphics. Data may also be extracted in a variety of forms including ASCII, SPSS, SAS and Excel.

Digital Infrastructure for the Learning Health System: The Foundation for Continuous Improvement in Health and Health Care: Workshop Series Summary
This report from the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care explores current efforts and opportunities to accelerate progress in improving health and health care with information technology systems.

Doing Qualitative Research
Online version of the Crabtree and Miller text of the same title. Includes an overview of qualitative research methods, data collection strategies, and data analysis techniques.

E

EconPapers
Access to RePEc (Research Papers in Economics), a collaboration of economists from around the world, focused on disseminating research in economics. Working papers, journal articles, computing code and book chapters are listed and most are freely available for download.

Environmental Scanning and Program Characteristics (ESPC) Database
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, in partnership with the Center for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) Services has developed the ESPC database, which includes more than 800 Medicaid and CHIP state-level variables to provide research support for Medicaid-related policy studies.

EQUATOR Network
The EQUATOR Network is a resource aimed to improve the quality of health research reporting. The site offers reporting guidelines and resources for authors, editors, and developers of scientific publications.

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): Research Methods Programme
The Research Methods Programme is part of the ESRC, and is designed to improve methodological standards in social science research. Includes a set of methodolocal papers, briefs, working papers, and other resources listed under the 'publications' section of the site.

Evidence Based Behavioral Practice
A training resource designed to improve understanding of evidence based behavioral practice (EBPP). Includes tools to improve the research and practice training base for behavioral and psychosocial treatments.

F

Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM)
An interagency committee dedicated to improving the quality of Federal statistics. The Office of Management and Budget invites individual statisticians, economists or managers working in the Executive Branch to participate as members of the FCSM based on their particular experience.

Fedworld
Search government research and development publications, search government web pages, links to government websites and Supreme Court decisions from 1937-1975.

FindLaw
Browse legal resources by practice area or jurisdiction, research federal and state laws.

First Gov
Website maintained by the Federal Government providing links to state, local and tribal governments along with links to federal agencies.

Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC)
A free online dictionary of terms used in programming and computing.

Future Research Needs – Methods Research Series
A new series of reports titled, “Future Research Needs – Methods Research,” is now available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). These publications provide guidance on methodological approaches to identifying gaps in clinical evidence. The reports complement the Future Research Needs series, which identifies gaps in clinical evidence so that researchers and funders can improve the body of knowledge for health care decision makers.

G

Globalhealth.gov
Under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Global Health represents the U.S. government's policy on global health issues. Users can browse and access data from the agency based on publications, region, international regulations, and other relevant global health topics.

Globalhealthfacts.org
Funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation, globalhealthfacts.org provides comprehensive data on global health issues. Data can be accessed with the interactive maps or searched by country, current global epidemics (HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, etc.), risk indicators, programs, health workforce, demographics, population, income, and economy. Users can also create a custom data sheet that compares up to five countries against an unlimited number of indicators.

Good ReseArch for Comparative Effectiveness (GRACE)
The GRACE Initiative provides principles that address good practice for the design, conduct, analyses, and reporting of observational studies of comparative effectiveness. GRACE is not a compiled checklist or standard for studies or reports. The principles include criteria to identify, prepare, collect, analyze, conduct, and report studies.

GPO Access
This is the Government Printing Office. They disseminate information from all three branches of the Federal Government. Search bills, US code, congressional records, and judicial resources.

GPP Guidelines to Publishing Practices for Pharmaceutical Studies
Publication Practice for Pharmaceutical Standards.

Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE)
The GRADE Working Group provides mechanisms for assessing and grading the quality and strength of evidence and recommendations in health care systems.

GSociology - Free Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods
This site links to on line books, manuals and guides about evaluation and social research methods. The site includes information on surveys, observational and other types of studies and contains links to sites about data quality, statistical analysis, and free statistical, office suites, and spreadsheet software.

H

Health and Retirement Study (National Institutes of Health)
Genetic data from approximately 13,000 individuals was added to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Health and Retirement Study. The data are composed of approximately 2.5 million genetic markers from each person and are immediately available for analysis by qualified researchers.

HHS Community Health Data Initiative: Health Indicators Warehouse
Containing nearly 1,200 health indicators obtained from 170 data sources, this web portal serves a resource for developers of innovative health information technologies.

Health Policy Statistics Section, American Statistical Association (ASA)
This section of the ASAs 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 Research Classification System (HRCS)
Developed by the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Partners, the HRCS is a system for classifying the full spectrum of biomedical and health research - from basic to applied - across all areas of health and disease.

Health Services Research: Work Force and Educational Issues
Free access is available to the full text of this report on the size and composition of the health services research work force. Published in 1995 by the National Academies Press.

Health Services Research: A Historical Perspective, 2000
A video narrative with interviews describing the history of health services research as well as research in the field.

Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) Cyber Seminars
HSR&D, in the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA), offers an ongoing series of cyber seminars. Archived seminars are also available on demand.

Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Vortal
Provides a portal for resources on health technology assessment including glossaries, databases, and methods tutorials.

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Methods Series Reports
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) recently released two new Methods Series reports. Methods Report #2011-06, Methods Applying AHRQ Quality Indicators to Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Data for Ninth (2011) NHQR and NHDR Report, describes the methods for applying the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs) to HCUP data for the NHQR and NHDR. Analyses were conducted to calculate costs associated with QIs, determine benchmarks for state performance for the QIs, compare inpatient and emergency department use for select QI measures, and evaluate readmissions for select chronic conditions.

HealthKnowledge
An online learning resource for public health practitioners sponsored by Britain’s Department of Health (DH). HealthKnowledge maintains a glossary of concepts and terms related to public health research, including research terms, and a "jargon buster" to facilitate understanding of acronyms and commonly used terms in the health care delivery system.

HHS Measures Inventory
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is committed to providing the public an inventory of the measures that are currently being used by the Divisions in HHS for quality measurement, improvement, and reporting. The Department's goal is to further advance collaboration among members of the quality community and to advance the effective use and harmonization of quality of care measures. The Department's transparency about the quality measures being used lays the foundation for the measurement enterprise and local users to build and improve upon. The HHS Measure Inventory is only accessible through the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC) Web site.

HHS Office for Civil Rights
Provides technical assistance materials such as copies of the rules and guidance documents, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and sample business associate contract provisions.

HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
Provides background information on Administrative Simplification Provisions and Rules including all versions of proposed and final rules, preamble to rules, and HHS’s responses to comments on proposed rules. Useful when issue is not addressed in FAQs.

HIPAAGIVES
Provides a forum for those working for and with state and local government. Also maintains free HIPAA materials of all kinds developed by state and local government agencies. Must sign up and be able to demonstrate government connection.

HSRProj
A free, online database of current HSR projects. HSRProj contains descriptions on more than 6,000 ongoing health services research projects funded by government and state agencies, foundations, and private organizations.

HSTAT (Health Services/Technology Assessment) Text
A collection of full-text clinical practice guidelines, technology assessments and health information. Full-text documents on health information and support for health care decision making are provided.

Human Subject Regulations Decision Charts
The Human Subject Regulations Decision Chart is used as a guide for Institutional Review Boards when research involves human subjects. The decision chart ensures that requirements of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are met in the research procedures.

I

Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: Background and Assessment Approaches
As part of the Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Association, the framework consists of three parts that details the difficulties in assessing the economic impact of scientific endeavors, yet shows that the task is not impossible if the approach is considered at the commencement of the research project. The concepts are contextualized using CRCs as examples, and templates provided to assist researches plan and complete their impact assessments.

Institute for Clinical Outcomes Research
Information on clinical practice improvement (tm) studies and methods.

Institute of Medicine (IOM): Standards for Systematic Reviews
Recently released by the Institute of Medicine, this report recommends standards for systematic reviews of the comparative effectiveness of medical or surgical interventions.

Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS-USA) consists of more than fifty high-precision samples of the American population drawn from fifteen federal censuses and from the American Community Surveys of 2000-2010. Some of these samples have existed for years, and others were created specifically for this database. These samples, which draw on every surviving census from 1850-2000, and the 2000-2010 ACS samples, collectively constitute our richest source of quantitative information on long-term changes in the American population. However, because different investigators created these samples at different times, they employed a wide variety of record layouts, coding schemes, and documentation. This has complicated efforts to use them to study change over time. The IPUMS assigns uniform codes across all the samples and brings relevant documentation into a coherent form to facilitate analysis of social and economic change.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): Data Use Tutorial
A guide to using ICPSR raw data. Also includes links to the ICPSR glossary and the Social Sciences Research and Instructional Council (SSRIC) glossary of research terms.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving, 4th Edition
A step-by-step guide to best practices in designing and implementing a data archive. The objective of the project is to improve the ability for researchers to share data within the research community.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): Web-Based Instructional Modules
Several online tutorials including: Exploring Data Through Research Literature, which teaches students how to conduct literature research in the social sciences; Investigating Community and Social Capital which introduces students to quantitative social science research methods including concepts such as units of analysis, levels of measurement, and longitudinal versus cross-sectional analysis; and Supplementary Empirical Teaching Units in Political Science (SETUPS) which offers students an opportunity to analyze an accessible dataset drawn from the 2004 National Election Study (NES).

International Association of Privacy Professionals
Privacy Officers Association Web site with links to other HIPAA resources.

International Data Resource Center (IDRC)
The IDRC acts as a clearinghouse for international data housed at ICPSR. Users can search and browse Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) meta-data records. The database includes over 1,200 studies that contain international data.

International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET)
IPDET was designed to meet the needs of evaluation and audit units of many different types of organizations involved in development work. This comprehensive international program is designed to help a range of development specialists conduct significant evaluations of development interventions at the project, program, and policy levels. It is both an educational experience and an opportunity to advance career objectives.

International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
Access is provided to the 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 methodological issues are available.

Internet for Social Statistics
An online tutorial to using the internet to search for statistical information on the web. Basic information on types of websites is provided on this introductory resource.

Introduction Course to R
Provides links to notes from professor Thomas Lumley, from the University of Washington, for a two-day introduction course to the R Project. The notes include fundamentals of R and course exercises.

Introduction to Social Network Methods
This on-line textbook introduces many of the basics of formal approaches to the analysis of social networks. The text relies heavily on the work of Freeman, Borgatti, and Everett (the authors of the UCINET software package). The materials here, and their organization, were also very strongly influenced by the text of Wasserman and Faust, and by a graduate seminar conducted by Professor Phillip Bonacich at UCLA.

Inventory and Evaluation of Clinical Research Networks Project
The IECRN network lists all the institutions participating in clinical research for the NIH.

ISPOR-SMDM Joint Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force Recommendations
Developed by leading experts in decision analysis, economics, simulation, and health services, these seven reports provide comprehensive guidance for designing, implementing, and validating model-based studies to inform medical decision making.

The Inter-University Consortium of Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
The ICPSR is a major database providing data and information tools for a span of social science research disciplines. Services include analysis-ready data collections available for SAS, SPSS, and Stata programs; online data analysis tools; bibliography of data-related literature; and a variety of easy-to-use search options and navigation tools to locate specific, general, or related data conveniently ready for quantitative analysis methods.

J

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health OpenCourseWare (OCW)
The OpenCourseWare project provides access to course material for a set of popular courses offered at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Syllabi and lecture material are available, as well as readings and assignments for a subset of offerings.

Joint United Nation Program in Aids (UNAIDS)
UNAIDS is a joint program consisting of all organizations within the United Nations system. The goal of UNAIDS is to provide information and assistance to the global community, especially those populations severely afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Data can be accessed based on information about the global status of HIV/AIDS.

Justia
Provides links to state websites, state and federal courts, cases, and codes, information on legal practice areas and links to law blogs.

K

Kaiseredu
An online learning tool from the Kaiser Family Foundation that provides an overview of various health policy issues. Includes tutorials on methods of policy analysis including interpretation on public opinion data. Syllibi from health policy courses are available as well as selected citations on policy topics through PubMed.

Kaisernetwork: Health Poll Search
Access to public opinion polls on health care topics. More than 60,000 questions and responses are available on 29 health-related topics.

Knowledge Panel
A government and academic research survey solutions tool offered by Knowledge Networks. KnowledgePanel is a probability-based panel designed to be statistically representative of the U.S. population. Initially using random-digit-dialing (RDD) to create KnowledgePanel, KnowledgePanel is now continuously maintained by using the United States Postal Service's Delivery Sequence File. This file is essentially a complete list of all U.S. residential households - including households that are cell phone-only and often missed in RDD sampling.

L

Legal Information Institute Federal Law - Cornell
Cornell University's Legal Information Institute. From here, you can view the U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations and Supreme Court decisions.

Legal Information Institute State Law - Cornell
Cornell University's Legal Information Institute. From here, you can view State Codes, State Supreme Court decisions, and State bills.

Legal Information Institute World - Cornell
The internet accessible sources for country constitutions, statutes and judicial opinions along with documents related to international law.

LexisOne (Free but requires registration)
Provides free access to case law (past five years), forms and headline legal news for free. *Shell documents, table cases, head notes and some State Courts not available through free case law.*

Library of Congress' American Memory Project
U.S. Statutes at large (1789-1875).

M

Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE)
The MOOSE Statement provides a checklist for reporting meta-analyses of observational studies in epidemiology. Checklist items include reporting of the background, search strategy, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. The section on methods provides criteria on how to assess, document, describe, and report the components of the methods used in the meta-analyses of observational studies but are not formal recommendations on how to conduct a study.

Methods for Future Research
A new series of reports titled, “Future Research Needs – Methods Research,” is now available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). These publications provide guidance on methodological approaches to identifying gaps in clinical evidence. The reports complement the Future Research Needs series, which identifies gaps in clinical evidence so that researchers and funders can improve the body of knowledge for health care decision makers.

Methods for the Development of NICE Public Health Guidance
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) produces guidance in public health, health technologies, interventional procedures, and clinical practice. This manual describes the methods used by the Centre for Public Health Excellence (CPHE) to develop the guidance in public health.

Model Public Report Elements: A Sampler
This AHRQ guide provides an illustrative menu of public report elements from health care provider performance reports from around the country , and is a free resource designed to help organizations that report provider performance develop web sites or improve existing ones. The example Web pages highlighted in the Sampler includes samples from public reporting web page and highlights their most effective elements, such as the landing page, presentation of measure ratings, consumer engagement tools, and a place for consumer input on the web site design. Additional examples illustrate functional possibilities of web sites and demonstrate how to facilitate use by consumers in their care. The 81-page Sampler was developed by researchers led by R. Adams Dudley, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco.

Municode.com
Provides some free access to city municipal codes/ordinances.

N

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
NBER provides research papers on a variety of technical, economic issues in four main areas of research: new statistical measurements, quantitative models of economic behavior, effects of public policy on the economy, and the effects of alternative policy proposals. NBER is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that provides information on how the economy works. Most papers are available to download for a fee.

National Cancer Institute (NCI): Health Services and Economics website
Part of NCIs Cancer Control and Population Sciences. This site 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.

National Cancer Institute (NCI): Statistical Research and applications
Cancer statistics, as well as methods and software for analyzing cancer data are available.

National Center for Health Statistics
Data release policy.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS): Health Survey Matrix
Summary of major surveys and data systems undertaken by NCHS. Lists methods, sample information, and plans for the data between 2003-2007.

National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (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.

National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (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.

National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA): Development and validation of methods for assessing the quality of diagnostic accuracy studies
A report on the process of developing a quality assessment tool for reviews of diagnostic accuracy. The quality assessment tool designed by the study is available for download.

National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA): Identification and assessment of ongoing trials in health technology assessment reviews
This study reviews 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.

National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA): Research Methods and Statistics Links by Subtopic
As part of the Social Psychology Network, this site provides links to subtopics including research methods, research methods, and statistics. Includes tools to help the user begin conducting research, and resources on research methodology, research ethics and institutional review, data and statistics. This site also provides links to related research, organizations, and journals, and statistical tools.

National Healthcare Quality Report
Information on conceptualizing measures employed in the National Healthcare Quality Report.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
Information on the effectiveness research conducted at NICE, including methods for conducting studies and findings.

National Institutes of Health Mixed Methods Research Guidebook
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed this guidebook on best practices for development and evaluating mixed methods research.




National Institutes of Health Resource on Behavioral and Social Science Research Methods
This Web-based, interactive textbook is a central resource for current methods, high quality behavioral and social science research. Created by the Office of Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), this anthology provides authoritative answers to methodological questions and sets quality standards for the research community.

National Institutes of Health The Privacy Rule and Research
The Privacy Rule and Research.

National Institutes on Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT)
Provides access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities, including information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH-supported research.

National Library of Medicine -- Finding and Using Health Statistics: A Self Study Course
A self-study course in health statistics designed to put statistics in context by providing explanations of the rationale behind data collection, particularly data collection conducted by public agencies. Emphasis is placed on identifying important results and assessing the benefits and limitations of these results; and progress. A series of exercises is provided to reinforce concepts. The course is taught by Dr. Dan Melnick and is based on Dr. Melnick's book, Portrait of Health in the United States, published by Bernan Press in 2001.

National Library of Medicine (NLM): Health Services and Sciences Research Resources (HSSR)
A summary of datasets, instruments/indices, and software used for analysis of health services research, public health, and the behavioral and social sciences.

National Library of Medicine (NLM): HTA 101: Introduction to Health Technology Assessment
This text, by Clifford S. Goodman, Ph.D., the Lewin Group, was written in January, 2004. Provides an introduction to health technology assessment, covers fundamental concepts and issues, including methodological validity and integrative methods.

National Library of Medicine (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.

National Library of Medicine (NLM): Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC)
Provides assistance helping librarians plan evaluation of outreach activities to encourage public use 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.

National Library of Medicine (NLM): NLM Gateway
Users can search all of NLM's resources including the NLM catalog, HSRProj, and Health Services Research Meeting Abstracts.

National Survey of America's Families (NSAF)
Access to data on the Urban Institute's NSAF. Conducted in three rounds between 1997 and 2002, the NSAF provides information on national trends in child, adult, and family well-being.

National Survey of Residential Care Facilities (NSRCF)
The Division of Health Care Statistics (DHCS) in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) announced the internet release of two data products from the 2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities (NSRCF)—the first-ever national probability sample survey of residential care facilities with four or more beds—collected data on residential care providers, their staffs and services, and their current residents. Survey methodology, documentation, and data files are available on the NCHS website.

National Center for Health Statistics U.S. Census Populations with Bridged Race Categories
A part of the NCHS National Vital Statistics System, this site provides data sets and tables consisting of information obtained using the race bridging method of surveying from the 2000 Census.

New York Academy of Medicine: The Grey Literature Report
The bimonthly publication of The New York Academy of Medicine Library alerts readers to new grey literature publications in health services research and selected public health topics.

NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme
The HTA programme relies on the goodwill and freely given time of a large number of independent experts who contribute as members of HTA panels, boards, and other advisory groups. The programme maintains a virtual 'college' of about 1500 external experts who have agreed to act as reviewers.

O

Office of Civil Rights: HIPAA
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has set up this page to provide information regarding the HIPAA privacy rule including the full text of the regulation and information on how to file a privacy complaint.

Office of the Law Revision Counsel
From here, you can see where recently enacted laws will show up in the U.S. Code and which sections of the code those laws have amended. You can download titles and chapters of the U.S. Code.

Office of the Solicitor General
Access to all briefs filed by the Solicitor General. Briefs are grouped by the Supreme Court term during which they are filed.

Oregon Health Sciences University's (OHSU) Evidence Based Practice Center
Information on the Centers comparative effectiveness work, is provides, as is access to many of the Centers publications. The OHSU Evidence Based Practice Center conducts healthcare topic reviews including cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and evidence-based medicine studies (EBM) for federal and state governments, and private foundations.

Oyez
Browse Supreme Court cases by issue and by term, get information on S.C. Justices and on new media releases related to the Supreme Court.

P

AHRQ Patient Safety Network
A glossary of terms commonly used in health care, including terms involving errors and patient safety. The glossary contains important concepts in quality methods.

Penn State Methodology Center
A collection of technical reports by center investigators.

Public Health Systems and Services Research
PHSSR is a new national program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) designed to build awareness of this new field focused on the organization, financing, delivery and impact of public health services.

Policy Agendas Project: Center for American Politics and Public Policy
The Policy Agendas Website offers several tools for tracking policy issues. Special features allow for visual comparison of congressional hearings, statutes, Congressional Quarterly stories, a sample of New York Times stories, Gallup's Most Important Problem series, and Presidential Executive Orders. Most data is available from the mid-1940s through 2005. The Project is sponsored by National Science Foundation (Grant No. 0111443 ), the University of Washington, and Pennsylvania State University.

Policy Jargon Decoder: The Urban Institute
A glossary of terms used in Urban Institute publications and general policy discussions.

Project GOLD: Research Methods Glossary
Project Guidance Online for those Learning at a Distance (GOLD) is a program run by the Royal College of Nursing, to improve distance education in nursing. The research methods glossary covers a variety of research topics.

Public Health/Health Administration (PHHA) Core Public Health Journals
A list of Health Services Administration journals organized by the essential core, research level core, and grey literature.

Public Health Training Network
An alphabetical index of public health products and studies.

PubMed
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.

PubMed Health Services Research (HSR) Queries
This page provides specialized PubMed searches on healthcare quality and costs. Featured on the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR) page, these HSR queries are intended for researchers, clinicians, health policy analysts and planners and have built-in search filters. Four health care quality categories and two health care cost categories are provided, and the emphasis may be made broader or narrower.

Q

Quality, Safety Health Care Reporting Standards
Reporting Standards for Medical Research, published in Quality, Safety Health Care.

QUality of Reporting of Meta-Analysis (QUOROM)
The QUOROM Statements provides a checklist of recommendations and standards for improving the reporting of meta-analyses of clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The checklist covers best practices for presenting the 21 sections of a report. Sections include the abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion. The checklist does not provide specific instructions on study methods; however, the checklist's structure follows each step in the recommended process of conducting a meta-analyses.

The Qualitative Research Guidelines Project
The Qualitative Research Guidelines Project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to assist individuals researching or reviewing qualitative research projects in healthcare settings. The website identifies and describes a range of qualitative research methods as well as interpretive and analytic approaches; identifies published criteria for designing high quality qualitative research; provides links to publications that exemplify excellence in qualitative research; and discusses issues involved in integrating qualitative and quantitative research in mixed and multi-method studies.

R

R Project
Information on the free statistical software package, R. Link to download software, as well as user manuals and updates are available.

Re-Aim
Provides resources, data and tables, publications, presentations, links and other useful information for research and study plans involving public health and health behavior interventions.

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture)
A secure, web-based application designed exclusively to support data capture for research studies. REDCap provides an intuitive interface for data entry (with data validation); audit trails for tracking data manipulation and export procedures; automated export procedures for seamless data downloads to common statistical packages (SPSS, SAS, Stata, R); procedures for importing data from external sources; and advanced features, such as branching logic and calculated fields. REDCap Survey is a powerful tool for building and managing online surveys which can create and design surveys in your web browser and engage potential respondents using a variety of notification methods.

Regulations.gov
Find and view the regulations and actions of Federal agencies.

Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics
Includes four modules for understanding and exploring statistics. Hyperstat online is a online statistics book with links to statistical resources; simulations/demonstrations, case studies, and an analysis lab are also available to help users identify how to use statistics to answer research questions. Applets demonstrating statistical concepts are also in the public domain, and may be downloaded for classroom use.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Information on current areas of research interest, grants, books and newsletters, as well as tips and tools for conducting evaluations are available. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation’s largest philanthropy that works to improve health.

Rural Health Research Gateway
The Office of Rural Health Policy funds research activities at rural health research centers, as well as research conducted by individual investigators at other institutions. This site provides summaries of current and completed research projects and related publications.

Russ Lenth's Power and Sample Size Page
Provides a series of applets that may be used to conduct sample size and prospective power calculations, as well as practical guidelines on determining sample size.

S

SAS
Information on SAS statistical software, including product and support information, as well as training opportunities. Manuals, software updates, and samples are available.

Science Citation Index
A database of science and technology journals representing a wide array of disciplines.

Scopus
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database covering 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. Access to Scopus is only available to licensed subscribers for a subscription fee.

The Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM): Research Dataset Compendium
The Dataset Compendium contains information on more than 40 publicly available datasets that may be of interest to investigators interested in health services, clinical epidemiology, and medical education research. Descriptions of the data and links are provided.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM)
The Education Modules of this website offers a review of the efficacy of diagnostic tests. The reference section provides links to PDFs for a number of publications. Overall, the website provides a forum for researchers and policymakers to connect and educate themselves regarding clinical decision making and public policy.

Software for Implementing Matching Methods and Propensity Scores
A collection of propensity score packages for R, Stata, SAS, and SPSS compiled by Dr. Elizabeth A. Stuart of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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.

State and Local Government on the Net
An internet directory providing links to State Government offices and Local Offices and Federal Government sites.

State Policy Guide: Using Research in Public Health Policymaking
This guide, published by The Council of State Governments, describes the benefits of using research results to make state policy decisions on public health and other health and human services concerns. In addition to considering budgetary constraints, how well a policy fits in your state, public opinion and other political factors, state legislators can effectively apply the cumulative lessons from public health research by working closely with researchers and other experts.

StatLib
Provides free access to data, software, trainings, news, and an extensive calendar of events for statisticians.

Statpages.org
Provides links to statistics books, tutorials, downloadable software, and other resources including an interactive decision-tree to help individuals select the appropriate type of statistical analysis.

StatTrek
Free online statistics tutorial, glossary and online statistical tables. Tables are interactive and are accompanied by example problems to illustrate their use.

STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)
The STROBE Statement provides a checklist of topics that should be reported in articles about observational epidemiological studies. The checklist is not a rigid guide for designing or conducting the studies, rather, the recommendations are meant to provide assistance in developing complete and accurate reports. The focus is on three main observational study designs including cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The STROBE checklist includes 22 items focusing on the major areas of a study, including the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections of articles.

Studying a Study
An electronic companion to the textbook Studying a Study and Testing a Test. Offers a framework for understanding study design and potential sources of bias. Includes a self-test.

Supercourse
A repository of lectures and presentations on epidemiology and global health from around the world. Over 3,200 lectures in 26 languages are available.

Supreme Court
Provides information about the Supreme Court, its docket, opinions, etc.

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.

T

Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences (TESS)
A free NSF infrastructure project that offers researchers opportunities to test their experimental ideas on large, diverse, randomly-selected subject populations. Investigators submit proposals for experimental studies, and TESS fields selected proposals on a random sample of the United States population using the Internet. A comprehensive, on-line submission and peer review process screens proposals for the importance of their contribution to science and society. A diverse team of leading scholars assist the co-PI's in administering the review process. TESS provides investigators an opportunity to run Internet-based experiments on a random, probability-based sample of the population. TESS thereby allows investigators to capture the internal validity of experiments while realizing the benefits of contact with large, diverse populations of research participants.

The Gallup Brain
Access to public opinion questions fielded by the Gallup Poll since 1935.

The Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC)
The ResDAC provides support to academic, government, and non-profit researchers using Medicare and/or Medicaid data. Epidemiologists, biostatisticians, health services researchers, and health informatics specialists from the University of Minnesota are available to provide technical assistance on topics including requesting and accessing datasets. Technical papers on topics such as identifying emergency room visits using Medicare claims data, limitations to identifying dual eligibles, and information on how claims files are generated are available.

The Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd Edition.
An online introduction to social sciences research methods authored by William M. Trochim, Professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University. Topics include the philosophical basis of research questions; study design; and data analysis.

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut
Modules on appropriate interpretation and use of polling results. Includes discussion of sample selection and survey error as well as a glossary of polling terms. Sample assignments are available for teaching purposes.

Fee-based access is available to the iPoll database of public opinion studies, which includes select questions and response data from major polling firms such as the Gallup Organization and Harris Interactive.

The Seattle Public Library: Municipal Codes
Online collection of city and country codes available for unrestricted searching online.

Thomas
The 'Library of Congress’ legislative information site. From here you can search bill text, view bill history, congressional records, committee reports, etc.

U

U.S. Census Bureau Health Insurance Data
Provides an array of health insurance data, including definitions, reports, access to data files, and links to relevant sites.

Urban Institute Researcher Toolkit
A toolkit that provides an overview of qualitative and quantitative methods used in implementation research and impact evaluation by the Urban Institute.

US Department of Health and Human Services (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.

US Departrment of Health and Human Services (HHS): Data Council Gateway to Data and Statistics
Designed to complement other government websites such as FirstGov and FedStats, this site includes health and human services data and statistics at the federal, state, and local government level.

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.

U.S. National Institutes of Health Clinical Trial Website
Provides a straightforward glossary of terms commonly used in clinical trials.

UW CHWS Health Workforce Questionnaires
The University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies has compiled questionnaires from various sources and organized them in the table below to assist policymakers, educators and researchers as they gather workforce data from health professionals.

W

Web of Science (Informational Page Only)
Retrospective database of citation information from more than 8,000 high-impact research journals around the world. WoS is comprised of five databases including: Science Citation Index Expanded; Social Sciences Citation Index; Arts & Humanities Citation Index; Index Chemicus; Current Chemical Reactions. Only available to subscription holders.

What is a Survey?
Written in 2004, this web-tutorial by Fritz Scheuren for the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) summarizes key concepts of survey design, sampling, and analysis. Based on a prior version the American Statistical Association series of the same title (1980). The original version is available in PDF.

WinBUGS
The BUGS (Bayesian inference Using Gibbs Sampling) project is concerned with flexible software for the Bayesian analysis of complex statistical models using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation: Grantseeking
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports research and demonstration projects aimed at promoting a strong health care safety net, improving the quality of health care for vulnerable populations and communities, and building health leadership, particularly among diverse populations. Investigator-initiated grant proposals are accepted per the guidelines outlined.

Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI/SNIP)
Provides an excellent source of publicly available materials developed by volunteers implementing all aspects of HIPAA for a wide variety of organizations. Contains excellent white papers describing the rules and implementation issues.

World Health Organization (WHO) Datasets
The WHO coordinates all activities involving health issues for the United Nations. Data sets include the following topics: risk factors, health systems, diseases, and mortality. Available data sets and statistics can be accessed by database and categories including mortality and health status, diseases, coverage of services, risk factors, and health systems.

World Health Organization Methodology Reader
This WHO Reader aims to support the development of the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR), particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It complements the range of relevant texts that are already available by providing a particular focus on methodological issues for primary empirical health policy and systems research.

Y

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) collects information from students on the prevalence of health-risk behaviors. Surveys are conducted in classrooms through self-administered paper questionnaires and focus on unintentional injuries and violence, tobacco use, alcohol, sexual behaviors, diet, and level of physical activity. It has been conducted biennially since 1991 with sponsorship by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and conducted in classrooms through self-administered paper questionnaires.

Z

Zimmerman's Research Guide - LexisNexis
Online legal encyclopedia for legal researchers with links to pertinent data sources.