This course is designed for DrPH students, as one choice of several options to fulfil the requirement for courses on research methods. It is also a recommended complement to required courses in critical appraisal. The course is learner-centred and invites students to engage with a broad array of distinct research purposes and approaches used in public health evidence. The course provides a comparative assessment of the relative strengths, weaknesses and different approaches for different research questions. Taxonomies of research objectives will be presented (e.g., basic, quantitative, and mixed methods research) although relatively more weight will be given to quantitative or mixed methods designs most commonly seen in applied public health research and on the specific designs of interest to members of the class. The course seeks to foster personal growth in terms of critical awareness of options and distinct risks to validity across research approaches, as well as familiarity with reference materials on from several disciplines. Students will engage with reference and self-directed learning materials from a wide variety of disciplines and sources. Students will demonstrate the cognitive and behavioural skills necessary to develop research proposals.