This course introduces the student to the published public health literature beyond the textbook. It covers how to find your way around the literature, especially peer-reviewed journals, how to search for material on specific topics, how to develop a critical reader’s eye, and how to summarise and draw evidence-based conclusions from multiple studies. You will also develop an understanding of different approaches to research and the theoretical frameworks in which they are performed, and of the relevant ethical issues. This course will not train you to carry out empirical research studies (see PHCM 9046 MPH Extension), but it will develop your skills in ascertaining what kind of research can answer what kind of question. You will build on skills from PHCM 9498 Epidemiology and Statistics and from 9100 Academic Skills and/or your first degree, and learn how to use published research critically to write well-structured and well-referenced reports in public health (e.g. policy development, health service management, disease outbreak investigation, program evaluation, health promotion) using different forms and different media.