This course provides an overview of research design and methods related to behavioral and community health outcomes. The primary goal of the course is to make you an informed creator and consumer of research in public health, specifically behavioral and community health. In developing these skills, we will examine the role and importance of the scientific method, identify relevant ethical issues surrounding social science research, explore issues regarding 1) measurement operationalization and validity, 2) sampling and external validity, and 3) the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of research designs and how they related to internal (causal) validity.