BASIC COURSE IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH

An Online Course for Medical Postgraduates and Teachers in Medical Institutions in India

In order to improve the research skills of Indian medical postgraduates (PG) and teachers in medical institutions, the National Medical Commission (NMC, erstwhile Medical Council of India) has mandated a uniform research methodology course. This online course, “Basic Course in Biomedical Research”, will be offered by ICMR National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai.

The course will explain the fundamental concepts of research methodology in health. It will be delivered through video lectures and reading materials. Certification will be done based on lecture wise assignments and a final proctored exam.

about

For Whom?

Medical Postgraduates (MD, MS, MCH, DM) admitted from Academic Year 2019-2020 onwards.
Teachers in medical institutions

Course duration

Self-Paced; enroll and complete the course at any time

Learning mode

Video lectures
Presen​tation ​slides
MCQs
Additional resources

Course certificate

Participants who successfully secure a score of 50% or above in the final proctored exam will be awarded an e-verifiable course completion certificate.
Click here to get your certificate, if you have not received after completing the course successfully.

National Medical Commission Notifications

Clarification regarding eligibility of final year PG students without completing the 'Online course in research methods' for appearing in final medical PG exam 2023 (31 May 2023)

Medical teachers (12 Feb 2020)

Medical postgraduates (11 Dec 2019)

Medical postgraduates (09 July 2019)

How to submit assignments in self-paced Basic Course in Biomedical Research online course?

Assignment submission procedure

Assignment submission procedure

How to submit assignments in self-paced Basic Course in Biomedical Research online course?

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Course Faculty

Dr Sanjay Mehendale
Dr Sanjay Mehendale

MD, MPH, FAMS, FIMSA, FACE

Dr Manoj Murhekar
Dr Manoj Murhekar

MD

Dr R Ramakrishnan
Dr R Ramakrishnan

MSc, PhD, MAE

Dr Prabhdeep Kaur
Dr Prabhdeep Kaur

DNB, MAE

Dr Tarun Bhatnagar
Dr Tarun Bhatnagar

MD, PhD, PGDBE

Dr P Manickam
Dr P Manickam

BSMS, MSc, PhD

Dr P Ganeshkumar
Dr P Ganeshkumar

MD

Dr Sirshendu Chaudhuri
Dr Sirshendu Chaudhuri

MD, DPH

Dr Rizwan S.A
Dr Rizwan S.A

MD

Dr K Jeyashree
Dr K Jeyashree

MD

Teaching Assistants

Dr Sharan Murali
Dr Sharan Murali

Scientist - C

Dr Navaneeth S Krishna
Dr Navaneeth S Krishna

Scientist - C

Dr V Saravana Kumar
Dr V Saravana Kumar

Scientist - D

Dr N Ramya
Dr N Ramya

Scientist - C

Dr Joshua Chadwick
Dr Joshua Chadwick

Scientist - C

Dr S Devika
Dr S Devika

Scientist - D

Course Process

  • Enrollment will open throughout the year
  • No deadline for enrolment into the course
  • No deadline for submission of assignments 
  • Participants can learn on their own pace and schedule
  • Once you secure the cut off scores in assignments (50% in every assignment for 23 lectures), candidates will become eligible for exam registration.
  • Candidates can then register for the proctored exam for the next available date


Featured content

Course Syllabus

Conceptualizing a research study

Conceptualizing a research study

  • Introduction to health research
  • Formulating research question, hypothesis and objectives
  • Literature review

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Epidemiological considerations in designing a research study

Epidemiological considerations in designing a research study

  • Measures of disease frequency
  • Descriptive study designs
  • Analytical study designs
  • Experimental study designs
  • Validity of Epidemiological studies
  • Qualitative research methods: An overview

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Biostatistical considerations in designing a research study

Biostatistical considerations in designing a research study

  • Measures of study variable
  • Sampling methods
  • Calculating sample size and power

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Planning a research study

Planning a research study

  • Selection and study population
  • Study plan and project management
  • Designing data collection tools
  • Principles of data collection tools
  • Data management
  • Overview of data analysis

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Ethical issues in a research study

Ethical issues in a research study

  • Ethical framework for health research
  • Conducting clinical trials

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Writing a research protocol

Writing a research protocol

  • Preparing a concept paper for research projects
  • Elements of a protocol for research studies
  • Publication ethics
  • Manuscript writing
  • Grant proposal writing

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I enrol for the online course “Basic Course in Biomedical Research (BCBR)”?

You can enrol for the course if you are an medical postgraduate or a teacher in a medical institution, recognized by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
You can enroll for the course if you are a dental postgraduate or a teacher in a dental college, recognized by the Dental Council of India.

Medical Postgraduates
As per the MCI notice dated 9 July 2019, BCBR is mandatory for Medical Postgraduates admitted from July 2019 onwards. Medical Postgraduates include those pursuing MD/MS in a medical college approved by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Medical Teachers
As per the Gazette of India notification dated 12 February 2020 for ‘Minimum Qualifications for Teachers In Medical Institutions’ approved by the National Medical Commission (NMC), BCBR is mandatory for medical teachers for their promotion.

I’m neither a medical post graduate nor a teacher from a medical college. Can I enroll for BCBR?

No. All other interested candidates including medical undergraduate students, clinical/public health/ laboratory researchers, physicians, research associates, allied health professionals, scientists, statisticians, ethics committee members, project managers and those interested in health research can enroll for the ‘Health Research Fundamentals’ (Please follow ICMR-NIE website for the same - https://nie.gov.in/pages/basic-course-in-biomedical-research This course is also run by the ICMR National Institute of Epidemiology.

Please tell me about the enrolment process

Can I change my profile after the enrolment is over?

Yes. After you sign in, you can click on ‘My Profile’ under which there is an option called ‘EDIT PROFILE’. You may click on it to edit the relevant details. However, you cannot change your email ID.
For further details watch tutorial on “how to sign in, course tour and edit profile” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFcTtwK39DY

How can I retrieve my forgotten login ID and password after enrollment?

Please use your regular Email as login ID. It is always advisable to remember your password. If you forget your password, you can retrieve your login credentials by using "Forgot your password?". However, if you forget the login ID, kindly send us an email or call our office to retrieve your login email ID.
For further details watch tutorial on “how to handle issues on forgot email id and password” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTG1SlAAsHw

How can I access the course and submit the assignments?

  • Step 1: Sign in to the course page https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc22_md01/preview
  • Step 2: After signing in using your login ID and password, click “Basic course in Biomedical Research” under Course outline in the top left of the course page.
  • Step 3: In the left panel, all the 25 lectures will be available. Click to open the intended lecture.
  • Step 4: Below each lecture, find “Quiz: Assignment” for that lecture.
  • Step 5: Click on the “Quiz: Assignment” which you would like to take. The assignment page will open.
  • Step 6: Complete the assignment by choosing the appropriate answer.
  • Step 7: Verify your answers before submitting and click “Submit Answers”.
  • Step 8: Immediately after submission, you will get the scores.
  • If you have scored the minimum eligibility of 50%, you can move to the next assignment.
  • If you have not scored the minimum eligibility of 50%, you can click on the ' Retake Test ' at your convenience. During the retest you will get a new set of 10 MCQs.
  • You may submit the assignments any number of times until you get the minimum eligibility score of 50%. No restriction to take the retest.
  • You will not be allowed to resubmit the assignment once the minimum eligibility is met.
  • There is no negative marking.
  • For further details watch tutorial on “How to access course materials” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHcy660N-oM and and “how to submit assignments” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNy8pfDyeNs

How will I know my assignment score?

In two ways you can check the assignment scores.

  • Once you submit the assignment you will get the score for the assignment submitted.
  • Click on the ‘Progress’ button on your course page, the lecture-wise assignment score will be visible to you.

How can I download the course material?

Please follow the steps to access the course material.

  • Access course home page from the link: https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc21_md05/preview
  • Login using the e-mail ID that was used to enrol for the course
  • Click on your user ID on the right side of login page then click on "MY COURSES" tab
  • Your course page will open, click on "Go to course" tab
  • On the left panel, click on “Basic Course in Biomedical Research” tab
  • Click the download link at the bottom of the page. This will take you to a new page where all the course materials including lectures, transcripts, and assignments are available for downloading.

How to ask queries on lectures?

You may follow the steps below for posting queries on “Basic Course in Biomedical Research”
After accessing the course materials

  • If you have any queries/comments to be addressed after accessing the course material you can post them in the discussion forum.
  • The discussion forum can be accessed by clicking on “Ask a Question” tab in the menu bar of the “Basic Course in Biomedical Research” home page, followed by selecting the appropriate lecture from the pre-existing discussion threads.
  • You can then type your query/comment in “click here to reply”. Once you have finished typing, click on “post” to get a response from Faculty/Teaching assistants.
  • Please post any queries that you have only in the discussion threads assigned for that particular lecture [for e.g., if you have a query related to lecture 22; you need to find a thread named: “Queries/comments for lecture 22. Elements of a protocol for research studies” and post your queries therein. This will help our Faculty/Teaching assistants in noticing immediately and addressing the queries expeditiously]
  • Once you post a query, our Teaching Assistants will respond to you.
  • Please confine your questions to the lectures. It is beyond our scope to respond to any other queries.
For further details watch tutorial on “how to ask queries on lecture” https://youtu.be/RB8n-Xhzo0c

How to contact the BCBR team for non-academic queries?

Email ID: noc22-md01@nptel.iitm.ac.in (All technical queries)

Please tell me about the exam registration process

The registration for the certification exam will be open only to those learners who enrol for the course and secure more than or equal to 50% in every assignment for 23 lectures. A registration fee of 1000 INR should be paid to appear for the proctored exam. However, 50% of this fee will be waived for candidates belong to the SC/ST category, and persons with more than 40% disability. All exam related information will be posted in the announcements section of the course page.