Basics of Research Methodology PDF

Basics of research methodology  Motivation for research  Purpose  Characters of a good research  Stages of research  Research strategy  Research process  How to read research  How to write a proposal  Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs): a. Knowledge By the end of th...

Basics of research methodology  Motivation for research  Purpose  Characters of a good research  Stages of research  Research strategy  Research process  How to read research  How to write a proposal  Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs): a. Knowledge By the end of the course student will be able to: and a1- define scientific research Understanding a2- list the different motives for research : a3- identify the different purposes for scientific research a4- define the different characteristics of a good research a5- list the different stages of research a6- understand Evidence based Dentistry a7- identify the different types of research a8- identify the different research strategies a9- identify the different steps of the research process a10- recognize the different steps of formulation of the research problem b-Intellectual By the end of the course , student will be Skills: able to: b1- differentiate between the different types of research b2- select the proper research problems. c. Professiona By the end of the course, student will be l and able to: Practical c1- apply the different steps of formulation Skills: of the research problem c2- select the proper study design c. General and By the end of the course, student will be Transferable able to: Skills: d1- work in a team d2- present scientific researches d3-manage time.  Student Assessment Methods: A-Methods Used: Assignment / Researches Written exams B-Timing of Research / project after the eighth week Assessment: Assignment for each chapter Final exam at the end of the semester C-Distribution of Final written exam: 60 marks Scores: Assignments: 40 marks Total ;100 marks  Scientific method consisting of systematic observations, classification and interpretation of data  Academic activity Movement from the unknown to the known  Desire for a degree……. Respect  Challenge to solve a certain problem  Intellectual joy  Society service  Creativity  Obligation  Discover answers  Study phenomena  Reveal characteristics of certain individuals or elements  Testing hypothesis  Determine the frequency with which something occurs Framework of philosophies  Validity  Reliabilty  Controlled  Rigorous  Systematic  Verifiable  unbiased  Validity Where the correct procedures are applied to reach the correct answers  Reliability refers to the quality of a measurement procedure that provides repeatability and accuracy.  This means that you have taken each step in an unbiased manner and drawn each conclusion to the best of your ability and without introducing your own vested interest.  (Bias is a deliberate attempt to either conceal or highlight something).  you set up your study in a way that minimizes the effects of other factors affecting their relationship.  The procedures followed to find answers to questions are relevant, appropriate and justified.   procedure adopted to undertake an investigation follow a certain logical sequence.  findings are correct and can be verified by you and others.  any conclusion drawn is based upon hard evidence gathered from information collected from real life experiences or observations.   Critical scrutiny of the procedures used and the methods employed is crucial to a research enquiry.  1.application of research study  2. Objectives in undertaking the research  3. Inquiry mode employed pure research Applied research.  It involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future.  The knowledge produced through pure research is sought in order to add to the existing body of research methods.  It is done to solve specific, practical questions; for policy formulation, administration and understanding of a phenomenon.  Definition:  It is a combination between the best available scientific evidence, with patient’s needs and preferences and dentist’s clinical skill and judgment.  1- Makes you learn which articles to believe and hence which to apply.  2- Know where a research gap exists then which research is needed to serve the community.  3- Best way of doing and reporting a research.  4- Originality of your research (ideas and reporting methodology)  5- How to find best available evidence ( Hierarchy of evidence)  6- Evidence based practice to offer the best treatment to the patient with minimum risk.  7- Health policy makers what to apply to improve health of the people.  It is designed to categories the evidences that the practitioner will depend on in his decision where they are classified in descending order according to their strength into: 1- Systematic review and META analysis 2- Randomized controlled trials. 3- Cohort studies. 4- Case-control studies. 5- Case series, Case report. 6- Editorials, Expert opinion. 7- Animal Studies. 8- Laboratory research. Study design is classified into: I- Primary Research: Examples: a- Randomized controlled trials. b- Cohort studies. c- Case control studies. d- Case series. II- Secondary Research: Examples: a- Traditional review (Narrative review). b- Systematic review and META analysis.  It is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied.  It answers questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.  It includes qualitative (case report, case series) and Cross-Sectional (surveys).  It includes reports on a single patient / or a collection of reports on treatment on a number of patients.  Application: If you faced a condition you didn’t see nor hear about previously and you feel uncertain on how would you manage the case?  You may search for case reports/ series that may help you in a diagnosis.  But since there is no control group ( to compare outcomes) it has no statistical validity and small sample size  Advantages: They are easy to understand and can be written in a short period of time.  The survey is a method for collecting information or data as reported by individuals at specific point in time.  Surveys are questionnaires (or a series of questions) that are administered to research participants who answer the questions themselves.  Unlike the longitudinal studies that look at a group of people over an extended period, cross- sectional studies are used to describe what is happening at the present moment. This type of research is frequently used to determine the prevailing characteristics in a population at a certain point of time. Application: It provides a snapshot of the frequency of a disease or other health related characteristics in a population at a given point in time. Advantages:  Gather information on important health status of people in community.  Describe the relationship between disease and other factors of interest as they exist in a specific population at a particular time.  Describe the changes of disease patterns overtime by carrying out several cross-sectional studies.  Types:  a- Descriptive: used to assess the frequency and distribution of a particular disease in a defined population. For example a random sample of schools across Cairo may be used to assess the prevalence of caries among 12-14 years old. b- Analytical: used to investigate the association between a putative risk factor and health outcome. However this type of study is limited in its ability to draw valid conclusions about any association or possible causality because the presence of risk factors and outcomes are measured simultaneously. It may therefore be difficult to work out whether the disease or the exposure came first, so causation should always be confirmed by more rigorous studies. The collection of information about risk factors is also retrospective, running the risk of recall bias.  The researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.  The essence of an analytic study is that groups of subjects are compared in order to estimate the magnitude of association between exposures and outcomes.  Analytical research is classified according to researcher intervention into: 1- Observational Study: Passive involvement of researcher. 2- Experimental Study: Active involvement of researcher. a- Analytical Survey: used to investigate the association between a putative risk factor and health outcome. However this type of study is limited in its ability to draw valid conclusions about any association or possible causality because the presence of risk factors and outcomes are measured simultaneously. It may therefore be difficult to work out whether the disease or the exposure came first, so causation should always be confirmed by more rigorous studies. The collection of information about risk factors is also retrospective, running the risk of recall bias. b- Case control study:  It is used to compare patients with certain conditions vs. people who do not.  They are used to determine if there is associational relationship between condition and risk factor.  Case control studies are less reliable than randomized controlled trials or cohort studies. Advantages: 1. Can be done quickly 2. The researches don’t need special methods or control group 3. Efficient for conditions/ disease with rare outcomes 4. It could be claimed that the first study to suggest a new medical conclusion could be a case control study.  Cohort studies are a type of medical research used to investigate the causes of disease and to establish links between risk factors and health outcomes.  In these studies, patient presents a certain condition/exposure and/or receive a particular treatment and are followed over time and compared with another group which have the condition and don’t receive the treatment under investigation.  The cohort study design is the best available scientific method for measuring the effects of a suspected risk factor.  Cohort studies are used to establish causation of a disease or to evaluate the outcome/ impact of treatment when Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are not applicable. Example: Is it possible to test the effect of smoking on health with a randomized controlled study?  No because it is unethical.  An alternative is to conduct a study with two groups (group of smokers and group of non-smokers) and follow them over time. Types: i) Prospective studies: studies are planned in advance and carried out over a future period of time. ii) Retrospective studies: look at data that already exist and try to identify risk factor for particular conditions.  Advantages:  Provide incidence data  Establish time sequence for causality.  Eliminates recall bias.  Allows for accurate measurement of exposure variables.  Can measure multiple outcomes.  Can adjust for confounding variables.  Can calculate relative risk.  Disadvantages:  Expensive  Time consuming  Cannot study rare outcomes  Exposure may change over time  Disease may have a long pre-clinical phase  Attrition of study population  RCTs are considered as the gold standard in medical research. Here you have two groups one as the treatment group and the other as a control group.  Patients are randomly assigned to all groups (to reduce the risk of bias and increase the probability that the difference between the groups can be attributed to the treatment.  If your question is about the effectiveness of a certain therapy, then the best study design to answer your question would be RCT.  Advantages:  Best measure of causal relationship  Best design for controlling bias.  Can measure multiple outcomes Disadvantages:  High cost  Ethical issues may be a problem  Lack of Compliance  Types: a- Parallel: each participant is randomly assigned to a group, and all the participants in the group receive (or do not receive) an intervention. b- Crossover: over time, each participant receives (or does not receive) an intervention in a random sequence. c- Factorial: each participant is randomly assigned to a group that receives a particular combination of interventions or non-intervention. It is written by examining published work on a topic, then writing a critical summary of the body literature. The purpose of a literature review is to make clear for a reader what research collectively indicates with regard to particular topic or question. The problem with traditional review that the researches included in the review is selected by the author, without inclusion criteria or appraisal which may introduce bias in the research.  It is a comprehensive survey of a topic in which primary studies of highest level of evidence are systematically identified and appraised with a reproducible methodology  It is a survey in which results of all of the included studies are statistically similar to an extent that the results could be pooled, combined and analyzed as if they were one single study.  A good systematic review and META analysis will be a greater guide and help in decision making rather than an individual article.  What you want to find out about or what research questions (problems) you want to find answers to?  How to go about finding their answers?  Study population Individuals, organizations, groups, communities they provide you with the information or you collect information about them Subject area  Problems: issues, situations, associations, needs, profiles  Program : content, structure, outcomes, attributes, satisfactions, consumers, service providers, etc.  Phenomenon:cause-and-effect relationships, the study of a phenomenon itself  Interest: a research endeavor is usually time consuming, and involves hard work and possibly unforeseen problems. One should select topic of great interest to sustain the required motivation.  Magnitude: It is extremely important to select a topic that you can manage within the time and resources at your disposal. Narrow the topic down to something manageable, specific and clear.  Measurement of variables: Make sure that you are clear about the indicators and measurement of variables used in your study.  Level of expertise: Make sure that you have adequate level of expertise for the task you are proposing since you need to do the work yourself.  Relevance: Ensure that your study adds to the existing body of knowledge, bridges current gaps and is useful in policy formulation. This will help you to sustain interest in the study.  Availability of data: Before finalizing the topic, make sure that data are available.  Ethical issues: How ethical issues can affect the study population and how ethical problems can be overcome should be thoroughly examined at the problem formulating stage.  Step 1 Identify a broad field or subject area of interest to you.  Step 2 Dissect the broad area into sub areas.  Step 3 Select what is of most interest to you.  Step 4 Raise research questions.  Step 5 Formulate objectives.  Step 6 Assess your objectives.  Step 7 Double check.  a. Bring clarity and focus to your research problem;  b. Improve your methodology;  c. Broaden your knowledge;  d. Contextualise your findings. Main objectives Sub-objectives  Objectives should be:  numerically listed.  Clear and specific.  Each objective should contain only one aspect of the Study.  Use action oriented words or verbs when writing objectives such as ‘to determine ,to find out, to ascertain, to measure, to explore…. etc.  The wording of objectives determines the type of research (descriptive, correlational and experimental) and the type of research design you need to adopt to achieve them.  Objectives of the research study.  Method of Data Collection to be adopted.  Source of information  Tool for Data collection  Data Analysis-- qualitative and quantitative Primary Data— collected for the first time Secondary Data—those which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else.  SURVEY METHOD  Approach most suited for gathering descriptive information. Survey research may be Direct or Indirect.  CONTACT METHODS  Information may be collected by Mail, telephone, Personal interview or Focus Group Interviewing:  Focus Group Interviewing  It is rapidly becoming one of the major research tool to understand people’s thoughts and feelings.  The Questionnaire:  Closed –ended  Open-ended  Combination of both  TABULATION OF DATA  1. Table Number  2. Title  3. Head Notes (or) Prefatory Notes  4. Captions and Stubs  5. Body of the Table  6. Foot-Note  DIAGRAMATIC PRESENTATION OF DATA  Line diagram  Bar diagram  Histogram  1) Logical analysis of the subject-matter.  2) Preparation of the final outline.  3) Preparation of the rough draft.  4) Re-writing and Polishing.  5) Preparation of the final Bibliography.  6) Writing the final draft.  Summary  Alphabetic  Systematic  To form a truly educated opinion on a scientific subject, you need to become familiar with current research in that field. And to be able to distinguish between good and bad interpretations of research, you have to be willing and able to read the primary research literature for yourself.  Reading and understanding research papers is a skill that every single doctor and scientist has had to learn during graduate school. You can learn it too, but like any skill it takes patience and practice.  Reading a scientific paper is a completely different process from reading an article about science in a blog or newspaper. Not only do you read the sections in a different order than they're presented, but you also have to take notes, read it multiple times, and probably go look up other papers in order to understand some of the details. Reading a single paper may take you a very long time at first, but be patient with yourself. The process will go much faster as you gain experience.  The type of scientific paper I'm discussing here is referred to as a primary research article. It's a peer-reviewed report of new research on a specific question (or questions).  Most articles will be divided into the following sections: abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusions /interpretations / discussion.  Before you begin reading, take note of the authors and their institutional affiliations. Some institutions (e.g. University of Texas) are well-respected; others (e.g. the Discovery Institute) may appear to be legitimate research institutions but are actually agenda- driven.  Also take note of the journal in which it's published. Be cautious of articles from questionable journals, or sites that might resemble peer-reviewed scientific journals but aren't (e.g. Natural News).  1. Begin by reading the introduction, not the abstract.  2. Identify the big question.  3. Summarize the background in five sentences or less.  4. Identify the specific question(s).  5. Identify the approach.  6. Read the methods section.  7. Read the results section.  8. Determine whether the results answer the specific question(s).  9. Read the conclusion/discussion/interpretation section.  10. Go back to the beginning and read the abstract.  11. Find out what other researchers say about the paper  The abstract is that dense first paragraph at the very beginning of a paper. In fact, that's often the only part of a paper that many non-scientists read when they're trying to build a scientific argument. (This is a terrible practice. Don't do it.) I always read the abstract last, because it contains a succinct summary of the entire paper, and I'm concerned about inadvertently becoming biased by the authors' interpretation of the results.  Not "What is this paper about?" but "What problem is this entire field trying to solve?" This helps you focus on why this research is being done. Look closely for evidence of agenda-motivated research.  What work has been done before in this field to answer the big question? What are the limitations of that work? What, according to the authors, needs to be done next? You need to be able to succinctly explain why this research has been done in order to understand it.  What exactly are the authors trying to answer with their research? There may be multiple questions, or just one. Write them down. If it's the kind of research that tests one or more null hypotheses, identify it/them.  5. Identify the approach.  What are the authors going to do to answer the specific question(s)?   6. Read the methods section.  Draw a diagram for each experiment, showing exactly what the authors did. Include as much detail as you need to fully understand the work.  Write one or more paragraphs to summarize the results for each experiment, each figure, and each table. Don't yet try to decide what the results mean; just write down what they are. You'll often find that results are summarized in the figures and tables. Pay careful attention to them!  You may also need to go to supplementary online information files to find some of the results. Also pay attention to:  The words "significant" and "non-significant." These have precise statistical meanings.  Graphs. Do they have error bars on them? For certain types of studies, a lack of confidence intervals is a major red flag.  The sample size. Has the study been conducted on 10 people, or 10,000 people?  For some research purposes a sample size of 10 is sufficient, but for most studies larger is better.  What do you think they mean? Don't move on until you have thought about this. It's OK to change your mind in light of the authors' interpretation -- in fact, you probably will if you're still a beginner at this kind of analysis - - but it's a really good habit to start forming your own interpretations before you read those of others.  What do the authors think the results mean? Do you agree with them? Can you come up with any alternative way of interpreting them? Do the authors identify any weaknesses in their own study? Do you see any that the authors missed? (Don't assume they're infallible!) What do they propose to do as a next step? Do you agree with that?  Does it match what the authors said in the paper? Does it fit with your interpretation of the paper?  Who are the (acknowledged or self- proclaimed) experts in this particular field? Do they have criticisms of the study that you haven't thought of, or do they generally support it?  Don't neglect to do this! Here's a place where I do recommend you use Google! But do it last, so you are better prepared to think critically about what other people say.  The review question should specify the types of population (participants), types of interventions (and comparisons), and the types of outcomes that are of interest.  The acronym PICO (Participants, Interventions, Comparisons and Outcomes) helps to serve as a reminder of these. These components of the question, with the additional specification of types of study that will be included, form the basis of the pre-specified eligibility criteria for the review. 1- Rationale for well-formulated questions:  the first and most important decision in preparing a systematic review is to determine its focus.  This is best done by clearly framing the questions the review seeks to answer.  Well-formulated questions will guide many aspects of the review process, including determining eligibility criteria, searching for studies, collecting data from included studies, and presenting findings  Questions are stated broadly as review ‘Objectives’, and specified in detail as ‘Criteria for considering studies for this review’.  As well as focusing review conduct, the contents of these sections are used by readers in their initial assessments of whether the review is likely to be directly relevant to the issues they face.  A statement of the review’s objectives should begin with a precise statement of the primary objective, ideally in a single sentence. Where possible the style should be of the form ‘To assess the effects of [intervention or comparison] for [health problem] in [types of people, disease or problem and setting if specified]’.  This might be followed by one or more secondary objectives, for example relating to different participant groups, different comparisons of interventions or different outcome measures.  Eligibility criteria are a combination of aspects of the clinical question plus specification of the types of studies that have addressed these questions.  It is often helpful to consider the types of people that are of interest in two steps.  First, the diseases or conditions of interest should be defined using explicit criteria for establishing their presence or not. Criteria that will force the unnecessary exclusion of studies should be avoided.  Second, the broad population and setting of interest should be defined. This involves deciding whether a special population group is of interest, determined by factors such as age, sex, race, educational status or the presence of a particular condition such as angina or shortness of breath.  The types of participants of interest usually determine directly the participant-related eligibility criteria for including studies.  The second key component of a well-formulated question is to specify the interventions of interest and the interventions against which these will be compared (comparisons).  In particular, are the interventions to be compared with an inactive control intervention (e.g. placebo, no treatment, standard care, or a waiting list control), or with an active control intervention (e.g. a different variant of the same intervention, a different drug, a different kind of therapy)?  When specifying drug interventions, factors such as the drug preparation, route of administration, dose, duration, and frequency should be considered. For more complex interventions (such as educational or behavioral interventions), the common or core features of the interventions will need to be defined. A- Listing relevant outcomes:  The third key component of a well-formulated question is the delineation of particular outcomes that are of interest.  Outcomes may include survival (mortality), clinical events (e.g. strokes or myocardial infarction), patient-reported outcomes (e.g. symptoms, quality of life), adverse events, burdens (e.g. demands on caregivers, frequency of tests, restrictions on lifestyle) and economic outcomes (e.g. cost and resource use). i-Main outcomes:  The main outcomes are the essential outcomes for decision-making, and are those that would form the basis of a ‘Summary of findings’ table. ‘Summary of findings’ tables provide key information about the amount of evidence for important comparisons and outcomes, the quality of the evidence and the magnitude of effect ii- Primary outcomes:  Primary outcomes are the outcomes that would be expected to be analyzed should the review identify relevant studies, and conclusions about the effects of the interventions under review will be based largely on these outcomes. ii- Secondary outcomes:  Main outcomes not selected as primary outcomes would be expected to be listed as secondary outcomes.  In addition, secondary outcomes may include a limited number of additional outcomes the review intends to address.  Certain study designs are more appropriate than others for answering particular questions.  Authors should consider a priority what study designs are likely to provide reliable data with which to address the objectives of their review 1. Introduction or background to the research problem or issue, including an identification of the gap in the current research 2. Research question and, if possible, a thesis statement answering the question 3. Justification for the proposal research, i.e., why the research is needed 4. Preliminary literature review covering what others have already done in the area 5. Theoretical framework to be used in the proposed research 6. Statement of the contribution of the research to the general area 7. Proposed research methodology 8. Research plan and outline 9. Timetable of proposed research 10. List of references used in preparing the proposal  The introduction should be as brief as possible (a paragraph or two).  Whatever you do, don’t ramble on for pages; you need to make this part of the proposal clear and crisp.  In the introduction, you need to give a sense of the general field of research of which your area is a part. You then need to narrow to the specific area of your concern.  The research question may not be a question as such, but rather a statement of a problem to be investigated. The research can justified along four main criteria:  The size of the industry/area involved  The gaps in the literature that demand attention  The unusual or improved methodology being used  The benefits in terms of policy and practice This is where you provide more detail about what others have done in the area, and what you propose to do. You need to write around two pages in which you cover the following:  The major issues or schools of thought  Gaps in the literature (in more detail than is provided in the introduction)  Research questions and/or hypotheses which are connected carefully to the literature being reviewed  Definitions of key terms, provided either when you introduce each idea, or in a definition sub-section  Questions arising from the gaps that can be the focus of data collection or analysis  The theoretical framework usually forms the final part of the literature review section. It describes the model that you are using in the thesis to demonstrate your point.  You do not have to describe the methodology to be used in great detail, but you should justify its use over other methodologies. For example, you could explain the reasons for using:  a certain paradigm or theory  qualitative or quantitative research  a case study of a specific kind  Surveys, correlational experiments, field studies, specific statistical measurements, etc.  8. Research plan and outline  9. Timetable of proposed research  10. List of references Thank you