Research Methods - EXCI 310 - Components of a Research Paper - PDF

Research Methods – EXCI 310 Lecture 1 – Components of a Research Paper There are many differences in how research is portrayed in scientific articles compared to news media. 3 Targets 1. Scientists 2. Clinicians 3. General population The Different components for Different Types of Artic...

Research Methods – EXCI 310 Lecture 1 – Components of a Research Paper There are many differences in how research is portrayed in scientific articles compared to news media. 3 Targets 1. Scientists 2. Clinicians 3. General population The Different components for Different Types of Articles Media Articles / News Scientific Articles Title Catchy Descriptive Authorship May or may not be stated Explicitly stated Written By Journalists Researchers or Experts Language Accessible for the General Population Scholarly Data Simplified Detailed, Complex Visualization Photos Tables, Charts References Rarely Included Peer – Review No Yes The Basic Recipe of a Research Article Title What the study is called Author Information Who did it Abstract Mini paper (key points) Introduction What is the problem Methods What did they do Results What did they find Discussion Why does it matter Conclusions Briefly summary/wrap up Acknowledgements Who/what else helped References What other work influences this Titles They should be descriptive They may or may not state the direction Example of a good title: o Four weeks (timeline) of high altitude running reduces (direction) cardiovascular disease through the XYZ pathways (path used) Authorship For individuals to be eligible for authorship on a manuscript they must: o Have 1 or more of the following ▪ Acquisition → helped with the data collection ▪ Analysis → of the data after it has been collected ▪ Interpretation → of the data o Have all three of these ▪ Write or critically revise the paper ▪ Approve the final version ▪ Be accountable for the work Total of 4 Criteria There is meaning to the order of the authors that are listed 1st Author Listed o 1st most valued place o The person leading the study (usually the person who spent the most hours on the project) o Typically writes the paper and incorporates feedback from other authors o Often is a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow Last Author Listed o 2nd most valued place o Typically involved in more high-level aspects of the project ▪ Funding, design, supervisions, administration o Is the “senior” scientist (most experienced of the group) The Middle authors o Can have more than one o Assist with the project but not leading o Provides feedback on article drafts o Can be in order of contribution, alphabetical … Abstract It is the condensed version around 250 words of a paper that focuses on the keys methods and results 2 Types o Structured Abstract ▪ Headers ▪ Put things where they belong o Unstructured Abstract ▪ One big paragraph Introduction The introduction establishes the framework for the entire paper. It explains the significance and reviews relevant literature Split into 3: o 1st paragraph → big picture – what is the problem and why is it important (broad) o 2nd paragraph → narrow – previous research shows or doesn’t show o 3rd paragraph → what where the limitation + what is missing (GAP) ▪ The purpose of our study was … ▪ We hypothesize that … The research process in its most basic form Research question rephrases = purpose statement The purpose/objective statement should follow PICOT P = Patient/Population/Problem * o Who is being studied? I = Intervention (variable) * o What is being manipulated? C = Comparison o What are they comparing against? O = Outcome * o What is being measured? T = Time o What is the time frame Independent Vs Dependant Variables Researchers manipulate the independent variable then measure the effect of this change on the dependent variable Cofounder/Covariate Variable which can influence the Example relationship between the IV and DV Manipulation: amount of water added to plant o Independent variable Measurement: height of the plant o Dependent variable Title Independent Variable Dependant Variable The effectiveness of magnet therapy for treatment of wrist pain attributed to carpal Magnet Therapy Wrist Pain tunnel syndrome Effects of high voltage pulsed current and alternating current on macromolecular leakage Type of Current Macromolecular Leakage in hamster cheek pouch micro circulation Effective positioning an exercise on intracranial pressure in a neurological ICU Positioning and Exercise Intracranial Pressure Hypothesis A hypothesis describes the expected relationship between the independent and dependent variable Hypothesis Type Relationship? Direction? Null No relationship So, no direction Alternative/research Yes No Directional Yes Yes Examples 1. A person’s health improves when they drink green tea only, while drinking only root beer decreases health outcomes a. Directional 2. There is no significant change in a person's health during the times when they drink green tea only or root beer only a. Null 3. There is a relationship between a person's health and only drinking green tea or root beer a. Alternative / research Methods The methods section is like a cookbook – it has a specific recipe other scientist can gollow to reproduce the study Includes: o Participant ▪ Who is participating (age, gender …) ▪ Criteria that can include or exclude participants ▪ How they are recruited o Design ▪ This section requires a phrase or a single sentence to describe the study methodology o Procedures ▪ This describes the protocol for how the data was collected throughput the study ▪ Step by step process ▪ Informed consent etc. o Outcome measures ▪ This section details the assessments used in your study and the variables obtained from these assessments ▪ Specify test that were used ▪ Variables found ▪ Primary outcomes, secondary outcomes o Analysis ▪ This is how the data was analyzed ▪ Software used … Results Describing the main findings without interpretation/ no explanation to the numbers provided Graphs and Tables are provided to display the results visually o Good for: ▪ Emphasizing key findings ▪ Including findings, you do not have room for in the written paragraph Discussion → Interpretation of the results from narrow to broad 1. Summarize findings and situate results within the boarder literature a. Explication of the results* b. Compared to previous studies* 2. Highlight and strengths of the study 3. Disclose the limitation (with mediating factors) * 4. Describe the clinical significance 5. Provide future directions Acknowledgements This section recognizes peoples or entities who contributed to the success of the project however did NOT meet the criteria for authorship References Provide the information necessary for readers to retrieve each work cited in the text Found usually in text and at the end Review Articles They are considered secondary sources since they are an interpretation of already existing work The writers are different than the authors Different types of Review Articles Literature/ Narrative Review o Summarizes the broad topics o Qualitative (no #) o No defined methods/criteria for article selection Scoping Review o More exploratory nature o Has a research question, but is broad o Used primarily to find gaps in the literature Systematic Review (strongest) o Answers a specific research or clinical question o Uses a defined methodology o Usually provided recommendation based on evidence Meta Analysis o Extension of a systematic review o Pools data from studies using the same/similar outcomes to get a statistical finding (quantitative) Literature/Narrative Review Includes: o Title How is it similar or different (ass 6) o Author information Why? o Abstract No exhaustive o Introduction Lack of precision o Subtopics (no results/methods/discussion) Increase bias o Conclusion o Acknowledgments o References Lecture 2 – Research Ethics and Plagiarism Research Ethics Research ethics systematically analyses the ethical and legal questions raised by researchers involving human subjects. Ensure that study participants are protected Ensure that research is conducted in a way that serves both individual subjects participating and society. Research ethics and the review of the different procedures or an experiment need to be applied BEFORE the research is conducted; ensure that: o Research meets the ethical standards and rights of subjects are protected Research ethics applicated should never be submitted after the induvial is enrolled in the study. Morals and Ethics They are closely related; but not the same Morals o More abstract o Defining right from wrong o Individualized depending on: ▪ Culture ▪ Religion ▪ Local laws Ethics o Application and interpretation of morals o Specific rules, actions, and behaviours to implement more principled Moral Principles 1. Principles of Non – Maleficence a. Definition: We should not act in ways that cause needless harm or injury to others b. Outside of research: i. Don’t drink or drive c. Inside research i. Should not expose research subjects to unnecessary risks ii. Choosing the path with the least amount of risk iii. Consider the risk in terms of what the research is iv. It is also possible that not doing anything causes harm 2. Principles pf Beneficence a. Definition: Act in ways that promote the welfare of others b. Outside of research: i. Helping less fortunate c. Inside research: i. Generating information or treatment that can help the individual subject or society ii. Some studies don’t have direct benefit but can give knowledge that can give future benefits  3. Principle of Utility a. Combination of the two previous principles b. Dentition: bring in the greatest amount of benefit and the least amount of harm i. Minimize unnecessary risk ii. Promote welfare iii. Receiving the most benefit for the least amount of risk 4. Principle pf Autonomy a. Definition: rational individuals who are in a sound mind should be permitted to be self-determined b. Individuals should get to make their own decision who are respected by others c. Subjects must provide informed consent Different Studies 1. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972) is one of the worst breaches of human right in research a. Conducted by: i. US Government ii. Center for disease control iii. US public health control b. Recruited 400 black men with syphilis c. Left them intreated to see the long-term effects d. They were not provided the medication (penicillin) e. Problematic because informed consent was not given, and the procedure of the study were not provided f. Very racist study (only black men) 2. Nazi Doctor performed medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners during the 1940’s a. Prisoners were forced to be sterilized b. Battlefield wounds and infections were modelled om prisoners c. Subjected to extreme torture to see physiological and psychological response d. Problematic because informed consent was not given, and the procedure of the study were not provided e. Prisoners were heavily exploited against their own will f. Lead to The Nuremberg Code i. It is a set of ethical research principles for human subject research ii. 10 overall principles (we look at 5) 1. Idea of societal Value a. Research should have some practical economic or health benefit 2. Principles of Non-Maleficence a. Maximize benefits and minimise harm 3. Human subject research should be scientifically valid a. The science and idea should be appropriate and valid b. Should be conducted by trained people using the correct techniques 4. Informed Consent a. Participants choose to do study voluntarily 5. Right to Termination a. Even if informed consent is signed they are allowed to pull back from the study with no consequences Informed Consent Process of educating research study subjects about the risks, benefits, and alternatives options of a study Includes: o Detailed explanation of what the study entails (1) o Honest and thorough discussion about the potential risks and discomfort and the benefits for participating (2) o States that participants have the right to drop out of the study at any time (3) o Obtained through the signature of participant and researcher (4) ▪ Special population (children) parent needs to sign ▪ The signature confirms the participant understood their right and willingly agree to participate in the study Scientific Misconduct Many different types of scientific misconduct that are unrelated to treatment of human subjects Distorting Scientific Knowledge o Data fabrication → reporting non-existent data (fake data) o Data falsification → selective reporting of data (true data presented but choosing what to report, usually what confirms their hypothesis) Misconduct that leads to misleading scientific communication o Plagiarism → stealing individual work or idea without credit o Duplicate publication → researcher who want to publish are required to only submit to one journal at a time; if they send to more than one journal and it is being published multiple times it is an act of misconduct o Authorship → need to have significant contribution and meet the specific factors ▪ If they are listed as an author and did not meet these requirements it is an act of misconduct. Plagiarism Most common form of academic and scientific misconduct Concordia University → the presentation of the work of another person, in whatever form as one’s own or without proper acknowledge o What counts as other people work or idea? ▪ Quotes directly taken from another source ▪ Ideas that are paraphrased from a source ▪ Materials and ideas that are taken from the internet ▪ Information borrowed from scientific articled Charts, graphs … o Why do people plagiarize ▪ They don’t know how to properly provide citations ▪ They are too busy or too lazy (not enough time to add citations ▪ Miss perceptions that online content is public knowledge ▪ Accidentality plagiarise ▪ Want to impress Benefits and Upside to provide proper citations: o Increases credibility o Helps reader learn more o Protects from plagiarism  Not every sentence needs to be plagiarized No need to site common knowledge (in general and in your field) o Ex: Wayne Gretzky hockey player Statistics need to be sited but common facts do not Lecture 3 – Research Design Quick Terminology Research Design → It is a succinct and logical plan that, when implemented, will answer a research question Exposure → Is a variable though to increase or decrease the occurrence of a disease or health outcome o Like independent variable, however it is not manipulated Outcome → It is a broad term for a defined disease, state of health, health related event or death Past → Retrospective Future → Prospective 2 Major Study Types 1. Did the investigators manipulate variables ? a. YES → Experimental Study (intervention) i. Exposure occurs because of the investigator manipulation b. NO → Observational Study (non-experimental) i. Exposure occurs because of natural history Observational Study Subgroups 1. Did the investigators manipulate variables a. NO → Observational Study (non-experimental) i. Exposure occurs because of natural history 2. Is there a comparison/control group a. YES → Analytical Study i. Population 1. Ecological ii. Sample 1. Cohort 2. Case Control 3. Cross Sectional b. NO → Descriptive Study i. Survey ii. Case study Descriptive Study They are the first phase of study design The goal is to observe the distribution of the disease/phenomenon in the population of interest Begin to identify characteristics with which the disease/phenomenon is associated with Three main questions: WHO? WHEN? WHAT? Descriptive Study → Case Study Case study (using one person) and case series (using a small group) present detailed information on a new or unique finding Is there a link between the rare event/disease and something else Advantages Disadvantages Can be used to generate hypothesis Cannot study cause & effect between Informative for very rare disease with condition and exposure/outcome established risk factors Cannot assess disease frequency Result not largely generalizable Analytical Study Attempts to quantify the relationship between 2 or more factors Goal is to understand the effect of an exposure on a given outcome Requires a group for comparison The researcher is not actively manipulating any variables just observing and measuring the phenomenon Analytical Study → Cohort Study (sample) Cohort studies follows a group of people with similar characteristics over a defined time They can be: o Retrospective (past) o Prospective (future) For these studies the exposure always occurs before the outcomes regardless of if it is retrospective or prospective Analytical Study → Cohort Study → Prospective Cohort In a prospective cohort the researcher develops a question first then conducts a study to answer the question The exposure occurs before the outcome The research question is developed in the present → new cohort is recruited to answer the question with data that will be collected in the future Analytical Study → Cohort Study → Retrospective Cohort In a retrospective cohort, the researcher develops a question first and then uses pre- existing data to answer the question We can use any injury surveillance system to get this pre-existing data The exposure occurs before the outcome The research question is developed in the present → previous cohort is used to answer the question with data that was collected in the past  Advantages Disadvantages Determine the probability of getting the Ineffective for rare outcomes as very large outcome groups would be needed Can study multiple outcomes at the same Participants may stop participating in the time study overtime (loss of follow up) Determine natural history of disease Cannot establish cause & effect Easier and cheaper than experimental relationship (cofounders present) studies No randomization Analytical Study → Case Control Study (sample) Case control studies match individuals based on the outcome of interest They are all retrospective studies You need the outcome before the exposure How it works Need two groups o Cases (have the outcomes of interest) o Controls (do not have outcome of interest) Matching groups on specific factors can reduce potential In case control studies you start with the outcome and work backwards to see if the individuals were exposed Advantages Disadvantages Quick and easy Cannot determine the cause & effect Can be used for rare events relationships Certain cofounders can be controlled for Subject to recall bias Usually associated with one outcome/disease Timing of the relationship is uncertain Can be difficult to select controls Analytical Study → Cross Sectional (sample) In the cross-sectional studies, both exposure and the outcome are collected at a single time point Neither retrospective nor prospective These cross – sectional studies can capture the prevalence or incidence of a disease o Prevalence → proportion of a population who have a specific characteristic at a given time ▪ all the people with the disease / total population o Incidence → proportion of a new cases within the at-risk population ▪ new cases / total population without the disease already Advantages Disadvantages Quick and easy No temporal relationship Can be used to generate hypothesis in the Cannot define causation future Normally requires a larger sample size Compare disease prevalence or incidence between groups Experimental Study subgroups 1. Did the investigators manipulate variables a. YES → Experimental Study (intervention) i. Exposure occurs because of the investigator manipulation 2. Were the participant randomized? a. YES → True experimental i. Randomized control trial 1. Pre/post test 2. Post-test only b. NO → Quasi experimental i. Nonrandomized controlled trial 1. Pre/post test 2. Repeated measures 3. Times series c. NO → Pre experimental i. Nonrandomized controlled trial 1. Pre/post test 2. One shot 3. Static group 3. All experimental designs are prospective studies Pre-Experimental Designs They have the weakest degree of control amongst the experimental studies No random assignment of participants Little to no control for cofounding variables Quasi Experimental Designs Groups formed naturally The independent variable occurs in a real-world setting Groups may not be equivalent (no randomization) Also called natural experiments Pre-Experimental + Quasi Experimental Designs They are experimental studies that occur on a spectrum, some designs are stronger than others One shot design (weakest) Two group pre and post test (strongest) Pre-Experimental + Quasi Experimental Designs → One Shot Design (Weakest) No control to compare against No pre-test measure to compare against Pre-Experimental + Quasi Experimental Designs → Two Group Pre and Post Test (Strongest) Control group and pre-test measures for comparison for comparison but no randomization Advantages Disadvantages Less expensive and time consuming than Not randomized RCT’s Subject to bias Some can partially determine causality Cannot fully define causation (quasi – experimental) Does not account for any cofounding Designs can be strengthened with control variables groups, multiple measures overtime 4. Were the participant randomized? a. YES → True experimental i. Randomized control trial 1. Pre/post test 2. Post-test only True Experimental True experimental studies are like prospective cohort studies, except researchers are randomizing patients and directly manipulating one or more variables the goal is to typically determine the effectiveness or efficacy of a treatment or therapy Can determine cause and effect Randomized controlled Trials Investigate a treatment in two or more groups which assigned by chance o Gold standard of experimental designs Randomized controlled trials are the strongest single study design o The independent and dependent variable cancel put the cofounder (age, sex) o Control and experimental groups are equal except for the independent variable being applied o Manipulating a single factor o Cause and effect o Cofounders will be evenly split with randomization True Experimental → Randomized controlled Trials → Post Test Only In a post-test RCT two (or more) randomly assigned groups are observed once after the intervention is applied True Experimental → Randomized controlled Trials → Pre and Post Test Only In a pre and post-test RCT, two or more randomized assigned groups are observed before and after the intervention. The only difference between the pre/post-test and post-test only design whether outcomes are measured before the intervention Advantages Disadvantages Determine cause and effect relationships Expensive and time consuming (the only research study that allows this) Ethical issues can arise from withholding Less likely to be biased (researchers are care or treatment not aware of who is in each group) Blinding is usually feasible Stronger statistical approached available for design Clinical Practice Guidelines They are recommendation to optimize patient care informed by systematic reviews and meta- analyses They are a broad overview of what science say or what literature says and try to individualize it They look at review of benefit and harm of treatment geared towards clinicians More of an individualized approach Experts involved Hierarchy is based on: The ability to control for bias To demonstrate cause and effect in humans Pink – weakest level of evidence Grey – strongest level of evidence Lecture 4 – Basic Statistical Concepts Objectives Understand and identify data by their measurement scale Compare and contrast parametric and nonparametric statistics Distinguish between descriptive and inferential statistics Recognize and calculate common descriptive statistics Understand the difference between a sample and a population, and the associated sampling techniques Statistical Analysis Statistics is an objective way of interpreting a set of observations in your data Statistics reduce data to a useful (average, groups) value that represents a trait about the data Different Steps for Selecting a Statistical Analysis 1) Determine variables – what are we measuring (look back at research Q) 2) Figure out the data measurement scale – qualitative or quantitative 3) Figure out the goal of the analysis – this can change the statistical approach 2 Types of Data Measurement Scale 1) Categorical – Qualitative a. Nominal or Ordinal b. Which order? c. Which category d. Ex: type of fruit 2) Continuous – Quantitative a. Interval or Ratio b. How much? c. How many? d. Ex: mean, standard deviation 3) It is important to know which scale (level) of measurement to use because it helps determine the best statistical approach Categorical Referred to: Definition Examples Nominal “Name” They are categories that do Sex, Hair color, Country of Residence, not have a natural order or Previous Concussion ranking You cannot say one hair color is better than the other, but you can put them groups that show they are different Ordinal “Order” Categories where the order Race finished (1st 2nd 3rd ) matters ranked, not the Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree different between values The intervals are not equal but can be done not ranked in a specific order  Continuous Referred to: Definition Examples Interval “Equal Numeric scales in which we know Temperature (can be zero degrees) Interval” BOTH the order and the exact Time (can be 00:00) difference between the values but IQ (score of 0) there is no true zero (zero can be SAT Score measured, variable still exist if the answer is zero) Ratio “X is ½ of Y” Numeric scales in which we know the Height (zero does not exist) order, the exact difference between Weight the values and there is a true zero (if Pulse the value is zero then that means the Caffeine in drinks variable does not exist) The Four Levels of Measurement Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio Examples a. How much more of the quality does one group have than the other a. Interval – you don’t know the order, but you know one has more than other b. Does one group have more of the quality than the other a. Ordinal – you know how much more they are ranked in order, but don’t know exact interval c. Does the group differ on the quality being measured a. Nominal – not talking about numbers d. Does one group have more than three times as much of the quality than the other group a. Ratio  Ratio Numbers present (quantitative) True zero present (0 drinks = 0) Ordinal Numbers Can order them from most to least However, don’t know the exact intervals or numbers of drinks Nominal “don’t know” is not a number so can’t be in interval or ratio Nominal Cannot specifically order Just categorizing Random Sampling It is the best method to ensure that your sample approximates the larder population You pick people to be in your sample group randomly from a hat or a generated AI website Stratified Random Sampling Puts the population into groups (or strata) based on similar characteristics (men/women), then individuals from each strata are randomly (hat) selected to from the sample Convenience Sampling Gathers participants that are easily accessible to the researcher Intentionally picking subjects that are easy to research on There is more likely to have bias and less likely for the results to represent the whole population 2 Main Types of Statistical Analyses 1- Descriptive Analysis – describe 2- Inferential Statistics – infer Descriptive Analysis They are used to describe the sample that participated in the study It is a summary of the characteristics of people in the study o Age o Sex o Language Considered as cofounders or covariate Telling people who are reading the study who you tested and how that could have affected the results Categorical Variables For categorical variables, frequencies and percentages are traditionally provided for each variable Frequency – number of observations in each category Percentage – number of observations in one category divided by the total number of observations Continuous Variables For continuous variables, descriptive statics typically includes measures of central tendency and dispersion Central tendency – tendency for a set of values to gather around the middle – midpoint Dispersion – describes how far from the center the data reaches – spread Normal (Gaussian) Distribution A special kind of frequency distribution A normal distribution = “bell curve” that is ___________________ around the mean and most value are near the __________ of the data Normal distributions can be standardized using the mean and standard deviation of your data The midpoint of a normal distribution is the mean Standardizing a Normal Distribution helps us better understand where data falls and help compare between different distributions. o 68% of data should fall within 1 SD (-1,1) o 95% of data falls within 2 SD (-2,2) o 99.7% of the data falls withing 3 SD (-3,3) In the Standard Normal Deviation, the midpoint is now 0 Different Types of Distributions A = Standard Normal Distribution B = Leptokurtic – squeezed C = platykurtic – stretched D= left skewed – negative o The tail is on the left side o But it is shifted right E = right skewed – positive o The tail is the right side o But it is shifted left Mean → affects the skew Standard Deviation → affects the height A,B,C → perfectly symmetrical because the M = 0 Continuous Variables with Normal Distribution The mean, variance and standard deviation are most reported Mean → central point/midpoint o addition of all the points/sample size Variance Standard Deviation Continuous Variables with Non - Normal Distribution The median and interquartile ranges are provided A fully symmetrical distribution = mean and median are equal The medial is not as easily manipulated as the mean o To find the medial you must order the data sample from least → greatest Interquartile ranges o Median = middle value – value separating the higher from the lower half of a data sample o IQR = values that present the 25% and 75% percentile of the data ▪ Values that are found withing this IQR account/represents the middle 50% of data ▪ So, 50% is found within this range ▪ 25% is found below and 25% is found above o If there is no exact middle find the average between the two closest numbers and that will be the median Correlation Coefficient This describes the linear relationship between two variables Perfectly Positive Correlation o Both variables increase or decrease together (if one increases by 1, the other will increase by 1) Perfectly Negative Correlation o As one increases the other will decrease together (if one increase by 1 the other will decrease by 1) Positive general – they both increase or decrease Negative general – one increases while the other decreases Different types of correlation by size: o Small correlation (weakest) = 0.1 o Medium correlation = 0.3 o Large correlation = 0.5 Inferential Statistic This takes data from a sample and makes inferences or generalizations to other groups or variables Comparing two groups (sample, populations) Two main types of inferential Statistics 1- Parametric Tests (quantitative) a. This is the more powerful option, but it makes assumptions about the distribution of the data b. To conduct a parametric test, you need a normal distribution c. Used with interval and ratio data 2- Non-Parametric Test (qualitative) a. Not as strong, however does not make assumptions about the distribution of data b. Used with nominal and ordinal c. Can also be used with interval and ratio if the distribution is non normal Examples a) Did EXCI310 students enrolled in Winter 2024 performed better on the midterm than students than those enrolled in Winter 2022? – inferential b) How well did EXCI310 students enrolled in Winter 2024 perform on the midterm exam? – descriptive c) Will scores at the midterm exam be correlated with scores on the final paper? – inferential Start Parameters Population Conclusions of Interest Inferential Sampling Statisitics Strategy Describe Sample of Sample People Lecture 5 – Group Work Working in a Group Advantages o Benefit from combined experiences o Promotes logic o Reduce mistakes o Less bias o Shared experience o New ideas to explore o More people = more info o Less work per person Disadvantages o Waste time o Inefficient decision makers o Compromise o More careful with their decisions There are 3 main strategies to effectively create and maintain a productive group work environment 1. Active Communication 2. Clarification 3. Effective Conflict Resolution Good communication requires both speaker and listeners actively participate Speaks They must follow the 3 C so be good communicators o Complete o Concise o Clear Listener Understand Ask questions (if needed) Summarize before responding Clarifying the goals/objective/tasks of both the assessment and the team will promote a shared understanding Everybody need to be working towards the same goal Have clear responsibilities and instructions Keeping a record of group meeting notes and or decisions can help with clarity and effective time management Notes should follow the 3 C rule Sharing the same information on one doc If conflicts occur the group should discuss the pros and cons of each viewpoint in relation to the task and group objectives Collaborate and compromise Do not compete, avoid, and accommodate Potential methods for resolving a deadlock Discussion of pros and cons Vote Flip a coin It is always preferable to discuss multiple approaches or solutions when divergent paths emerge Find alternative solutions The 1st idea is not always the best idea Positive feedback should be given as appropriate to boost mood and morale amongst the team Positive feedback can reduce the pain of negative feedback Negative feedback criticism should be neutral and focused on task performance, not the person 1. Start with a positive statement (compliment, praise effort) 2. Provide criticism in a neutral fashion 3. End with a positive statement and offer solutions/suggestion for improvement “Challenging” group member profiles and strategies for minimizing associated negative behaviours 1. Time waster and Self-confessor Not using time effectively → Try to get them back on tract (pomodoro technique) The Pomodoro Technique 1. Decide on the task you need to do 2. Set the timer for 25 minutes 3. Work on the task until the timer rings 4. Take a short 5-minute break 5. after 4 cycles take a 15 – 20 minute break 2. Shy Person → ask them for their thoughts → give more positive feedback 3. Loud/Aggressive → specifically ask for other people opinions 4. Lone Wolf → they like to work alone, maybe they need extra motivation to join group, if not give them clear instructions A team facilitator can help manage personalities within the group and keep the project on tasks Bridging different personality types Help avoid conflict Remind them of the larger goals Promote a shared sense of understanding Key Component of a Successful Team Structured roles Communicate internal deadline Clear responsibilities and expectations Find Tools to Facilitate Group Work Specific meeting times Meeting at coffee shops Shared docs Good communication