Lecter 2.pdf

Research Methodolog y research Structure and organization of By: Mariam AL-Jarrari 14.7.2024  { Is the single most important line of a publication } The title plays an important role as the fi...

Research Methodolog y research Structure and organization of By: Mariam AL-Jarrari 14.7.2024  { Is the single most important line of a publication } The title plays an important role as the first point of contact between writer and potential reader and may decide whether or not the paper is read.  Purpose of a Title: The title of an article serves various purposes.  It is the introduction of a research study.  It creates interest in readers’ minds; the reader decides whether to read abstract/ full text or not from the title.  A title supplies keywords to the indexing services and helps in the retrieval of the article  Types of Title: 1) Descriptive or neutral title: This has the essential elements of the research theme, that is, the patients/subjects, design, interventions, comparisons/control, and outcome, but does not reveal the main result or the conclusion. "Association of glycated haemoglobin and lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus" 2) Declarative title: This title states the main finding of the study in the title itself; it reduces the curiosity of the reader, may point toward a bias on the part of the author, and hence is best avoided. “Leptin rapidly improves glucose homeostasis in obese mice by increasing hypothalamic insulin sensitivity.” 3) Interrogative (question) title: This is the one which has a query or the research question in the title. “Do triple test results predict risk for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia?”  Main characteristics of the title: Checklist/useful tips for drafting a good title for a research paper: a. The title needs to be simple and direct. b. It should be interesting and informative. 2 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari. c. It should be specific, accurate, and functional (with essential scientific “keywords” for indexing) d. It should be concise, precise, and should include the main theme of the paper. e. It should not be misleading or misrepresentative. f. It should not be too long or too short (or cryptic). g. It should avoid whimsical or amusing words. h. It should avoid nonstandard abbreviations and unnecessary acronyms Place of the study and sample size should be mentioned only if it adds to the scientific value of the title. i. Descriptive titles are preferred to declarative or interrogative titles. **** Is a summary or synopsis of the full research paper and also needs to have similar characteristics like the title. Types of abstracts: Structured Unstructured a. Structured abstracts:  Followed by most journals.  More informative.  Include specific subheadings/subsections under which the abstract needs to be composed, these subheadings usually include: context/background, objectives, design, setting, participants, interventions, main outcome measures, results, and conclusions. Some journals stick to the standard I M R a D format or the structure of the abstracts: Introduction/Background Methods, Results. And (instead of Discussion) the Conclusion/s 3 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari.  b. Unstructured (or non-structured) abstracts: Are free-flowing, do not have predefined subheadings, and are commonly used for papers that (usually) do not describe original research. Checklist/useful tips for formulating a good abstract for a research paper: The abstract should have simple language and phrases (rather than sentences). It should be independent and stand-alone/complete. It should be informative, cohesive, and adhering to the structure (subheadings) provided by the target journal. Structured abstracts are preferred over unstructured abstracts It should not be misleading or misrepresentative; it should be consistent with the main text of the paper. Because the “title” and the “abstract” are the “initial impressions” or the “face” of a research article, they need to be drafted correctly, accurately, carefully, and consume time and energy **** Are single words or short phrases that can be combined in various forms to generate different search results. The purpose of keywords in a research paper : To help other researchers find your paper when they are conducting a search on the topic. Types of key words: i. Short-tail Keywords: Short and general phrases with high search volume but high competition. (Digital marketing , Clinical nutrition.) ii. Long-tail Keywords: Longer, more specific phrases with lower search volume but better conversion rates. Nutrition status for pregnant woman. 4 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari. iii. LSI Keywords (Latent Semantic Indexing): Related terms that provide context to search engines and improve content relevance. For example: if the article is about the benefits of a high fat diet, it may include "calories," "ketogenesis," and "blood sugar" as LSI keywords **** Introductions are parts of essays whose function is to create a reference framework for the reader. Introductions establish the scope and boundaries of the research project. Additionally, they let readers know the relevance of the problem discussed in the writing piece. The purpose of writing an introduction:  Present the topic and get the reader interested  Provide background or summarize existing research  Position the approach  Detail the specific research problem and problem statement {objective (s)}  Give an overview of the paper’s structure. The four parts of an introduction: i. Introduces the topic. ii. States why the topic is important. iii. States that there is a difference of opinion about this topic. iv. Describes how the assignment will be structured. 5 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari.  This subsection is the longest, states what was done, and gives essential details of the study design, setting, participants, sample size, sampling method, intervention/s, duration and follow-up, research instruments, main outcome measures, parameters evaluated, and how the outcomes were assessed or analyzed. The basic elements of the methods section are:  Study design.  Setting and subjects.  Data collection.  Data analysis.  Ethical approval. ***** The results (or findings) section is one of the most important parts of a research paper, in which an author reports the findings of their study in connection to their research question(s). The results section should not attempt to interpret or analyze the findings, only state the facts. The Purpose of a Results: The results section summarizes and presents the findings of the study to put them in context with the research question(s) and also provide a direction to the discussion section of the research paper. Use of tables and figures:  To prevent the audience from getting bored while reading a scientific article, some of the data should be expressed in a visual format in graphics, and figures rather than crowded numerical values in the text.  Peer-reviewers frequently look at tables, and figures.  High quality tables, and figures increase the chance of acceptance of the manuscript for publication. 6 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari.  Tables:  Tables should be comprehensible, and a reader should be able to express an opinion about the results just at looking at the tables without reading the main text.  Data included in tables should comply with those mentioned in the main text, and percentages in rows, and columns should be summed up accurately.  Sampling size of each group should be absolutely indicated.  Use of abbreviations in tables should be avoided. Figures:  Bar, line, and pie graphs, scatter plots, and histograms are some examples of graphs. In graphs, independent variables should be represented on the horizontal, and dependent variables on the vertical axis.  Number of subjects in every subgroup should be indicated The labels on each axis should be easily understandable.  Meanings of abbreviations, and acronyms used in the graphs, and figures should be provided in explanatory notes. The discussion section is one of the final parts of a research paper, in which an author describes, analyzes, interprets their findings and compares them with previous studies. Structure of the discussion section: Generally, the discussion section of a research paper typically contains the following parts:  Research summary  Interpretation of findings  Comparison with literature  Implications of the work  Limitations  Future work Conclusion: is a judgment or interpretation of the findings based on the evidence collected during the evaluation. It is typically expressed in terms of what the findings mean or what can be inferred from them. 7 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari.  Conclusions should be: Logical. Evidence-based. Free from personal bias or opinion. Conclusions can also inform future planning and decision-making, by identifying areas for improvement and highlighting successful strategies or interventions. Recommendation: Is a specific action or set of actions proposed based on the findings and conclusions of the evaluation. Recommendations should be:  Practical.  Feasible.  Tailored to the needs of the stakeholders who will be implementing them.  Supported by evidence and aligned with the goals of the program, project, or intervention being evaluated. The acknowledgments are the place to recognize, by name, the contributions of the mentor, the committee members, and individuals who helped with the dissertation research (e.g., librarians, statisticians, editors, etc.). Finally, the acknowledgments are the place to express gratitude for the use of copyrighted or otherwise restricted materials, as appropriate. In research paper terms such as citations, references and bibliography  Citation in research papers: A citation appears in the main text of the paper.  Reference list in research papers: is a list of detailed description of the sources that are selected by authors to represent the best documents concerning the research. The essential difference between citations and references is that citations lead a reader to the source of information, while references provide the reader with detailed information regarding that particular source. 8 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari.  Bibliography in research paper is a list of sources that appears at the end of a research paper or an article, and contains information that may or may not be directly mentioned in the research paper. A bibliography would therefore typically include more sources than a reference list. References are typically formatted according to specific citation styles, while bibliographies adhere to formatting guidelines for listing sources in alphabetical order. Comparison between citation, reference and bibliography Citations References Bibliography To lead a reader toward a To elaborate on of a To provide a list of all relevant source of information particular source of Purpose information cited in the sources of information on the included in the text research topic research paper At the end of the text; At the end of the text; not Placement In the main text necessarily linked to an in- necessarily linked to an in-text text citation citation Minimal; denoting only the Descriptive; gives complete Descriptive; gives all the essential components of the details about a particular information regarding a Information source, such as numbering, source that can be used to particular source for those who names of the first and last find and read the original want to refer to it authors, etc. paper if needed Types of Referencing Formats/Styles: Is the standard format in which the source is documented in the text as well as in the reference list at the end of the document. 1) Vancouver 2) Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers [IEEE] 3) Harvard 4) American Psychological Association [APA] 5) Modern Languages Association [MLA] The two major used citation styles are the Vancouver and the Harvard styles, and most other styles are minor modifications of these two styles. 9 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari.  Style Example Cines DB, Bussel JB. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced immune thrombotic Vancouver: thrombocytopenia. N Engl J Med 2021;384 (23):2254-2256. Citation in reference list Citation in main text In numerical order as appearance in the main at the end of sentence; either numbers in brackets (1) or text superscript.1 Style Example Cines DB, Bussel JB. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced immune thrombotic Harvard thrombocytopenia. N Engl J Med 2021;384 (23):2254-2256. Citation in reference list Citation in main text Surname of the author and year of publication in Arranged alphabetically as per the surname of the parentheses (e.g., Cines and Bussel, 2021) authors in 4+ authors: (Smith et al., 2014) 01 Structure & organization of research By: Mariam AL-Jarrari.