Difficulty in choosing research topic in medical research ?!!
Difficulty in the framing the right research question ??!!
This ppt is for you!!!...
It deals with the basic questions WHY, WHAT, HOW in medical research, in choosing topic, framing right research question and
methods to test the effectiveness and validity of the question..
its an eyeopener for the beginners of medical research particularly for those involved in PG thesis..
enjoy...
37. *Development of scientific attitude Evidence based medicine
*Learning research methodology
*Curricular requirement
*Academic requirement ( publication )
*
45. *
PROF. Dr. V. Sathyanarayanan
Department of Pharmacology,
SRM MCH & RC
M.D
46. *To apply the processes involved in choosing the
appropriate research topic, problem, idea
*To formulate a good research question
*To
assess
*To develop
the research question effectively
a hypothesis, aims, objectives for
testing the research question
*To be inspired to participate actively in planning
and doing good research projects
*SPECIFIC
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
47. *It Is a systematic and
organised scientific
process
*To find answers to
questions
48. * for example, want to buy a car in a proper
way,
*we collect information
* about models and dealers,
*analyse it,
* then try to reach a “scientific”
conclusion on which car to buy
*
59. Research Problem
Research Design
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Research Dissemination
@bajammal
Methodological, Ethical & Statistical
Considerations at Each Stage
Research Question
66. *An old
late
scientist went home for a weekend
on Friday evening
as usual
*He left his lab without cleaning and left a window
open
*He arrived after vacation before his lab attender
*He saw some culture plates were infected with mold
*He developed a curiosity
*He didn’t clean it immediately
* He found bacteria had grown all over the plate,
except in an area where mold had formed.
*
67. *YEAR : 1928
*PLACE : St Mary’s Hospital Medical School
*RESEARCH SCHOLAR : Alexander Fleming
*DISCOVERY: penicillin
*SIGNIFICANCE : world's first antibiotic,
leading to revolutionize all medicine
*AS A RESULT: Mrs. Fleming hiring a maid.
*
71. *as you go about your daily clinical practice
* observe with curiosity and
enquire…..
* Sometimes it is the result of having a disagreem
ent with a colleague
*Define the problem well
*
81. *Simple curiosity + enquiry
*“Why are things done this way?”
*“I wonder what would happen if…..?”
*“What characteristics are associated
with….?”
*“What is the effect of…….on patient
outcomes?”
*
84. *From standard text books
*Use article databases to scan current
magazine, journal or newspaper articles on the
topic
* Use Web search engines to find Web sites on
the topic
*
106. * Look for words that best describe your
topic
*Keep a list of these words to use
you search
*
later as
108. *Concluding sections in the
critically examined
individual studies, systematic review
*Remaining gaps
in literature
*Further define the research question
*MEDLINE, PUBMED, SCIENCEDIRECT,
* MEDSCAPE
*
117. * To steal from one is plagiarism.to steal from
many is research…
---Steven Right
119. * A Welsh hamlet was ground zero for a test
on a pill to fight angina.
*Unfortunately for the afflicted, it had little
success against the disease.
*Though it didn't work,
*the men taking part in the study refused
to give up their medicine.
*
120. *YEAR : 1992
*INTERVENTIONAL DRUG : Viagra
*INVENTORS : Scientists at Pfizer
*The scientists switched gears and
*marketed the drug, Viagra,
*for a very different purpose
*
123. *You will often begin with a word,
*develop a more focused interest in an
aspect of something relating to that word,
* then begin to have questions about the
topic.
*Significance of the research question must
be identified
*
125. * Trying to turn a statement
into a real question
*
126. *The uncertainty that you want to
resolve
* Defines the area of interest to be
addressed in your study
* Forms the foundation of your study
* Must be specified before you begin
your Analysis
*
128. *Key preliminary step of the research
process
*Presents the idea that is to be examined in
the study
*Foundation of the research study
*IS THE MOST DIFFICULT
*AND CRITICAL PART of the study
*
132. *
*
*
*
*
Do a thorough search of medical
literature
Identify the edge of knowledge
related to that question
Identify the gaps in knowledge
Be certain that your question has not
already been answered
AND that filling the gaps is important
*
134. * Research is to see what everybody else has seen,
and to think what nobody else has thought……….
----Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
137. *Possibly the most difficult part
* is to come up with a reasonable question
*and focus it to the point
*where it can be answered
*
138. * defining the goal of your research,
* identifying objectives,
* refining and refining it some more and
* refining it even more until
* you have a neat and simple question
* that is feasible to answer.
*
139. *QUESTION 1 :Should women take hormones
to prevent bone loss?
* QUESTION 2 : Can a vegetarian diet
reverse cardiovascular disease?
*Often begins with a general
concern….
*
140. *Must be narrowed to something measurable
and researchable
*
QUESTION 1 : Is taking estrogen associated with
a lower risk of osteoporosis in women 60+?
* QUESTION 2 : Does a plant-based diet reduce
serum cholesterol levels in patients with
cardiovascular disease?
*
142. *QUESTION 1 :Should women take
hormones to prevent bone loss?
* REFINED QUESTION 1 : Does taking
estrogen after menopause reduce the
likelihood of bone density loss in
women over 60 years of age, compared
to women not taking estrogen?
*
143. *QUESTION 2 : Can a vegetarian diet
reverse cardiovascular disease?
*REFINED Research question: Does an
entirely plant- based vegan diet reduce
blood serum cholesterol levels in men
over 50 years old with lipid levels
compared to a meat- based diet?
*
147. *What is the population I want to study?
*How do I describe it – age, sex, background?
*What is the intervention I want to study?
*Do I have all the details of the intervention?
*What is the outcome I want to achieve?
*How am I going to measure the outcome?
*
149. *You are in OP department ( medicine/ENT/Pediatrics )
*A patient with otitis media comes
*Your Asst.Prof prescribes amoxycillin
*A scientific curiosity comes to your mind
*A research question IS AMOXYCILLIN EFFECTIVE
FOR OTITIS MEDIA ? knocks your mind..
*You want to proceed…..
HOW ?
*
154. *You are sitting in
Medicine/Surgery/Orthopedics/OG OP
*A
regular patient comes with pain on his back
visits
*You feel pity on his pain
*you want to find out “What is the best
treatment of back pain?”
*How to proceed…..?!!
*
157. Is this a good question?
• In adult patients younger than 50 years old with
acute low back pain (< 6 weeks), does bedrest
reduce the risk of recurrence of pain within one
year compared with physiotherapy?
•
•
•
•
P: Adult patients <50yr with acute LBP
I: Bed rest
C: Physiotherapy
O: Recurrence of pain within one year
157
164. *
*
*
*
Adequate number of subjects
Adequate technical expertise
Affordable in time and money
Manageable in scope
*
166. *To you
*To the guide
*To the peers
*Editors of the journals
*Reviewers
*
169. *Newer topic or idea
*Not duplicated
*Provides new findings
*Confirms or refutes previous
findings
* extends previous findings
*
175. *Should follow existing guidelines like
* ICMR code of Ethics in biomedical research
*Clinical trials should follow ICH –GCP
guidelines
*Get the IEC approval
*
178. *Addresses certain community needs
*Addresses issues that will have an impact for
policy making
*Future research directions
*
190. * A research scientist made 10,000
unsuccessful attempts at an invention
*One day, an assistant asked him why he
didn’t give up….
* After all, he failed over 10
times….
thousand
* the researcher replied that he had not
failed once…
*
193. *Thomas Edison held a world record of
1093 patents for inventions including
*Telegraphs,
*electric lights, electric lamps, light bulbs,
*telephones, vacuum pumps, storage
batteries,
*phonographs, transmitters …..etc
*
196. Questions to ask yourself
Is the question asked in a single sentence?
Is the question simple?
P
Does the question specify the population?
I
Does the question state the intervention?
C
Is there a comparison group?
O
Is there a clear outcome in the question?
O
Has the measure for the outcome been specified?
F
Is the question FEASIBLE?
I
Is it INTERESTING ? to you? to others?
N
Is it NOVEL? ‐‐ new? Innovative?
E
ETHICAL? ‐‐ is there a state of equipoise between comp
eting therapies? Will your investigations harm?
R
RELEVANT? To policy makers? To patients?
Yes
No
Vague
199. *Can be considered as intelligent
hunches or predictions
*that help to answer a research
question
*Provide a bridge between theory
and real world
*
200. * single statement that contains
sufficient information that
it can be tested using
*statistical methodology
201. * are
procedures for making ration
al decisions about
*what is real and what is opinion
*
203. Hypothesis Testing (α & β errors)
Null Hypothesis: No association between predictor & outcome
Results in the
Study Sample
Reject null
hypothesis
Fail to reject null
hypothesis
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Truth in the Population
Association Between
Predictor & Outcome
No Association Between
Predictor & Outcome
Correct
Type I error (α)
Type II error (β)
Correct
205. *This may be the answer to your research
question
*and/or a way to clearly state the purpose of
your research.
*Your thesis statement will usually be one or
two sentences
*that states precisely what is to be
answered, proven
*
207. * stated in broad terms
* and covers the topic that
interests you
*
208. * more
focused
* There could be more than one
*but all would contribute to
the overall goal
*Define it
*
214. Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)
Drug A
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Outcomes
Drug B
Patients
with MI
F/U
F/U
Outcomes
RANDOM
240. * Hulley SB, Cummings SR. “Designing Clinical Research: An
epidemiological approach.
* Centre for Health Evidence: “Users’ Guides to Evidence
Based Practice”
* http://www.cche.net/usersguides/start.asp#Questions
* Guidelines for graduate students: “Choosing and refining a
research topic”
http://www.fiu.edu/~kowert/topic.html
* How to write Specific Aims:
http://www.theresearchassistant.com/tutorial/4‐4.asp
*
242. * you can write the one page description required for the assi
gnment.
* should write the goal of the research,
* what the general objective of the research is,
* try to formulate specific aims which can be your refined que
stion(s) and then,
* if you have a hypothesis that can be tested,
write that down.
* summarize your thinking on the feasibility
* and general plans you have for conducting the research.
*
244. * What is the sample size you are looking for ?
* would you have access to the population you wanted?
* Would the selected population agree to participate?
* Would you be able to obtain the drug samples?
* Think through what budget you might need?
* Will the ethics committee approve of your project?
* How novel are the questions? ( not repeated )
*