Intro to Research - How to read a journal article

Define a systematic review:

1. A systematic way to search database and identify qualified manuscripts to be reviewed in order to answer research question 2. Exhausts all resources to obtain ALL information possible

What is included in the introduction of each article?

1. Background information 2. Why it's an issue 3. What has been done 4. What is lacking 5. Justification on the proposed work

What needs to be included in an abstract?

1. Background of the research question (optional) 2. Purpose/objective of the study 3. Design 4. Measures 5. Subjects/location 6. Results 7. Discussion (take home message)

What is included in the discussion and conclusion section of each article?

1. Justify and make sense of the findings 2. Compare and contrast findings from the existing literature 3. Present limitation and potential bias of the study 4. Provide the value of the study from the author's perspective (did the result answer the research questions?) 5. What's next (future direction?)

Name 3 types of abstracts:

1. Narrative 2. Compartmental 3. Mixed Format

What are the different types of review articles?

1. Narrative 2. Systematic 3. Meta-Analysis 4. Practice guideline

What is included in the results section of each article?

1. Only results 2. Present details 3. Provide figures/tables with clarity 4. No mistakes

Manuscript quality involves:

1. Ranking (ex. SCI: Science Citation Index) 2. Editors/Reviewers 3. Authors

What are the 5 main types of articles?

1. Review 2. Observational/exploratory/case report 3. Correlation/predictive 4. Comparison 5. Developmental

What is included in the method section of each article?

1. Subject selection 2. Inclusion/exclusion criteria 3. Information about measurements 4. Testing/intervention protocols 5. Methods to avoid bias 6. Analysis procedures

Define a narrative review:

1.A non-systematic review to answer research question based on the existing evidence. 2. Search information that are conveniently attainable and do NOT exhaust resources

What should you do before reading one word of an article?

Ask yourself, "what am I looking for in this article?"

What should I look for in the abstract?

Does the abstract provide enough information for me to decide if I want to read the article?

What should I look for in the title?

Does the title reflect what the study if about? Does it get my interest?

What does a compartmental abstract have that a narrative doesn't?

It has separate headings for each section in bold. Narratives are more of a story that flows without headings.

Which database would you go to when you have a clinical question about an uncommon or new issue?

PubMed. Do not expect to have significant amount of information available.

Which database would you go to when you have a clinical question about a common issue?

Reviews. Expect large amount of information. (Ex. Cochrane Library)