Research Test 3
Results composition
Findings of research in logical sequence without bias Includes graphs, tables, charts, figures, diagrams, maps and photographs For every result there must be a method No discussion of results
APA Citation Method
In-text citation Author-date method (Jones, 1999)
Methods/Materials and Methods composition
Statistical methods Define key exposures and key outcomes Ethical considerations How required size was estimated Citations for methods previously used Set of instructions for reproducible results
Components of a Title Page
Title Author(s) Keywords Corresponding author Financial and Equipment support Conflicts of interest
Theory
Well-substantiated, unifying explanation for a set of verified, proven facts
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Directional hypothesis
prediction made by research regarding a positive or negative change, relationship or difference between two variables of a population
Two-tailed Non-directional hypothesis
predicts that the independent variable will have an effect on the dependent variable but the direction of the effect is not specified
Medical Decision Making (MDM)
prescriptive endeavor seeks to develop tools that can guide physicians, their patients and health care policymakers to make good decisions in practice
Academic Publishing
process of contributing the results of one's research into the scientific literature
Basic research
provides fundamental understanding of molecules and mechanisms that involve identifying cellular processes
Secondary literature
publications that rely on primary sources for information purpose is to summarize and synthesize knowledge Review journals, monographic books, textbooks, handbooks and manuals
Tertiary literature
published works that are based on primary or secondary sources and aimed at scientists who work in different areas from the subject matter of the publication Written in popular rather than scientific style Science magazines, newsletters, science articles in newspapers Almost never peer reviewed
Referees
recognized experts in the area of the study addressed by the paper
Full-Sentence outlines
same as alphanumeric outline but uses full sentences for each point throughout the outline
Alternative hypothesis
sample observations are influence by some non-random cause Contrary to the null hypothesis Usually the one you are actively trying to prove
Scientific literature
scholarly publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in natural and social sciences
Relational and causal hypothesis
statement that predicts the relationship between a set of variables
Relational Research
study that investigates the connection between two or more variables
Abstract (definition)
summary of an article, book or other published item
Impact Factor
systems that grade the importance of journals on basis of how often papers carried by the journal are cited in other scientific papers Measure of frequency with which the average article in a journal has been cited in a particular year
EMBASE/Excerpta Medica
tracking and retrieving international journal and conference coverage
Hypothesis test in statistics
used to determine whether there is enough evidence in a sample of data to infer that a certain condition is true for the entire population
Incidence Prevalence Mortality Lethality Hospital admission rate
Areas of interest in an epidemiological study
PsycINFO
Abstracting and indexing database for peer-reviewed literature in multidisciplinary behavioral sciences and mental health research to deliver to APA
APA
American Psychological Association
P value
Calculated probability Probability of finding the observed or more extreme results when the null hypothesis of a study question is true
Reasons to Publish Research
Career building Funding and formal requirements Improving skills Become recognized expert Help develop or improve existing policy or information Inner satisfaction
Biological Abstracts
Collection of bibliographic references to life science and biomedical research
BIOSIS Previews
Combines life sciences journal content from Biological Abstracts with supplemental coverage
Statistical hypothesis
Concerns parameters or probability distribution for a designated population probabilistic mechanism which is supposed to generate the observations
Key Words
List of related words that help to aim focus of research question 4-7 usually included in the final paper
Cross-sectional surveys
Data collected at a defined time Prevalence of acute or chronic conditions Causes of disease or results of intervention Prove and/or disprove assumptions Not costly to perform
Type II Error
Decide not to reject the null hypothesis when it is false False Negative
Type I Error
Decide to reject the null hypothesis when it is true False Positive
Steps in making an Outline
Define the topic Define the target audience 3-5 main points Subdivide Repeat for each section
Original Research
Detailed account of research activity written by the scientists who did the research Primary resource
Crossref and STM publishing
Developed CrossCheck
Primary Source
Documents that provide full description of the original research Carried out personally by an individual scientist or a collaboration of scientists Published in peer-reviewed scientific journal
Division
Each heading should be divided into two or more parts If there is an A there needs to be a B
Bibliography
List of the books referred to in a scholarly work NOT a literature cited section
Plagiarism Consequences
Expulsion from course Destroyed work Legal action End career Loss of lives
F I N E R
Feasible Interesting Novel/New Ethical Relevant
Other Items in a paper
Footnotes Acknowledgements Disclosures Date received and date published Correspondence and request information Contacting author information How to cite research article
PubMed Central
Free open-access files in digital archives
Commentary articles
Goal is to advance research field by providing a forum of varying perspectives on a certain topic Draw attention to current advances and speculate on future directions
Alphanumeric Outline
Identifies main ideas, defines subordinating ideas and helps discipline your writing and avoid tangential excursions Helps writers map the order of the ideas and links between them
Factors in selecting a journal
Impact factor level Fast publishing time Specific target audience
Scientific hypothesis
Initial building block in the scientific method Idea or explanation that you then test through study and experimentation
Discussion composition
Interpret and describe significance of your findings in light of what is already known Any opinion should be supported by outside sources Describes patterns, principles and relationships Defend statements Evaluate conflicting explanations Unexpected findings Potential limitations or weaknesses Provide recommendations
Introduction composition
Introduces specific vocab, concepts, important literature, important past critical and pivotal events Provide essential background information State objectives/hypothesis Identify study design Describe source population Specific aims
IMRAD Format
Introduction Methods Results Discussion
Experimental study
Investigator actively manipulates which groups receive the agent or exposure under study Less susceptible to confounding factors Ethical constraints
Intentional plagiarism
Knowingly lifting text directly from other authors without giving appropriate credit
Common knowledge
Known by everyone or nearly everyone usually with reference to the community in which the term is used Ex. Normal blood pressure range
PubMed
Most popular public health science database
Karl Popper
Philosopher of science Stated that a scientific hypothesis must be testable
Qualitative Research
Primarily exploratory research Used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons Most common method is interview - structure, semi-structure or unstructured
Medical case study report
Published document in which clinicians document and share their experiences treating patients so that other doctors can learn from them Earliest means of medical communication Signs, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment of a disease
Systematic reviews
Qualitative review of existing studies Predetermined and comprehensive searching and screening method to identify relevant articles Identification of an appropriate narrow study Selection of a well-defined and valid search strategy Screening of all potentially relevant articles to determine predefined eligibility criteria Extraction of relevant information from all eligible articles Summarization of findings of these articles
Meta-analysis
Quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design used to systematically assess results of previous research Combines data from multiple studies
Conclusion composition
Restate hypothesis summarize main points of evidence Provides closure for the paper Usually 2-3 sentences
Outline formatting order
Roman Numerals Capitalized letters Arabic numerals Lowercase letters
Crosscheck/Turnitin
Service that helps editors to verify originality of papers Powered by Ithenticate from iParadigms
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Services PubMed Provides more than 25 million abstracts
Brainstorming sessions
Starting point for identifying a research topic
Four steps to hypothesis testing
State the hypothesis Set the criteria for a decision Compute the test statistic Make a decision
Non-directional alternative hypothesis
States that the null hypothesis is wrong Does not predict whether the parameter of interest is larger or smaller
Abstract Composition
Summary of a research paper Never contains citations Should include all aspects of the paper Does not include: new information, undefined abbreviations or group names, discussion of previous literature, unnecessary details
Self plagarism
Text recycling author copies large parts of one of his or her previous papers
APA PsycNET
Used by APA with controlled vocabulary of the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms
Cohort study
Used to investigate causes of disease Establish links between risk factors and health outcomes Usually forward-looking or planned in advance Cohorts can differ with respect to certain factors under study
Causal hypothesis
aim to determine if one variable cause changes in another
Relational hypothesis
aim to determine if relationships exist between a set of variables
Coordination
all information contained in the first heading should have the same importance as information or subtopic in the secondary heading
Abstract databases
allow researchers to search thousands of abstracts for key words or other items
Clinical research
applies itself directly to improving the human condition usually of a particular disease or condition
General knowledge
aspect of ability related to intelligence Ex. IQ testing
Parametric test
assume that the variables being examined have particular distributions and that the variances for the variables being examined be similar in population groups being compared Typically used for ratio and interval variables with relatively normal distributions of responses
Translational research
bench-to-bedside study that accelerates discovery of new treatments directed at the basic mechanisms of disorder and disease
Grey literature
not published or distributed in the usual manner which makes them difficult to obtain Theses, dissertations Sometimes rigorously peer-reviewed
Longitudinal study
observational Researcher conduct several observations of the same subjects over a period of time
Causal studies
confirm or reject any given causal hypothesis that one thing causes another thing to happen
Peer Review Process
papers submitted to journal editor who asks experts in the area to give an opinion and report merits/deficiencies of the work
Target audience
person or group of people a piece of writing is intended to reach
Retrospective study
disease status of a cohort of people is known
Nonparametric tests
do not make assumptions about the distributions of responses Used for ranked variables, categorical variables and when the distribution of a ratio or interval is non-normal
Descriptive study
do not seek to measure the effect of a variable only seek to describe
Google Scholar Metrics
easy way for authors to quickly gauge visibility and influence of recent articles in publications
Google Scholar
freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of formats and disciplines Citations are 6-10 years old
Null hypothesis
hypothesis that sample observations result purely from chance Usually the default hypothesis and the one you are trying to disprove
Subordination
information in the headings should be more general and information in the subheadings should be more specific
Biostatistics
innovative field that involves the design, analysis and interpretation of data for studies in medicine and public health
SCOPUS
large abstract and citation database of peer-review literature with tools to track, analyze and visualize research Global, interdisciplinary and collaborative research output for many fields
Falsification
manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record
