RICHARD MK ADANUUNIVERSITY OF GHANA MEDICAL SCHOOL

MEDICAL RESEARCH

What is research?

The search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts

Basic research

Research that is carried out to increase understanding of fundamental principles.

Usually has no direct or immediate commercial benefits

Serves as the basis for many commercial products

Generates new ideas, principles and theories

Applied research

Research that is aimed at discovering, interpreting and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters

Other terminology

Observational researchInterventional research

Reasons for doing research

To obtain answers to questionsTo solve a problemTo improve the health of peopleTo improve practiceTo advance one’s career

Enjoying and advancing in research

Gaining research skillsLearning from established researchersBeing part of a research teamCollaborating with other researchers

Conducting research

In a university (medical school) settingIn regular clinical practice

Regulating research

Need for ethical committeesNeed to submit research proposals for reviewNeed to protect the rights of research

subjectsNeed for informed consent of participants

Belmont Report: 1974

Three Ethical Principles should guide medical research

1. Respect for Persons2. Beneficence3. Justice

Belmont Report

1. Respect for Persons individuals be treated as autonomous human beings

and be allowed to choose for themselves extra protection for individuals with impaired ability

to decide for themselves

Belmont Report

2. Beneficence Do no harm (non-maleficence) Minimization of harms Maximization of benefits

Belmont Report

3. Justice research is designed so that its burdens and benefits

are shared equitably among groups of populations fairness in the selection of research subjects, e.g.,

one should not select subjects based on their easy availability or their compromised position (e.g., individuals in a mental institutions)

Steps in conducting research

Identify a research topicFormulate research questionsDo a literature reviewRevise your research questionsFormulate a hypothesisDesign a data collection instrumentSubmit proposal for ethical approvalSubmit proposal for fundingCollect dataEnter and analyze dataReport research findings

WRITING GRANT PROPOSALS

Building skills

Writing scientific papers with referencesFollowing instructionsBeing at home with the internetChecking e-mailsWriting and getting feedbackWriting and justifying budgetsMaking oral presentations

Process

Identify call for proposalsRead instructions carefullyDo background researchWrite proposalObtain peer reviewSubmit

Call for proposals

Google searchInformation from friends and international

contactsInformation from journalsNIH calls for proposals

Preparations

Develop research or intervention ideas into proposals which you keep

Talk with other people

Following instructions

Cover letterPage limitWord countFont sizeProposal sections and orderSubmission deadlineReference format

Background research

Literature review What is known about topic What is not known about topic

Find knowledge gaps that your work can fill How will your work add to knowledge

Give enough time for work on submission

Components of proposal

Executive summaryStatement of needProject DescriptionBudgetConclusion

Executive Summary

Summarize key informationShould include

Problem Solution Funding Requirements Characteristics of your organization

Statement of need

Support your statements with factsGet straight to the pointBe persuasive

Project description

Describes project implementation and evaluation

Should include Objectives Methodology Analysis Staffing Evaluation Dissemination Sustainability

Budget

Must be an obvious product of project designCan be divided into personnel and non-

personnel costs Personnel

Salaries, benefits, consultants Non-personnel

Travel, equipment, printing

Budget justification

Reason why so much money is neededStraight to the pointObjective arguments

Conclusion

Summarizes main pointsBriefState what you want to do and whyEmphasize need for funding

Peer review

Consult experts while writing proposalListen to comments and make changesWrite and re-writeNo typos or grammatical errors

Basic elements of a proposal

What is the problem?What do you intend to do about it?How will you measure your success?

Writing a research document

Sections of a dissertation or thesis

AbstractIntroductionLiterature ReviewMethodologyResultsLimitationsDiscussionConclusion and recommendationsReferences

Modification for a journal article

AbstractIntroductionMethodologyResultsDiscussionConclusion and recommendationsReferences

Abstract

Usually a 150 word limitStructured abstract

Objectives Setting Methods Results Conclusion

Descriptive abstract Summary of paper without headings

Introduction for a thesis

Background information Reasons for selecting topic Information about study area

Problem statement A detailed and expanded description of the

subject being studied What are the problems arising because this

research has not been doneJustification

Reasons why this subject is worth studyingObjectives

What do you hope to learn from the study

Parts of the introduction for a journal article

What is known about the topic Current knowledge about research topic Brief account of most important work in the field

What is unknown about the topic Questions raised by important current research

What does this work seek to add to current knowledge Questions being addressed by this work

Content of introduction for a journal article

The known, the unknown, the research question

Existing key researchStatement of type of study designObjective of studyUse only a few references

Literature review

What is known about the subject?What questions have been raised by previous

research?What will this study add to the existing pool

of knowledge?

Methodology

Subject selectionData collectionData collection toolsData handlingData analysis

Results

What was found? Best divided into sections

Limitations

What are the shortcomings of the study?

Discussion

Summary of main resultsExplanation of resultsComparison of results with previous work

For each result item there should be a discussion

Conclusions and Recommendations

What have you learnt?What needs to be done?

References

Vancouver styleHarvard style

Getting published

Select appropriate journalRead instructions for authorsRead papers from journalGet your manuscript to match journal

requirementsSubmit paperAct on reviewer commentsHave no fear of reject letters

Finally…..

A research career is a worthwhile and enjoyable one to pursue

Research should not be far removed from practice

Anyone with research and writing skills can get published