STEPS IN RESEARCH

Dr.Vineetha.KDepartment Of Public Health Dentisry

1. Choosing your topic2. Review of literature3. Formulating research

question 4. Development of working

hypothesis5. Selecting the research

design

6. Sample size estimation

7. Collecting the data

8. Analysis of data

9. Preparation of report

10. Publishing the study

CONTENTS

CHOOSING YOUR TOPIC1

TOPIC OF INTERESTPersonal interest &

Background knowledge

Literature and other information

Research priorities in the organization

Wide and “out of the box”

thinking

Discussion with guides and colleagues

Problem faced in own area of work earlier

REVIEW OFLITERATURE2

QUALITY NOT THE QUANTITY

“Gives theoretical rationale of problem being studied, what research has been done and

how it relates to the problem”

Why perform literature review?

Give the big picture of the field. Introduce the works that you will use. Introduce the limitations of these works,

and why they don’t solve your problem. Give hints on what your solution will

have to address.

APPROPRIATE PLACES TO SEARCHGeneral info

• HON certified sitesSystematic reviews/•Web Search Engines – Google

Specific query

•PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar database etc

Systematic reviews/Meta‐analysis / EBMs

•Cochrane Library•Map of Medicine etc

Archived full text articles

•Free Open Access•Fee Based – From Libraries

FORMULATING THE

RESEARCH QUESTION

3

“ASK A QUESTION,SOLVE A PROBLEM”

Extensive literature search

Identify research gaps

Prioritise them as per your feasibility

“Zero in” on a research question for your study

P• POPULATION

I• INTERVENTION

C• COMPARISON

O• OUTCOME

T• TIME

For adult patients, will the use of a powered toothbrush, compared to a manual toothbrush, result in reduction in plaque and/or gingivitis?

P I

C O

Research question should pass The ‘so what?’ test

• Feasible– Adequate number of participants, technical expertise & Resources

• Interesting

• Novel– Confirms, refutes or extends previous findings– Provides new information

• Ethical– Amenable to a study that ethics committee will approve

• Relevant– Advance scientific knowledge, improve practice, influence policy

4FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS

“A tentative explanation for certain phenomena, or events

which have occurred or will occur”

• Working hypothesis is a tentative assumption.

• Describes concretely what is expected in a research study

• Hypothesis should be very specific and limited.

• Helps to keep the researcher on the right track.

• It also indicates the type of data required and the type of methods of data analysis to be used.

DEVELOPMENT OF A WORKING HYPOTHESIS

Characteristics of good hypothesisSimple

• One exposure• One outcome

Specific• No ambiguity about studyparticipants/variables

Stated in advance • Written at onset• Focused on primaryobjective

Powered tooth brush has more or equal antiplaque efficacy when compared to manual tooth brush.

SELECTING THE

RESEARCH DESIGN6

“A detailed outline of how the research is going to take place”

RESEARCH DESIGNS

QUALITATIVEQUANTITATIVE MIXED

SELECTING THE SAMPLE7

▪“Procedure by which some members of the population are selected as representatives of the entire population”

SAMPLE SIZE

How large should my sample be?Ans:It depends…

• Large enough to be an accurate representation of the population.

• Large enough to achieve statistically significant results.

Probability samples• simple random

sampling• systematic sampling• Stratified sampling• Cluster sampling

SAMPLE DESIGN

The sample design to be used must be decided by the researcher taking into consideration the nature of the inquiry and other related

factors.

Non-probability samples

• Convenience sampling

• Judgment sampling• Quota sampling

ETHICS

INFORMED CONSENT

COLLECTING THE DATA8

“WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS MANAGED”

• It is necessary to collect data that are appropriate.

• Primary data can be collected through experiment or through survey.

• In the case of a survey, data can be collected by any one or more of the following ways:

SECONDARY DATA

Data previously collected for any

purpose other than the one at hand.

ANALYSIS OF THE DATA9

“If the statistics are boring then you have got the

WRONG NUMBERS”

ANALYSIS OF DATA

The ‘raw’ research data needs to be edited, tabulated and analyzed to find the results and to interpret them.

– the method used may be manual or computer based.

– The analysis plan follows from the research objective of the study.

– Association and relationships of variables are identified and discussed in the light of the specific problem.

SIGNIFICANCE BIAS

Statistically significant results have been shown to be three times more likely to be published than papers with null results. K.Dickerson et al,1987

MISUSED AND MISINTERPRETED

DOES NOT SUPPORT HYPOTHESIS

ITS ONLY A TOOL TO REJECT NULL HYPOTHESIS

PREPARATION OF REPORT10

Quotations are commonly printed as a means of inspiration and to invoke philosophical

thoughts from the reader.

The main text of the report should have the following parts:

(a) Introduction

(b) Summary of findings

(c) Main report

(d) Conclusion

At the end of the report,

• Appendices should be enlisted in respect of all technical data.

• Bibliography, i.e., list of books, journals, reports, etc. consulted, should also be given in the end.

• Index should also be given specially in a published research report.

REFERENCING SOFTWARES

PUBLISHING THE STUDY11

• Scientific writing• Original / full research reports• Short communications• Case stories• Systematic reviews / meta-analysis• Books or book chapters• Academic thesis• Conference abstracts

PRESENTING YOUR RESEARCH

PLAGIARISM

• Quoting verbatim without due acknowledgement of the source;

• Paraphrasing by changing some of the words, or the order of the words, without due acknowledgement of the source;

• Using someone else’s ideas without due reference;• Cutting and pasting from the internet to make a

pastiche of online sources;• Submitting someone else’s work (includes group

works without clear identification of who did the work);

Direction of scientific research Not determined by the pressure to win the

‘significance lottery’

But Systematic, hypothesis-driven attempts to fill holes in

our knowledge.

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

1. Kothari CR, Garg G. Research methodology-methods and techniques.third edition. Delhi: new age international(P) Limited;2014

2. Kumar R. Research methodology. Fourth edition. New Delhi: sage publications;2015

3. World health organisation. Health research methodology – a guide for training in research Methods. Second edition.

4. ICMR Health research fundamentals.

5. Dickersin, Kay, et al. "Publication bias and clinical trials." Controlled clinical trials 8.4 (1987): 343-353.

THANKYOU!