Lecture 5 Flashcards
The specific aims for a research project provide a structure for
achieving the overall study goal
The principle of purposiveness states that:
research h projects should be designed to answer one well-defined research question
Researchers are ready to finalize the selection of one very specific study goal after
identifying a preliminary research area and conducting a review of the relevant literature
A study goal can be achieved by
a series of specific aims or objectives
Before moving forward researchers should take the time to think through the answers to four key questions:
What is the one well defined research question that the study will answer?
What specific aims or objectives or hypotheses will enable the key question to be answered
Would a conceptual framework be helpful for guiding the design, analysis and interpretation of the study and its results?
Is the proposed study feasible? Is there a high likelihood that the research team will be able to answer the study’s main research question?
A study goal describes the
single overarching objective of a research project or the main question that a research project seeks to answer
A goal or objective statement for a clinical or population health research project usually states the
exposures
diseases
outcomes
and/or populations that will be the focus of the study
Several (5) critical questions a researcher should be able to answer about the context of the study. Often explained inn research proposal
What is one key question this study will answer? / hypothesis that will be proved?
What is already known about this topic? What is the gap?
What is the significance of the problem? ex how severe is the disease and how many are affected?
What will be innovative? How will study fill the gap?
What is the likely impact of this research project? How will it help advance health?
Most studies in health sciences have ____ specific aims
2-4 with three the most typical
Hypotheses should be
falsifiable and neutral
Two common ways to write specific aims
sequential and independent
Sequential objective
Written in a series of actions that will achieve the main goal
Popular in doctoral programs that require candidates to produce three manuscripts before facing dissertation
Researchers need to wait for aim 1 to complete aim 2 which must be completed for aim 3 etc.
Specific aims are written in form
to measure, to identify, to estimate
When writing independent objectives
the specific aims are related but are independent of one another.
If one can’t be completed the others still can
SMART
specific
measurable
achievable
relevant
timely
conceptual framework
boxes and arrows to illustrate relationships to be evaluated during the study.
Ex. directed acyclic graph (DAG)
DAGs
directed acyclic graph
form of a conceptual framework
- at the beginning of study will be used to figure out what data needs to be collected from the participants
-Towards the end of the study will be used as a roadmap for hypotheses testing and other types of data analysis and a framework for causal inference to interpret statistical results
Theoretical framework
set of established models in published literature
- can inform the flows of a conceptual framework for a new research study
Common in nursing, social science and educational research literature.
Examples of theoretical frameworks
HBM Health belief model
Socioecological model
HBM
Health Belief Model
considers health behaviour change to be a function of perceived susceptibility to an adverse health outcome
Social ecological model
considers individual health and health behaviours to be fa function of the social environment
Social environment includes
intra/interpersonal, institutional, community, and public policy dimensions
FINER
Feasible
Interesting
Novel
Ethical
Relevant
