Lesson 5 - Research/Literature Flashcards
Why is reading forensic literature important?
Crucial to developing expertise within a scientific discipline
Keeps you up to date with advances in your area of expertise
List the 6 types of forensic research.
Method validation
Case reports
Literature reviews
Retrospective case reviews
Reactive research based on current landscape
Prospective research
What is method validation?
The process of providing objective evidence that a method, process or device is fit for the specific purpose intended.
What is a literature review?
A comprehensive summary of the currently available knowledge in a particular area
What are retrospective case reviews?
Historical reviews of groups of cases that share a new or unusual condition or trait
What is reactive research?
Performing research to answer a qusestion in reszponse to an issue of current relevance to medico-legal investigators
What is prospective research?
Anticipation of future needs
What is a scoping review?
Used to determine the scope of published literature on topic and to provide an overview of its focus
What is a systematic review?
Uses explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view to minimizing bias, thus providing more reliable findings from which conclusions can be drawn and decisions made
What is a meta-analysis?
The statistical process of analyzing and combining different results from multiple studies to identify overall trends
Outline the review process
What are the questions?
Literature search and strategy
Data collection
Inclusion/exclusion criteriaz
Meta analysis
List the different types of published journal articles.
6
Case report
Short communication
Full research article
Technical note
Review
Invited review
When do short communications tend to be used?
when not enough time to go through extensive peer review but need to get critical info out
What is a technical note?
Research ab out a specific element of a larger issue
What is an invited review
Leaders in field asked to collab on a review
Outline the peer review process
Author submits article to journal
Journal editor screens paper
If accepted, reviewed by two independent reviewers
Editor assessment of reviews then either makes revisions, rejects or accepts
How long does the peer review process take?
Can take 2+ months depending on length of article
What are some general questions to ask when reviewing a paper?
Does the title accurately reflect the content?
Is the abstract accurate?
Are the key words relevent?
Does the paper have a logical conclusion?
Is the study design valid?
Is there enough detail in the methodology so you could recreat the study?
Are the results accurately depicted in any tables/graphs?
Are the conclusions supported b y the data?
Has the author cited pertinent and only pertinent lit?
Is the lit cited accurate?
How do you determine the impact factor of a journal?
Total number of times its articles were cited during previous 2 years
divided by
Total number of citable articles in the same journal during those 2 years
What is a good impact factor? Excellent?
Good: 3
Excellent: 10
Why don’t forensic journals ofcten have high impact factors?
Niche en vironment
Traditionally less focus on publishing and research
Outline a benefit and con associated with open access journals.
+ = broader n etwork for research t\o get oujt
- = opens door to predatory publishikng
