Prof VY Initiating, Managing & Communicating Research Flashcards
General techniques to formulate research questions (4)
- experience
- observations
- needs of the community
- brainstorming
Tips on brainstorming (3)
- include every possible points from discussion
- no judging or criticism
- then eliminate points that are irrelevant
Possible sources of literatures / information (4)
- publications
- textbooks
- newspapers
- advertisements
Purpose of publications (7)
- Expand body of knowledge
- Disseminate new information
- Provoke discussion
- Prevent replication of effort
- Enable independent checks on results
- Gain wider recognition for our work
- Get money for research
Purpose of surveying literatures (1+4)
Critical appraisal of the existing studies
- Identify relevant work & related work done
- prevent replication of work - Identify gaps & discrepancies in the study
- address them in new studies - Locate useful approaches/methodologies
- reuse previously validated approaches/methods - Keep abreast of developments & current state-of-the-art
Examples of e-databases (4)
- PubMed
- medsciediting.com (impact factors of journals)
- toxnet.nlm.nih.gov (toxicity database)
- chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com (structures of drugs & chemicals)
How to do literature search (4)
- Enter key words & phrases in databases
- Retrieve relevant articles through title, abstracts etc
- Analyse quality of the work
- Draft brief summary of the most relevant articles
Sequence of reading a scientific paper (6)
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Results
- Discussion
- Methods & materials
Tips to reading scientific paper (3)
- Be selective
- Read efficiently
- do not read everything - Read effectively
- do not believe everything said in the paper
How to do literature search? (4)
- Enter key words & phrases in most reputable databases
- Retrieve relevant articles through title, abstracts etc from the most recent ones
- Analyse quality of the work
- Draft brief summary of the most relevant articles
Tips to reading scientific paper (3)
- Be selective
- Read efficiently
- do not read everything - Read effectively
- do not believe everything said in the paper
How to differentiate a “good” from “not so good” scientific paper? (4)
- clear & concise writings
- sound rationale & methodology
- findings are novel
- quantity & quality of the paper
Major components of a paper (6)
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Materials & Methods
- Results
- Discussion
What is included in the Discussion section? (3)
- brief summary of major results
- significance of the findings & generalisability
- acknowledge & address the gaps of the study
Some methods to illustrate data (5)
- Table, lists
- Line graphs
- Bar graphs
- Diagrams
- Flowcharts
Table & lists data (2)
- values
- raw data
Line graphs data (2)
- summarise trends
- show associations
Bar graphs data (2)
- show difference
- draw comparisons
Diagram & Flowchart data (3)
- pathway
- processes
- sequential processes
Tips in illustrating data in tables
- do not leave any cells empty (indicate as NA)
- abbreviations used should be defined in legend of the table
Is criticisms from anonymous reviewers important?
Yes
- to ensure objectivity & quality when addressing the criticism
How to deal with criticism? (3)
- Evaluate the validity of the criticism
- Repeat study with consideration of the criticism
- Revise manuscript & write rebuttal to address the criticism raised
5 ‘P’s in the presentation of your study
Practice & Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
