WRITING A RESEARCH ARTICLE MPH 606 Dr. Lindsey (Fenix) Ho 1

Stages of a Study Formulate the Research Question ✔ May or may not test a hypothesis Review the Literature ✔ Choose Study Design ✔ Determine Variables and Study Criteria ✔ Obtain IRB (Human Subjects) Approval ✔ Conduct the Sampling, Interviews, Intervention ✔ Collect Data ✔ Process Data ✔ Analyze Data ✔ Write Discussion, Report Results, Write and Submit Article 2

Discussion Section: Summarize  Restate the purpose of the study  Research question  Hypothesis  Population of interest  Review the results in the context of this purpose  Describe the key patterns and relationships  Do not restate all the results  Do not restate all the numbers  How do results relate to studies in the Literature Review ?  Agree or disagree with previous studies  Suggest further study 3

Discussion Section: Limitations  State the weaknesses of the study  What did not go as planned  What could not be analyzed  Potential sources of bias  Potential limits of generalizability  Speculate how these might influence the results  Try not to “throw the baby out with the bath water” 4

Discussion Section: Significance  Put the results in a broader context  Suggest the theoretical implications  Suggest practical applications  Extend findings to other situations, populations, etc.  Move from specific (results) to general  Give evidence for every conclusion  Do not over generalize  Make suggestions for further study 5

Review of the Entire Article  Article is written in the shape of an hourglass  Begin with the general  Narrow down to the specifics of the study  Broaden out again to general significance Introduce the Problem Specifics of Study Methods Results Conclusions Significance 6

Example  INTRODUCTION  Begin broadly: “Studies show that the prevalence of drug use among teenagers in rural areas has increased in the last 10 years”  Become more specific: “Results of the study suggest that heavy use of at least one licit substance increases the likelihood that a second drug is also being used.”  Introduce own study (hypothesis): “This analysis evaluates whether heavy use of cigarettes or alcohol determines the use of another illicit drug ” 7

Example (continued)  METHODS  Specific: “…a cohort of middle school (grades 6 to 8) students in a southeastern US county was followed through three rounds of data collection…”  RESULTS  Specific: “The graphs presented in Figure 3 show that students who increased their use of alcohol and cigarettes in the first three months of the study were, the most likely to use another type of illicit drug” 8

Example (continued)  DISCUSSION  Slightly broader: “When alcohol and cigarettes were used heavily by adolescents in our study, they were most often used in combination with other illicit substances.”  Broader: “…the level of substance use likely plays a role in characterizing more serious substance use.”  Broadest: “Targeting early interventions on alcohol and cigarette users would prevent progression to heavier levels of use and other drug abuse…” 9

Abstract  Quick overview:  Is the study relevant?  Define and cite key words  Write Abstract Last (after study and rest of research article is complete) 10

The Abstract 120 words (Varies by journal) Include: Objectives  Statement of the problem (1 sentence) Methods  Characteristics of participants/intervention  General description of data collection and analysis Results  Key results  Include statistical significance Conclusions  Summary and implications 11

The Title  10 to 12 words  Stand alone  Related to data/results  Include key words Bad Title: Teens use Too Many Drugs Bad Title: The more drugs teens do, the more drugs they do, because smoking, drinking and other drugs are all related and create a downward spiral of drug use Good Title: Heavy Cigarette and Alcohol use Among Teens Increases Likelihood of Other Drug Use 12

Writing Dos and Don’ts Do not include needless words, concepts, topics, anecdotes, asides, and footnotes Avoid metacomments - “Now that we have seen the results for negative affect, we are in a position to examine…” Minimize jargon - should be appropriate for the journal audience Use active voice Active: The dog bit the man. Passive: The man was bitten by the dog. Use past tense when reviewing others’ work and describing your study design 13

Writing Dos and Don’ts  Do use present tense to describe your results  Do avoid language bias  Do not use masculine terms when talking about both men and women, or boys and girls  Do use presently accepted terms of racial/ethnic identity, sexual orientation, and disabilities  Do take the time to revise and polish your article 14

APA Style  American Psychological Association  Rules for references and citations  RefME.com 15

Revise, Resubmit, Reject, Release, Journals may request 1, 2 or 3 Revisions of your article before publication Resubmit to other Journals (more appropriate for findings) Some (most) articles/studies are Rejected, that is ok Know when to Release your article/study, even if it is never published 16

Revise, Resubmit, Reject, Release Sometimes all the other researchers look like they know what they are doing… …Remember research is a Process, and takes Practice like everything else 17 Video Here

The End That’s all. 18