RICHARD MK ADANU UNIVERSITY OF GHANA MEDICAL SCHOOL MEDICAL RESEARCH

What is research? The search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts

Basic research Research that is carried out to increase understanding of fundamental principles. Usually has no direct or immediate commercial benefits Serves as the basis for many commercial products Generates new ideas, principles and theories

Applied research Research that is aimed at discovering, interpreting and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters

Other terminology Observational research Interventional research

Reasons for doing research To obtain answers to questions To solve a problem To improve the health of people To improve practice To advance one’s career

Enjoying and advancing in research Gaining research skills Learning from established researchers Being part of a research team Collaborating with other researchers

Conducting research In a university (medical school) setting In regular clinical practice

Regulating research Need for ethical committees Need to submit research proposals for review Need to protect the rights of research subjects Need for informed consent of participants

Belmont Report: 1974 Three Ethical Principles should guide medical research 1. Respect for Persons 2. Beneficence 3. Justice

Belmont Report 1. Respect for Persons  individuals be treated as autonomous human beings and be allowed to choose for themselves  extra protection for individuals with impaired ability to decide for themselves

Belmont Report 2. Beneficence  Do no harm (non-maleficence)  Minimization of harms  Maximization of benefits

Belmont Report 3. Justice  research is designed so that its burdens and benefits are shared equitably among groups of populations  fairness in the selection of research subjects, e.g., one should not select subjects based on their easy availability or their compromised position (e.g., individuals in a mental institutions)

Steps in conducting research Identify a research topic Formulate research questions Do a literature review Revise your research questions Formulate a hypothesis Design a data collection instrument Submit proposal for ethical approval Submit proposal for funding Collect data Enter and analyze data Report research findings

WRITING GRANT PROPOSALS

Building skills Writing scientific papers with references Following instructions Being at home with the internet Checking s Writing and getting feedback Writing and justifying budgets Making oral presentations

Process Identify call for proposals Read instructions carefully Do background research Write proposal Obtain peer review Submit

Call for proposals Google search Information from friends and international contacts Information from journals NIH calls for proposals

Preparations Develop research or intervention ideas into proposals which you keep Talk with other people

Following instructions Cover letter Page limit Word count Font size Proposal sections and order Submission deadline Reference format

Background research Literature review  What is known about topic  What is not known about topic Find knowledge gaps that your work can fill  How will your work add to knowledge Give enough time for work on submission

Components of proposal Executive summary Statement of need Project Description Budget Conclusion

Executive Summary Summarize key information Should include  Problem  Solution  Funding Requirements  Characteristics of your organization

Statement of need Support your statements with facts Get straight to the point Be persuasive

Project description Describes project implementation and evaluation Should include  Objectives  Methodology  Analysis  Staffing  Evaluation  Dissemination  Sustainability

Budget Must be an obvious product of project design Can be divided into personnel and non-personnel costs  Personnel  Salaries, benefits, consultants  Non-personnel  Travel, equipment, printing

Budget justification Reason why so much money is needed Straight to the point Objective arguments

Conclusion Summarizes main points Brief State what you want to do and why Emphasize need for funding

Peer review Consult experts while writing proposal Listen to comments and make changes Write and re-write No typos or grammatical errors

Basic elements of a proposal What is the problem? What do you intend to do about it? How will you measure your success?

Writing a research document

Sections of a dissertation or thesis Abstract Introduction Literature Review Methodology Results Limitations Discussion Conclusion and recommendations References

Modification for a journal article Abstract Introduction Methodology Results Discussion Conclusion and recommendations References

Abstract Usually a 150 word limit Structured abstract  Objectives  Setting  Methods  Results  Conclusion Descriptive abstract  Summary of paper without headings

Introduction for a thesis Background information  Reasons for selecting topic  Information about study area Problem statement  A detailed and expanded description of the subject being studied  What are the problems arising because this research has not been done Justification  Reasons why this subject is worth studying Objectives  What do you hope to learn from the study

Parts of the introduction for a journal article What is known about the topic  Current knowledge about research topic  Brief account of most important work in the field What is unknown about the topic  Questions raised by important current research What does this work seek to add to current knowledge  Questions being addressed by this work

Content of introduction for a journal article The known, the unknown, the research question Existing key research Statement of type of study design Objective of study Use only a few references

Literature review What is known about the subject? What questions have been raised by previous research? What will this study add to the existing pool of knowledge?

Methodology Subject selection Data collection Data collection tools Data handling Data analysis

Results What was found?  Best divided into sections

Limitations What are the shortcomings of the study?

Discussion Summary of main results Explanation of results Comparison of results with previous work  For each result item there should be a discussion

Conclusions and Recommendations What have you learnt? What needs to be done?

References Vancouver style Harvard style

Getting published Select appropriate journal Read instructions for authors Read papers from journal Get your manuscript to match journal requirements Submit paper Act on reviewer comments Have no fear of reject letters

Finally….. A research career is a worthwhile and enjoyable one to pursue Research should not be far removed from practice Anyone with research and writing skills can get published