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STEPS IN RESEARCH
Dr.Vineetha.K
Department Of Public Health Dentisry
1. Choosing your topic
2. Review of literature
3. Formulating research
question
4. Development of working
hypothesis
5. Selecting the research
design
6. Sample size estimation
7. Collecting the data
8. Analysis of data
9. Preparation of report
10. Publishing the study
CONTENTS
CHOOSING
YOUR TOPIC
1
TOPIC OF INTEREST
Personal interest &
Background knowledge
Literature and other
information
Research priorities in
the organization
Wide and
ā€œout of the boxā€
thinking
Discussion with guides
and colleagues
Problem faced in own
area of work earlier
REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
2
QUALITY NOT THE QUANTITY
ā€œGives theoretical rationale of problem being
studied, what research has been done and
how it relates to the problemā€
Why perform literature review?
 Give the big picture of the field.
 Introduce the works that you will use.
 Introduce the limitations of these works,
and why they don’t solve your problem.
 Give hints on what your solution will
have to address.
APPROPRIATE PLACES TO SEARCH
General info
• HON certified sites
Systematic reviews/
•Web Search Engines – Google
Specific query
•PubMed, Scopus,
Google Scholar database etc
Systematic reviews/
Meta‐analysis / EBMs
•Cochrane Library
•Map of Medicine etc
Archived full text articles
•Free Open Access
•Fee Based – From Libraries
FORMULATING
THE
RESEARCH
QUESTION
3
ā€œASK A QUESTION,
SOLVE A PROBLEMā€
Extensive literature search
Identify research gaps
Prioritise them as per your feasibility
ā€œZero inā€ on a research question for your study
P • POPULATION
I • INTERVENTION
C • COMPARISON
O • OUTCOME
T • TIME
For adult patients, will the use of a powered toothbrush, compared to a
manual toothbrush, result in reduction in plaque and/or gingivitis?
P I
C O
Research question should pass The ā€˜so what?’ test
• Feasible
– Adequate number of participants, technical expertise & Resources
• Interesting
• Novel
– Confirms, refutes or extends previous findings
– Provides new information
• Ethical
– Amenable to a study that ethics committee will approve
• Relevant
– Advance scientific knowledge, improve practice, influence policy
4
FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
ā€œA tentative explanation for
certain phenomena, or events
which have occurred or will occurā€
• Working hypothesis is a tentative assumption.
• Describes concretely what is expected in a research study
• Hypothesis should be very specific and limited.
• Helps to keep the researcher on the right track.
• It also indicates the type of data required and the type of
methods of data analysis to be used.
DEVELOPMENT OF A WORKING HYPOTHESIS
Characteristics of good hypothesis
Simple
• One exposure
• One outcome
Specific
• No ambiguity about study
participants/variables
Stated in advance
• Written at onset
• Focused on primary
objective
Powered tooth brush has more or equal antiplaque
efficacy when compared to manual tooth brush.
SELECTING
THE
RESEARCH
DESIGN6
ā€œA detailed outline of how the
research is going to take placeā€
RESEARCH DESIGNS
QUALITATIVEQUANTITATIVE MIXED
SELECTING
THE SAMPLE
7
ā–Ŗā€œProcedure by which some members of
the population are selected as
representatives of the entire populationā€
SAMPLE SIZE
How large should my sample be?
Ans:
It depends…
• Large enough to be an accurate
representation of the population.
• Large enough to achieve
statistically significant results.
Probability samples
• simple random sampling
• systematic sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
SAMPLE DESIGN
The sample design to be used must be decided by the researcher taking
into consideration the nature of the inquiry and other related factors.
Non-probability samples
• Convenience sampling
• Judgment sampling
• Quota sampling
ETHICS
INFORMED CONSENT
COLLECTING
THE DATA8
ā€œWHAT GETS MEASURED
GETS MANAGEDā€
• It is necessary to collect data that are appropriate.
• Primary data can be collected through experiment or through survey.
• In the case of a survey, data can be collected by any one or more of the following
ways:
SECONDARY DATA
Data previously
collected for any
purpose other than the
one at hand.
ANALYSIS OF
THE DATA
9
ā€œIf the statistics are boring
then you have got the
WRONG NUMBERSā€
ANALYSIS OF DATA
The ā€˜raw’ research data needs to be edited, tabulated and analyzed
to find the results and to interpret them.
– the method used may be manual or computer based.
– The analysis plan follows from the research objective of the study.
– Association and relationships of variables are identified and
discussed in the light of the specific problem.
SIGNIFICANCE BIAS
Statistically significant results have been
shown to be three times more likely to
be published than papers with null
results.
K.Dickerson et al,1987
MISUSED AND MISINTERPRETED
DOES NOT SUPPORT HYPOTHESIS
ITS ONLY A TOOL TO REJECT NULL HYPOTHESIS
PREPARATION
OF REPORT10
Quotations are commonly printed as a means
of inspiration and to invoke philosophical
thoughts from the reader.
The main text of the report should have the following parts:
(a) Introduction
(b) Summary of findings
(c) Main report
(d) Conclusion
At the end of the report,
• Appendices should be enlisted in respect of all technical data.
• Bibliography, i.e., list of books, journals, reports, etc. consulted,
should also be given in the end.
• Index should also be given specially in a published research
report.
REFERENCING SOFTWARES
PUBLISHING
THE STUDY11
• Scientific writing
• Original / full research reports
• Short communications
• Case stories
• Systematic reviews / meta-analysis
• Books or book chapters
• Academic thesis
• Conference abstracts
PRESENTING YOUR RESEARCH
PLAGIARISM
• Quoting verbatim without due acknowledgement of the
source;
• Paraphrasing by changing some of the words, or the order
of the words, without due acknowledgement of the source;
• Using someone else’s ideas without due reference;
• Cutting and pasting from the internet to make a pastiche
of online sources;
• Submitting someone else’s work (includes group works
without clear identification of who did the work);
Direction of scientific research
Not determined by the pressure to win the ā€˜significance lottery’
But
Systematic, hypothesis-driven attempts to fill holes in our knowledge.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
1. Kothari CR, Garg G. Research methodology-methods and techniques.third
edition. Delhi: new age international(P) Limited;2014
2. Kumar R. Research methodology. Fourth edition. New Delhi: sage
publications;2015
3. World health organisation. Health research methodology – a guide for
training in research Methods. Second edition.
4. ICMR Health research fundamentals.
5. Dickersin, Kay, et al. "Publication bias and clinical trials." Controlled clinical
trials 8.4 (1987): 343-353.
THANK
YOU!