OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH METHODS

1. OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH METHODS • M.P.Dapar Ph.D. • Department of Clinical Pharmacy • Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences • University of Jos

2. Course outline • Introduction • What is research • Stages of researc • Types of research

3. Learning objectives • Define research • Describe steps in conducting research • Discuss types of research • Describe main features of quantitative and qualitative research methods

4. Introduction: • What is research ? • growing tendency to regard research simply as a procedure for which people can be ‘trained’, with rules and guidelines governing every aspect from proposal to writing the final report • practice, similar to the practice of nursing or medicine, • every new situation throws up fresh challenges • standard proceduresoften need to be modified and improvised in order to take account of unexpected developments

5. Introduction: • Use of research • Create new knowledge and develop proper tools for the use of existing knowledge. • Enables use of evidence base in diagnosis and treatment of diseases • Provides evidence for policies and decisions on health and development • Facilitate efficient allocation and utilization of resources

6. Definition • Research is the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data to answer a specific question or solve practical problems.

7. Key features of research • Clear statement of the problem • clear objectives and a plan (it is not aimlessly looking for something in order to come across a solution). • builds on existing data • New data should be systematically collected and analyzed to answer the original research objectives

8. Overview of research • Conceptualization of the research project • Selection and clarification of a research topic • Review of existing evidence from published literature • Implementation of the research:i. Data collection ii. Data processing and analysis iii. Interpretation of results iv. report writing & dissemination of the results:

9. Types of research

12. Types of research …2 • Basic Research • Applied Research • Operational research • Implementation research • Correlation research • Problem oriented research • Problem solving • Pre-clinical trial • Clinical trial • Quantitative Research • Qualitative Research

13. Basic Research • conducted largely for the enhancement of knowledge. • main motivation here is to expand man's knowledge, not to create or invent something • Applied Research • designed to solve practical problems of the modern world, • goal of applied research is to improve the human condition

14. Problem oriented research • Research is done for sorting out problems or decision making dilemma or an opportunity • Problem solving • research is done by organizations for problems they may be facing: eg patient satisfaction

15. Pre-clinical trials • animal models, • furthering knowledge for discovering more effective methods for diagnosing, treating, and curing diseases • Clinical trials • Done in clinical setting, and involve informed human volunteers to gauge safety and effectiveness of drugs, procedures, or medical devices

16. Quantitative research • inquiry into an identified problem, based on testing a theory, measured with numbers, and analyzed using statistical techniques.  • Qualitative research • A study based upon a non-quantitative type of analysis • goal of understanding a social or human problems from multiple perspectives • explores issues in the context of peoples lives

17. Qualitative research can be further classified in the following type. • I. Phenomenology:-a form of research in which the researcher attempts to understand how one or more individuals experience a phenomenon • II. Ethnography:- this type of research focuses on describing the culture of a group of people

18. III. Case study:-is a form of qualitative research that is focused on providing a detailed account of one or more cases • IV. Grounded theory:- it is an inductive type of research, based or grounded in the observations of data from which it was developed • V. Historical research:-it allows one to discuss past and present events in the context of the present condition, and allows one to reflect and provide possible answers to current issues and problems

19. Responsible conduct in research • Responsible conduct of research (RCR) is "the practice of scientific investigation with integrity." It involves the awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles in the performance of all activities related to scientific research.

20. In general terms, responsible conduct in research is simply good citizenship applied to professional life. • Researchers who report their work honestly, accurately, efficiently, and objectively are on the right road when it comes to responsible conduct

22. Rule of the road for RCR • professional codes, • government regulations, • institutional policies, and • personal convictions

23. Major issues to be addressed in RCR • Research Misconduct • The Protection of Human Subjects • The Welfare of Laboratory Animals • Conflicts of Interest • Data Management Practices • Mentor and Trainee Responsibilities • Collaborative Research • Authorship and Publication • Peer review

24. Research Misconduct • Research misconduct may include the fabrication/ falsification of data, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community for proposing, conducting, reviewing, or reporting research. • It also encompasses the failure to comply with federal requirements for protecting researchers, human and animal subjects, and the public

25. Protection of human subjects • Research benefit human and can also imposed unacceptable risks on research subjects. • human subjects research is carefully regulated by society. • Nuremberg Code (1947) 1. The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. 2. The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society

26. 1979 Belmont Report • respect for persons and their right to make decisions for and about themselves without undue influence or coercion • beneficence or the obligation to maximize benefits and reduce risks to the subject • justice or the obligation to distribute benefits and risks equally without prejudice to particular individuals or groups

27. The Welfare of Laboratory Animals • Animal research is as carefully regulated as human research, but for different reasons

28. Conflicts of Interest Conflicts of interest cannot and need not be avoided. However, in three crucial areas: • financial gain, • work commitments, and • intellectual and personal matters,

29. Data Management Practices Data management practices are becoming increasingly complex and should be addressed before any data are collected by taking into consideration four important issues: • ownership, • collection, • storage, and • sharing.

30. Mentor and Trainee Responsibilities Good mentoring should begin with: • a clear understanding of mutual responsibilities, • a commitment to maintain a productive and supportive research environment, • proper supervision and review, and • an understanding that the main purpose of the relationship is to prepare trainees to become successful researchers.

31. Collaborative Research Collaborators should: • share findings with colleagues in the collaboration and pay attention to what others are doing; • report and discuss problems as well as findings; • Keep all collaborators in the loop • all agreement on the conduct of research, results/finding including sharing formula, authorship and publication should be done at the planning stage

32. Authorship and Publication • Authorship and Publication, covers the responsibilities researchers have when they share results with others through informal communications, oral presentations, scholarly publications, and public statements. • Whatever mechanism is used, research results should be shared honestly, efficiently, and without bias

33. responsible publication in research should ideally meet some minimum standards. • All forms of publication should present: • a full and fair description of the work undertaken, • an accurate report of the results, and • an honest and open assessment of the findings. • what they did (methods), • what they discovered (results), and • what they make of their discovery (discussion).

34. Identifying research areas

35. Learning objectives • Describe Characteristics of Research • Explain Step-by-step planning for research • demonstrate Understanding of how to identify research issues

36. Characteristics of Research • Demands a clear statement of the problem • Requires clear objectives and a plan of action • Builds on existing data • New data should be systematically collected and analyzed to meet the research objectives

37. Step-by-step planning for research

39. Conceptualize the research project

40. Selection and clarification of research topic • A research topic should: • be short, accurate, and concise. • make the central objectives of the study clear to the reader. • specify what population will be investigated, and where it will be conducted. • Possibly give an indication of design • Examples

41. Develop aims and specific objectives • Aim: Broad statement of intent, • To investigate • To assess • To evaluate... etc • Objectives operationalize the aim: makes the aims practical and specific • to identify • To meaure • To compare ... etc • objectives should be clearspecific & measurable

43. How to formulate objectives

44. Why develop specific objectives • Focus the study (narrowing it down to essentials) • Avoid the collection of data which are not strictly necessary for understanding and solving the problem you have identified • Organize the study in clearly defined parts or phases • facilitate the development of research methods in terms of the right orientation for collection, analysis, interpretation and utilization of data.

47. Study designs • . Research design: overall structure or plan for conducting the research including details of specific methods. • Descriptive • Analytic • Irrespective of specific descriptions: study designs vary in details but have similar principal components

48. Research methodology • Methodology : “discussions or critical analysis of how research is done, or should be done, and of the methods of research.” • Methods : a description of the techniques used to collect and analyse data • Two broad categorisation of research methods in: • Quantitative methods • Qualitative methods

49. Quantitative Research methods • measures the relationship between two or more variables as a means of quantifying that relationship numerically • Pre-suppose the existence of absolute truths- facts about phenomena, waiting to be discovered by researchers. • Relationship between variables is expressed in the form of theories or hypotheses. • variables are measured using standardised instruments.

50. Quantitative methods cont’d… • Data are represented by numbers and subjected to statistical analyses, in order to explain the relationship between the variables of interest. Hence: • quantitative research begins with well defined concepts or hypotheses, about which data to collect and analysed in order to derive new scientific knowledge, through deductive reasoning • Two fundamental ways of answering these types of research questions • Experimental methods • Observational, correlational or quasi- experimental methods