Writing Research PapersBY:Ibitola OmotayoFOR:PRESTON HEALTHCARE CONSULTING LTD.DATE: 4 T H November 2016

ObjectivesTo understand the considerations for writing a paper.To understand what makes a “good” research question.To understand the layout of a “good” research paper.

Outline •Introduction

•Considerations for writing a Research Paper

•Literature Review

•What makes a good research question

•Hypothesis

•Sampling

•Study Design

•Validity

•Referencing

IntroductionThe research paper has developed over the past three centuries into a tool to communicate the results of scientific inquiry.The ability to accurately describe ideas, protocols/procedures, and outcomes are the pillars of scientific writing. A research paper should aim:

a. to add to a body of knowledgeb. to present information so that it is easy to retrieve, and c. to present enough information that the reader can duplicate the

scientific study.

Considerations for Writing a Research Paper

Research Paper/Manuscript

Importance Timeliness Relevance Prevalence Writing Style Study Design Literature Review

What makes a good research question?

Not all research questions are good ones—in other words, not all questions can

be answered through qualitative and quantitative research methodology. A good

research question needs to “Make sense”. i.e. clearly define your terms using

known definitions outlined in the literature. For example, a poor research

question would be: How do people’s lives change after cancer?

What makes a good research question?

Address an important and relevant issue: Scientific research is done to increase knowledge, not simply for a single researcher’s personal satisfaction. A good research question will also always have relevance to the time, place, and population of the study.

Not already have been done: A good research study will be novel. This means that there will be some new aspect of the study that has never before been examined . When replicating a pervious study, it is best to add or change one or two things to increase the novelty of the research.

Be “operationalizable”: Oftentimes, beginning researchers pose questions that cannot be operationalized, or assessed methodologically with research instruments.

Be within a reasonable scope: A good research project will be manageable in depth and breadth. The scope will depend on the amount of time and the availability of resources you have for your study.

Literature Review

One essential task when undertaking a research study is to review the existing literature on the topic and use it to inform the construction of the study.The literature review is crucial because an important responsibility in research is to add to a body of knowledge and to compare your findings with others. A literature review can bring clarity and focus to the research problem and broaden one’s knowledge base in the specific research area.Past studies can improve your methodology and help you to contextualize your findings.

Qualitative and Quantitative Studies

Not all research projects require analytical measures. Some research simply involves observing the results of events in the field and drawing conclusions based on a theoretical framework. Others may involve analyzing data from clinics or other institutions, using statistics and reasoning to find patterns that may have important implications.There are two broad categories of research: quantitative and qualitative.

Qualitative StudiesA study is classified as qualitative if the purpose is primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or event.Information is gathered through the use of variables or measured on qualitative measurement scales.Qualitative studies tend to be more “in-depth”, focusing on a smaller population but probing deeper into a given problem. Often associated with focus groups, interviews or surveys and seeks to answer open-ended questions. Thematic and content analysis are two methods used to analyze qualitative data

Quantitative StudiesA study is classified as quantitative if the researcher seeks to quantify the variation in a phenomenon and if information is gathered using quantitative variables.Quantitative studies often use standardized measures, numerical values, have larger sample sizes, and usually analyze data using statistical programs e.g SPSS, STATA, R, MINITAB etc.

HypothesisA hypothesis is a suggested explanation for an observed relationship or a causal prediction about a relationship among several variables. Every research project is based on a hypothesis, which generally begins with a specific question.A hypothesis takes the operationalized definition of the factors to produce a clear prediction of the causal relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable in the statement.◦ The independent variable is a factor that the researcher can control or manipulate◦ A dependent variable is a factor that the researcher cannot manipulate, but instead

varies in relation to the independent variable.

Examples independent variable and the dependent variable :

Effect of drug dosage on symptom severity◦ In a study of how different doses of a drug affect the severity of symptoms, a

researcher could compare the frequency and intensity of symptoms when different doses are administered.

◦ Here the independent variable is the dose and the dependent variable is the frequency/intensity of symptoms.

Effect of education on maternal outcomeoIn measuring the effect of education on maternal outcomes.oThe dependent variable is maternal outcome and the independent variable is

the education level of the individual.

SamplingOnce the researcher has chosen a hypothesis to test in a study, the next step is to select a sample. However, any research project must be able to extend the implications of the findings beyond the sample (participants) who actually participated in the study.

Probability Sampling refers to sampling when the chance of any given individual being selected is known and these individuals are sampled independently of each other. This is also known as random sampling

Non-Probability Sampling, or convenience sampling, refers to when researchers take whatever individuals happen to be easiest to access as participants in a study. This is only done when the processes the researchers are testing are assumed to be so basic and universal that they can be generalized beyond such a narrow.

Study DesignCross-sectional studies are simple in design and are aimed at finding out the prevalence of a phenomenon, problem, attitude or issue by taking a snap-shot or cross-section of the population.

Retrospective studies investigate a phenomenon or issue that has occurred in the past. Such studies most often involve secondary data collection, based upon data available from previous studies or databases

Prospective studies seek to estimate the likelihood of an event or problem in the future. Thus, these studies attempt to predict what the outcome of an event is to be.

Longitudinal studies follow study subjects over a long period of time with repeated data collection throughout. Some longitudinal studies last several months, while others can last decades. Most are observational studies that seek to identify a correlation among various factors

Ensuring ValidityValidity refers to whether or not a study is well designed and provides results that are appropriate to generalize to the population of interest.There are three types of validity with which a researcher should be concerned.

◦ Internal validity◦ Construct Validity◦ External Validity

Internal ValidityInternal validity applies in studies that seek to establish a causal relationship between two variables, and it refers to the degree to which a study can make good inferences about this causal relationship.The essence of internal validity is whether or not a researcher can definitively state that the effects observed in the study were in fact due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not due to another factor.A study is considered to be internally valid if the researcher can demonstrate that variable caused the observed effect.

Construct ValidityA study is considered to have construct validity if the researcher can demonstrate that the variables of interest were properly operationalized in a way that allows for accurate inferences to be made regarding the larger population. (external validity)

REFERENCING There are different styles of referencing, however, the most commonly used is the APA Style.

In using this for in-text citations, the surname of the author and the date of writing is included after every paraphrase. For example,(Sargeant, 2007) at the end of the sentence OR Sargeant (2007), found that the fatty acid composition……

when there is no author mentioned, and the source was written by an organization. In this case, you use the name of the organization or a recognized abbreviation. For example, WHO, for the World Health Organization.

The link below provides detailed information on the use of APA style in referencing documents within different areas of a research paper.

http://www7.esc.edu/hshapiro/writing_program/students/Handouts/main/research_apa.htm

Crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s of a Research PaperExperimental process Section of PaperWhat did I do in a nutshell?  ABSTRACT

What is the problem? INTRODUCTION

How did I solve the problem? MATERIALS and METHODS

What did I find out? RESULTS

What does it mean?Why is it significant?

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

 Who helped me out? ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (Optional)

Whose work did I refer to? LITERATURE CITED

Supporting Materials APPENCICES (Optional)

Finally….The layout of the research paper should follow this format:

TitleAbstractKey wordsMain text:

IntroductionMethodsResult/FindingsDiscussion on findings

ConclusionAcknowledgement ReferencesSupplementary Data

Further Study http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=83

http://www7.esc.edu/hshapiro/writing_program/students/Handouts/main/research_apa.htm

https://www.elsevier.com/connect/11-steps-to-structuring-a-science-paper-editors-will-take-seriously

http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html

Suggestions on where to publish

http://www.ijser.org/?gclid=CK-m45f8ltACFawW0wodkI0ENg

http://www.jphres.org/

http://www.journals.elsevier.com/public-health/