Writing a research proposal...2019/01/10 · Demonstrate writing skills by writing, a clear,...

Faculty of Medicine

Introduction to Research and Writing Research Proposal

31509595 By

Hatim Jaber MD MPH JBCM PhD

1-10-2019

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According to the official website of the United Nations, this year’s theme is –

‘Youth Standing Up for Human Rights’.

• HEALTH IS A HUMAN RIGHT HEALTH IS A HUMAN RIGHT HEALTH IS A HUMAN RIGHT HEALTH IS A HUMAN RIGHT HEALTH IS A HUMAN RIGHT

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Your Expectations ?????

• Have Positive Expectations!

• Have Negative Expectations!

• Previous feedback?

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Sixth Year Including Summer Semester

• Graduation Project (Research Project)

• 31500692

• 6 hours

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Course description

• This research preparedness course will review and reinforce student learning on the research process and enable students to produce a research proposal ready for implementation.

• Students will review components of research proposals and practice developing effective aims, hypotheses, background materials and analytic strategies.

• In a series of modules, the course focuses on specific aspects of doing research including: literature searching and critical appraisal; reference management; framing the research question and determining research approaches; and ethical issues.

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Course description cont….

• This course allows students to prepare a research proposal, on a topic of their choice, that can be implemented during fifth year.

• In addition to preparing a complete proposal for his or her research project, each student will be required to read assigned materials, hand in reflections about readings, give status updates, conduct peer reviews, make presentations, and participate actively in class discussions.

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Learning Objectives

At the end of this course students should be able to: 1. Identify and create the key components of a research proposal 2. Demonstrate the ability to conduct literature reviews and gather

the critical scientific information related to the research proposal 3. Demonstrate writing skills by writing, a clear, concise research

proposal with scientifically defensible aims, methods and conclusions

4. Develop the skills to objectively review and write a scientific critique of a colleague’s proposal

5. Describe the important concepts related to using human subjects in scientific research

6. Describe the underlying concepts and principles of scientific misconduct and plagiarism

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Course Learning Outcomes

1. Identify a public health problem suitable for scientific investigation

2. Situate that problem within the relevant literature and existing evidence and identify gaps in the evidence about that problem (i.e. things worthy of further research)

3. Develop a (structured) research question which addresses a gap in the evidence about the problem

4. Plan an appropriate research design to investigate the research question

5. Use appropriate online databases of research evidence and reference management software

6. Apply ethical principles of research to shape or modify the research proposal

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Introduction to course • Course Title : Introduction to Research and Writing

Research Proposal 31509595

• Credit Hours : 3 Credit Hours

• Calendar Description : 10 weeks/ First Semester – 5th year (2019/2020)

• Teaching Approaches : 1 Lectures (120min) per week (Tuesday 13:00 pm) for 10 weeks

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Introduction to course (cont…)

• Method of Instruction : Lectures and discussions

Evaluation and Grading : one exam (MCQ)

• Midterm - assessment = 30% (….-11-2019)

• Project presentation = 70%

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The Basic Elements • Competence in everything

• A GOOD idea addressing a significant problem with continuity of ideas

• Logical flow of ideas & actions – Everything fits together – Nothing is superfluous or omitted, or unrealistic

• A good fit with funding agency’s priorities

Avoid Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s ideas or words as though they were your own.

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Introduction

Health research is a part of applied science

Aim: to advance knowledge of human health and

illness through:

i. Assessing health status

ii. Probing natural history of diseases

iii. Clinical trials help to examine the effect of new drug,

vaccine, an intervention program, etc.

iv. Determining and assessing treatment outcome

v. Identifying and assessing risk factors

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What is a research proposal?

• A document with two major objectives: – To analyze and synthesize the existing research

about particular topic.

–Describe the researcher’s idea for a new study.

• An art which the researcher wants to sell in the market. – Buyer needs to take it from the gallery.

– Suits to buyer’s pocket.

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Why I need a research proposal

• It is prerequisite for degree

• Needs approval from the committee to start the work

• It conceives the project

• It impresses the senior as a potential researcher

• It serves as a contract between the researcher and funder.

• Personal interest.

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A research proposal has three main points:

• 1) Explanation of proposed research (what will be done)

• 2) Methods and techniques to be employed (how it will be done)

• 3) Novelty and/or importance of the study (why it should be done)

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Components of a Proposal 1. Cover page 2. Summary / Abstract

3. Introduction / Statement of the Problem 4. Review of the Literature 5. Aims 6. Methodology 7. Data Analysis 8. Expected outcome (Risk/Benefit Analysis) 9. Future direction 10. Bibliography 11. Timeline 12. Budget/Cost Effectiveness 13. Appendices

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Step 1. Choose a Topic

Choose a topic which interests and challenges you. Your attitude towards the

topic may well determine the amount of effort and enthusiasm you put into your research.

Focus on a limited aspect - narrow it down from Religion to World Religion to

Buddhism. Obtain teacher approval for your topic before embarking on full-scale

research. Select a subject you can manage. Avoid subjects that are too technical,

learned, or specialized. Avoid topics that have only a very narrow range of source materials.

A Research Guide for Research Students http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html

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http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html



Choosing a Title • The title summarizes the main idea or ideas of your

study.

• A good title contains the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents and/or purpose of your research paper.

• The title is without doubt the part of a paper that is read the most, and it is usually read first.

• If the title is too long it usually contains too many unnecessary words, e.g., "A Study to Investigate the...." On the other hand, a title which is too short often uses words which are too general. For example, "African Politics" could be the title of a book, but it does not provide any information on the focus of a research paper.

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• If you leave a topic broad, it will be superficial. • If your topic is narrow, you can deal with it in

depth. If your topic is broad, you will deal with it only in a shallow way.

• For example, instead of writing a history of the

development of vaccination…

• Narrow the topic to: "The effect of the combined vaccination late 1990s on prevention."

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• The following parameters can be used to help you formulate a suitable research paper title:

• The purpose of the research

• The narrative tone of the paper [typically defined by the type of the research]

• The methods used

• The initial aim of a title is to capture the reader’s attention and to draw his or her attention to the research problem being investigated.

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• Create a Working Title Typically, the final title you submit to your professor is created after the research is complete so that the title accurately captures what was done. The working title should be developed early in the research process because it can help anchor the focus of the study in much the same way the research problem does. Referring back to the working title can help you reorient yourself back to the main purpose of the study if you feel yourself drifting off on a tangent while writing.

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The Final Title Effective titles in academic research papers have several

characteristics. • Indicate accurately the subject and scope of the study. • Avoid using abbreviations. • Use words that create a positive impression and stimulate reader interest. • Use current nomenclature from the field of study. • Identify key variables, both dependent and independent. • May reveal how the paper will be organized. • Suggest a relationship between variables which supports the major hypothesis. • Is limited to 10 to 15 substantive words. • Do not include "study of," "analysis of" or similar constructions. • Titles are usually in the form of a phrase, but can also be in the form of a

question. • Use correct grammar and capitalization with all first words and last words

capitalized, including the first word of a subtitle. All nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that appear between the first and last words of the title are also capitalized.

• In academic papers, rarely is a title followed by an exclamation mark. However, a title or subtitle can be in the form of a question.

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Project title

• The title should be descriptive and concise.

• It may need to be revised after completion of the writing of the protocol to reflect more closely the sense of the study.

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Title

This should provide a specific summary of the proposed work

Example 1: • NO (too much detail) A three-year study of population decline in the spotted

salamander (Ambystoma maculata) following logging, road building and wetland mitigation near vernal pools in a hardwood forest of northeastern Connecticut

• YES A study of population decline in the spotted salamander

(Ambystoma maculata) following logging in northeastern Connecticut

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Title

Example 2:

• NO (not enough detail)

Habitat models for use in rivers

• YES

Validation of in-stream habitat models for the Fenton River, Storrs, Connecticut

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Title of the research

A good title should be short, accurate, and

concise.

It should make the central objectives of the study

clear to the reader.

It is important to specify what population will be

investigated, and where it will be conducted.

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Simple steps to write a good research paper title

STEP 1

• Ask yourself these questions and make note of the answers: • What is my paper about? My paper studies whether X therapy improves the cognitive

function of patients suffering from dementia. • What techniques/ designs were used? It was a randomized trial. • Who/what is studied? I studied 40 cases from six cities in Japan. • What were the results? There was an improvement in the cognitive function of

patients.

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STEP 2

• Use your answers to list key words.

• X therapy

• Randomized trial

• Dementia

• 6 Japanese cities

• 40 cases

• Improved cognitive function

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STEP 3

• Create a sentence that includes the key words you listed.

• This study is a randomized trial that investigates whether X therapy improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan; it reports improved cognitive function.

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STEP 4

• Delete all unnecessary/ repetitive words and link the remaining.

• This study is a randomized trial that investigates whether X therapy improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan; it reports improved cognitive function Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan

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STEP 5 • Delete non-essential information and reword the

title. • Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive

function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan reports improved cognitive function

• Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40 dementia patients

OR Include a subtitle • X therapy improves cognitive function in 40 dementia

patients: A randomized trial

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Be prepared for

• To make mistakes and to learn.

• To write and rewrite many times.

• To spend many hours looking for information.

• To have your writing criticized.

• To feel confuse and hopeless some times.

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When should the research proposal be written?

• Preparation with the flying mind question

“Why”? In the first few months of this year.

• A substantial amount of work has to be done before a proposal can be written

• Some departments assume that a research proposal will be written in next two months.

• Seek advice on your draft from supervisors and peers.

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Before start writing ……..

• Do I have the clear research question?

• Have I read broadly and deeply in that area?

• Have I discussed the topic with peers?

• Have I enough time and fund to start?

• Do I feel support from faculty and friends?

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What it should contain? It is based on your clear research question.

• What do you want to do?

• Why do you want to do it?

• Why is it important?

• Who has done similar work?

• How are you going to do it?

• How long will it take?

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First step: formulation of the research question.

• Subject?

• Topic?

• What I want to observe?

• How I will do this.?

• Concise and descriptive.?

• Reflects the proposal in one sentence.?

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Cover/Title Page

Good

• Concise and clear title

Bad

• Wrong information • Short or long title

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Cover page

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Research Proposal Submitted to fulfill the course requirement (31509595 )


Faculty of Medicine

Title …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Under Supervision of Dr………..

By (team) 1- 2-

Submitted To

Dr. Hatim Jaber

Date of submission …….12-2019 45

Research Plan

The Research plan should include the following items:

1. Introduction

2. Objectives

3. Review of Literature

4. Research Design and Methods. 5. Time Schedule

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Introduction

• Definition of the problem under study.

• Magnitude of the problem.

• Major items concerning the problem, including the recent

studies trying to describe, explore its causes, solution of

the problem, etc.

• Rational of the research

- Does the study address an important health problem?

- How will scientific knowledge be advanced?

- What will be the effect of the study results on the concepts or methods

that drive this problem?

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Introduction

• Quantitative approach – aims to accurately describe the studied

problems (Descriptive epidemiology) and to identify and explain

their causes (Analytical epidemiology)

• It addresses health problems in variables with subsequent

statistical analysis and interpretation.

• Qualitative research - produces data which is reported in the

words of the patients or clients (broad, open-ended, and

interconnected questions) and is analyzed and interpreted in the

context of their family and cultural settings

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Research design and Methods

The following items should be overviewed in details:

1. Type of the study

2. Study population and sampling techniques

3. Study variables

4. Data collection

5. Data analysis

6. Strengths and limitations

7. Ethical consideration

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Type of study

Observational

Descriptive

(Prevalence)

Experimental

(Intervention) Analytical

- Cross sectional

- Ecological

- Case control

- Prospective

- Randomized Controlled Trial

(RCT)

- Community intervention trial

Others: case report, case series report, Case-only studies

(Genetic epidemiology “Gene environment interaction studies),

Case-Crossover studies.

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Arrangement of studies according to their strength in

Evidence Based Medicine (EBM)

1. Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

2. Prospective studies

3. Case-control studies

4. Prevalence studies

5. Ecological studies

6. Case report and case series

1

2

3

4

5,6

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Descriptive (prevalence) What is happening right now?

Subjects selected

to the study

With

disease

Without

disease

• Advantages: - Quick and cheap

- Generate hypothesis

- Indicate the prevalence of health and disease in a community

- Deal only with survivors

• Disadvantages - Not useful in rare diseases

- Do not prove association or cause effect relationship

E

D Onset of the study

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Case-control study What happened?

Advantages: - Not expensive

- Short period of time

- Suitable in Rare diseases

- Can examine multiple risk

factors

Disadvantages - Recall bias

- Difficult to select proper controls

- Use hospital or clinic cases only

restrict the results of the study

(Generalization)

- Misclassification of exposure

- Sophisticated statistical analysis

(Logistic regression)

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Measure of association in case control

study (odds ratio (OR))

Exposed Non

exposed

Cases a b

Controls c d

is the odd of exposure in cases relative to that in controls (a/c)

divided by

odd of non exposure in cases relative to that in controls (b/d)

OR = a/c ÷ b/d = ad/bc OR =1 (no association)

OR > 1 (positive association)

OR < 1 (Protective effect)

OR = ad /bc

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Prospective study What will happen?

Prospective study Advantages: - Incidence Rate and RR can

be estimated

- Cause-effect determination

- No recall bias

Disadvantages - Expensive

- Take long time

- Not suitable for rare

diseases

- Loss of follow up for some

studied persons

- Sophisticated survival

analysis (Cox regression)

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Measure of association in prospective

(Relative Risk (RR))

Exposed Non exposed

Diseased a b

Not diseased c d

Total n1 n2

RR = a/n1 ÷ b/n2

RR is the incidence of disease in exposed (a/n1) divided by the

incidence of disease in non exposed (b/n2)

N.B.: RR is read as OR (see before). 56

Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

Advantages: - No bias (Randomization)

- Cause-effect

- Determine RR

Disadvantages: - Ethical consideration

- Very expensive

- Not practical when studying

behavioral risk factors

- Random allocation of

communities is not practical

Requirements:

Appropriation of the control group.

Randomized allocation.

Blinded intervention and blind

ascertainment of outcome.

Data analysis by intention-to-treat

principle. 57

Study population

i. Define target population

ii. Define study subjects: inclusion and

exclusion criteria, if any

Case control study

Definition of cases

Definition of controls

Systematic error 58

Types of Samples

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• Probability (Random) Samples

• Simple random sample

–Systematic random sample

–Stratified random sample

–Multistage sample

–Multiphase sample

–Cluster sample

• Non-Probability Samples

–Convenience sample

–Purposive sample

–Quota 59

Sampling techniques

Sampling methods

• Selective or random (the best)

Sampling size

• There is no fixed size of sample.

• The formulas used to calculate sample size vary from study to study and from problem to problem.

• In cross sectional study, sample size is determined by: I. Prevalence of disease or problem under study.

II. Required confidence limit and α error

III. Required Precision (δ)

Random error

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Study variables

Definition of the study variables: 1. Independent variables (exposure variables)

2. Confounding variables

3. Dependent variable (outcome).

• Methods of measurement of the study variables

• Methods of categorization if any (Tertiles, Quartiles, etc)

Information bias (Misclassification)

Confounding bias 61

Types of Data: Primary and Secondary data

• Primary data: Data collected by the investigator himself/ herself for a specific purpose.

Examples: Data collected by a student for his/her thesis or research project.

• Secondary data: Data collected by someone else

for some other purpose (but being utilized by the investigator for another purpose).

Examples: Census data being used to analyze the impact of education on career choice and earning.

Data collection

• Methods of data collection

- Observation

- Questionnaire

- Interview

- Record analysis

• Quality of data

- who collect data

- measurement tools

- data recording (aberrant and missing data).

Information bias (Misclassification) 64

Strengths and limitations of the study

• All the studies have limitations.

• Study limitations are known to affect study results and generalization.

• The aim is to reduce the limitations and increasing study strength points as much as possible, thereby not affecting the obtained study results.

• In discussion, reporting limitations are as important as reporting study strengths

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Accuracy of the study (Precision and validity)

• The precision is determined by the degree to which random error

may contribute to the study results. In sampling contexts, the

random error is called sampling error.

• Sampling error is the degree to which a sample might differ from

the population.

• Mathematically, random error is calculated by dividing the

standard deviation of the sample by the square root of the

sample size (n).

SE = s / √n [formula when mean is estimated]

SE = √pq / n [formula when proportion is estimated]

By using SE, CI can be also calculated.

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Validity of the study

General population

Target population

Sample

Internal validity

External validity Internal validity - Selection bias

- Information bias

- Confounding bias

External validity - Generalization (extrapolation)

the extent to which the study is actually estimating what it is intended to estimate.

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Internal validity

• It is determined by the extent of systematic error that is

avoided or minimized.

• Systematic error (bias) can thus be distinguished from

random error.

Selection bias

-Non response bias

-Prevalence-incidence bias

-Hospital-based cases bias

-Publicity bias

-Healthy Worker Effect

Confounding bias

Characters of Confounder?

How to control?

Information bias

1. Non-differential

misclassification

2. Differential

misclassification

-Recall bias

-Diagnostic suspicious bias

-The clever Hans effect

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Elements of Testing hypothesis

• Null Hypothesis "الفرضية الصفرية"

• Alternative hypothesis "الفرضية البحثية"

• Identify level of significance

• Test statistic

• Identify p-value / confidence interval

• Conclusion

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Statistical analysis

• The used program of statistics (SAS, SPSS, etc).

• Hypothesis testing

i. Type I or α error

By convention it is 0.05 and indicates that the detected

difference is true and not due to chance.

ii. Type II or β error

By convention it is 0.20, and (1- β) is termed the

statistical power which means that the obtained

measure or difference between the studied groups

actually exists.

• Statistical tests (chi square test, test, ANOVA, etc).

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Data types

Variables

Scale

Continuous

Measurements

takes any value

Discrete:

Counts/ integers

Categorical

Ordinal:

obvious order

Nominal:

no meaningful order

Choosing summary statistics

Which average and measure of spread?

Scale

Normally distributed

Mean (Standard deviation)

Skewed data Median

(Interquartile range)

Categorical

Ordinal: Median

(Interquartile range)

Nominal: Mode (None)

Which Test to Use?

Scale of Data

Nominal Chi-square test

Ordinal Mann-Whitney U test

Interval (continuous)

- 2 groups T-test

Interval (continuous)

- 3 or more groups ANOVA

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Types of inferential statistics

1. Bivariate Parametric Tests

2. Nonparametric statistical tests: Nominal Data (1 group or more)

3. Nonparametric statistical tests: Ordinal Data (2 groups or more)

For continuous data

Tests for correlations between variables


1. Bivariate Parametric Tests:

• (a) One Sample t test (t)

• (b) Two Sample t test (t)

• (c) Analysis of Variance/ANOVA (F)

• (d) Pearson’s Product Moment Correlations(r) >> we use it if the two variables are continuous (intervals and ratios).


2. Nonparametric statistical tests: Nominal Data (1 group or more): (a) Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit Test (b) Chi-Square Test of Independence

We choose between (a) or (b) according to the groups;

being dependent or independent: • If it's 1 group we use pre and post test. • If there are 2 or more groups we have 2 options: -for dependent groups >> (a) -for independent groups >> (b)


3. Nonparametric statistical tests: Ordinal Data (2 groups or more):

(a) Mann Whitney U Test (U) >> for 2 groups

(b) Kruskal Wallis Test (H) >> for more than 2 groups


→For continuous data: a) For 1 group: Z-score T-test 2 means (pre & post) >> dependent t-test b) For 2 groups 2 means >> independent t-test c) 2 or more groups: One way ANOVA

→Tests for correlations between variables: Both variables are continuous >> Pearson’s correlations (as explained earlier) Both variables are ordinal data >> Spearman test If the dependent variable was continuous and the independent was

categorical/nominal >> t-test or z-test If the dependent variable was continuous and the independent was ordinal >>

point biserial correlation

Comparing means

Comparing means

Comparing BETWEEN groups

Comparing measurements WITHIN

the same subject

3+

2

Independent t-test

One way ANOVA

2 Paired t-test

Repeated measures

ANOVA

3+

ANOVA = Analysis of variance

Ethical consideration

The aim is to:

i. Respect for human dignity.

ii. Respect for free and informed consent.

iii. Respect for vulnerable persons (Aging,

handicapping, etc).

iv. Respect for privacy and confidentiality.

v. Respect for justice and inclusiveness.

vi. Maximizing benefit and minimizing harm.

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Timeline • Describe how long it will take to do your study • Provide timeline benchmarks • Example:

– Months 1 – 3 Prepare study tools – Months 4-10 Collect data – Months 11-12 Analyze data

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Plagiarism – Just Don’t Do IT!

• Plagiarism involves: – Intentionally copying someone else’s ideas or

words and not attributing them

– Colluding with other students on work when prohibited from doing so

– Cutting and pasting text from the Internet and passing it off as your own

– Purchasing someone else’s work and describing it as your own

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Research

Problem Literature

Review

Research

Design

Research

Findings

1. Informs

4. Contributes to

3. Reforms

2. Informs

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The Hallmarks of Good Research

• Serves a purpose and is relevant

• Clearly focussed and scoped

• Scientific (depends on context)

• Uses appropriate techniques & methods of data collection

• Findings are presented as objectively as possible

• Conclusions are based on the findings

• Sources of information and ideas are clearly attributed

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Writing a research proposal...2019/01/10 · Demonstrate writing skills by writing, a clear,...

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