John Anthony A. Domantay, M.D., FPSP, Ph.D.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Analysis of variables that are numerical or that are suitable for numerical summarization

Examples of numerical variables

Age in years Blood pressure in mmHg Social support in terms of a scale from 1 to 5 Number of pregnancies Attitudes towards contraceptive use on a scale of 1 to 4

TOPICS

RESEARCH PROBLEMS AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES LITERATURE REVIEW RESEARCH DESIGNS*

TOPICS

SAMPLING DESIGNS
DATA ANALYSIS

What is a good research problem?

1.

RESEARCHABILITY
Data can be collected to answer the question or resolve the problem

What is a good research problem?

2.

SIGNIFICANCE

The problem: Affects a large population Has serious morbidity consequences Is related to on-going projects

What is a good research problem?

2.

SIGNIFICANCE

The answer: Fills a gap in knowledge or technology Has practical application Will improve the practice of the profession

What is a good research problem?

2.

SIGNIFICANCE Concepts and ideas are novel Not over-researched in the past

What is a good research problem?

3.

FEASIBILITY

Adequate subjects can be gathered for the study. Procedures are technically possible. Information needed can be collected. Resources are available. The study can be completed within a reasonablle period of time.

What is a good research problem?

3.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Critical mass: problem is broad and large enough Interest: current interest in the problem area; priority within the national or institutional mission

Article Summary Page

Topic_____________________________Date__________ Citation_________________________________________

Purpose

Design

Sample

Vars

Stats

Result

Conclusions

Critique

Summarizing and writing up literature review:

To write up your review you need to: 1. Organize the studies by finding 2. Compare findings across studies a)If findings are in same direction, summarize them and cite strongest articles b) If findings across studies are not in agreement, rank the studies according to your ranking; report conflicting findings but indicate which findings are from best studies and most credible

Summarizing and writing up literature review:

3. Write up the findings from the literature review and summary. Writing should be clear, concise, and focused. Plagiarism rules need to be adhered to. Repetition should be avoided. To become more familiar with how to write up a literature reviewRead review articles and the literature review sections of published papers

Standard IMRAD format

I INTRODUCTION: why the authors decided to do the research

M METHODS: how they did it, and how they analyzed their results

Standard IMRAD format

R RESULTS: what they found

D DISCUSSION: what the results mean

Standard IMRAD format

Is a paper worth reading?

Design of the METHODS section

Critical Appraisal

Assessment of methodological quality

Three preliminary questions

Critical Appraisal
1.

Why was the study done, and what clinical questions were the authors addressing?

Introduction Or Methods

Critical Appraisal
2. What type of study was done?

Primary study: reports research first hand Secondary (or integrative) study: attempts to summarize and draw conclusions from primary studies

Critical Appraisal
Primary research: Randomized control trial Cohort study Case-control study Cross-sectional survey Case report

Critical Appraisal
Secondary research: A. Overviews Non-systematic reviews - Summarize primary studies Systematic reviews - Rigorous and pre-defined methodology

Critical Appraisal
Secondary research:

Meta-analyses - Integrate numerical data from more than one study

Critical Appraisal
Secondary research:
B.

Guidelines

C. Decision analyses

D. Economic analyses

Critical Appraisal
Was this design appropriate to the research? Therapy: - Randomized controlled trial Diagnosis: - Cross-sectional survey Screening: - Cross-sectional survey
3.

Critical Appraisal
3.

Was this design appropriate to the research? Prognosis: - Cohort study Causation - Cohort study - Case-control study

STUDY DESIGNS
DESCRIPTIVE Observational studies - Ecological Study (Correlation study) - Cross-Sectional Study (Prevalence study)

STUDY DESIGNS
ANALYTICAL Observational studies - Case-control study - Cohort study Experimental studies - Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) - Community Trial

What type of study was done?

A study was carried out to investigate the effect of HIV infection on mortality among people with tuberculosis in Zambia. Individuals with tuberculosis were recruited to the study, and their HIV status determined. They were followed up to compare mortality in the HIVpositive and HIV-negative groups.

What type of study was done?

ANSWER: COHORT STUDY

What type of study was done?

A study was carried out to investigate risk factors for invasive cervical cancer in Brazil. Women with invasive cervical cancer were identified from a cancer registry, and a comparison group of women were selected from the same population. Both groups were interviewed to determine the presence or absence of a number of exposures.The prevalence of these exposures was compared between the group of women with cancer and the comparison group.

What type of study was done?

ANSWER: CASE-CONTROL STUDY

What type of study was done?

A study looked for an association between severe maternal anaemia in the final trimester of pregnancy and low birthweight babies. All low birth-weight babies born in a rural hospital during a one-year period were identified. A representative group of nonlow birth-weight was selected. For all these babies, the hospital antenatal notes were used to identify the haemoglobin levels of the mother in the final trimester of pregnancy.

What type of study was done?

ANSWER: CASE-CONTROL STUDY

What type of study was done?

In a study of the treatment of acute diarrhoea, children with acute diarrhoea were randomly allocated to receive either rice-based oral-rehydration fluid or the standard treatment (glucosebased oral rehydration fluid). The average duration of the diarrhoea in each group was compared.

What type of study was done?

ANSWER: RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

What type of study was done?

A study looked for an association between trachoma and overcrowding. All the individuals in a community were examined for the presence of trachoma. They simultaneously filled in a questionnaire about the size of their homes and the number of people living there.

What type of study was done?

ANSWER: CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY