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Lecture 8 Introduction to Research Methodology-Hassan Alwafi-min

The document provides an introduction to research methodology in health, outlining key learning outcomes such as differentiating research types and understanding study designs. It details the research process, including formulating questions, literature review, data collection, and analysis, while also discussing various study designs like qualitative, quantitative, and clinical research. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of research in advancing medical knowledge and practice.

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uesoha048
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6 views

Lecture 8 Introduction to Research Methodology-Hassan Alwafi-min

The document provides an introduction to research methodology in health, outlining key learning outcomes such as differentiating research types and understanding study designs. It details the research process, including formulating questions, literature review, data collection, and analysis, while also discussing various study designs like qualitative, quantitative, and clinical research. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of research in advancing medical knowledge and practice.

Uploaded by

uesoha048
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to research

methodology
Learning Outcomes
At the end the student should be able to:

• Differentiate different health research types

• Describe the different steps required to conduct a

research

• Identify the different types of study designs

(purpose and overall all design)


Outlines

• What, when and why research?


• Types of health research
• Research methodology
• Study Design

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23/03/2023
What is research?
• Research is the systemic collection, analysis and
interpretation of data to answer a certain question or
to solve a problem, to gain knew knowledge and to
make a decision
• It is an original contribution to the existing knowledge
• The corner stone of scientific progress

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Why research is important?

• It advances medical knowledge and practice


• It aids critical thinking and scientific attitude: to study
a subject in depth and to make decisions

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Prespective of research

Social

Study
Economical
therapy

Improve Health Basic


diagnosis sciences
Problems
assess
Legal issues
prognosis
Clinical
manageme
nt

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An introduction to research methods

• Research methods are specific procedures for


collecting and analysis of data.
• Developing your research methods is an integral part
of your research design.
• It can be referred as a systemic study, defining a
problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting and
analysing data and making conclusions.

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Research process

1- Formulate a research question


2- Perform an extensive literature review
3- Formulate hypothesis
4- Design research and sampling
5- Data collection
6- Analysis of data
7- Interperation of data and making conclusions

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Research Process

Problem
or Publication
question

Literature Data
Hypothesis Interpretation
review collection
Study Data
Knowledge
design analysis
gap

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Research methodology

• When planning your methods, there are two key


decisions you will make.
➢First: decide how you will collect data. Your
methods depend on what type of data you need to
answer your research question:
• Qualitative vs. quantitative: Will your data take the
form of words or numbers?
• Primary vs. secondary: Will you collect original data
yourself, or will you use data that has already been
collected by someone else?
• Descriptive vs. experimental: Will you take
measurements of something as it is, or will you
perform an experiment?
• Basic or clinical?
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Research methodology

➢Second, decide how you will analyse the data.


• For quantitative data, you can use statistical analysis methods
to test relationships between variables.
• For qualitative data, you can use methods such as thematic
analysis to interpret patterns and meanings in the data.
• For review reports, you can narratively summarize the research

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Types of Study Designs in Medical
Research:
• Retrospective
Individuals are followed over time and data
about them is collected
• Prospective
Use information on events that have taken place
in the past

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Types of Study Designs in Medical
Research:
• Primary
Original research
Generate new hypothesis
• Secondary
Summary of previous evidence
Meta-analysis (original study??)

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Types of Study Designs in Medical
Research:
• Quantitative:
More concerned with an understanding of
phenomenon through narrative description,
generally obtained under less structured
conditions
• Quantitative:
Involves measurement of outcomes using
numerical data under standardized conditions

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Types of Study Designs in Medical
Research:
• Basic
❑Typically done in a laboratory
❑Directed towards acquiring knowledge for its own sake
without reference to the practical use of the results
• Clinical
❑Directed towards solving practical problems and testing
theories that direct practice

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Types of Study Designs in Clinical
Research:
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
• Descriptive
Documentation of participant characteristics
Often provides that basis for further investigation
• Analytical
Investigations where the researcher manipulates and
controls one or more variables and observes the results
Qualitative research
• Understanding
• Interview
• Focus Groups
• Discovering frameworks
• Theory generating
• Subjective
Quantitative Research

• Prediction
• Survey/questionnaires
• Analytical
• Association
• Numerical
• Theory testing (experimental)
Quantitative designs

1-Descriptive
- Describe a common problem in a population.
- Describe a rare disease.
- The most common drug used, or lab test used.
- Prevalence and incidence studies.
- Who, where, and when: describing the distribution of a
disease in terms of person, place and time.
2- Analytical
- Hypothesis testing
- Association
Descriptive designs

1- Case reports
Describe a rare event.
2- Case series
Describe a rare event in a larger group of patients.
3- Cross sectional studies
Describe a common problem in a population
4- Drug utilization studies
Describe trends and use of drugs
4- Ecological studies
Describe a common problem in multiple locations and/or
generate hypothesis
Analytical studies

1- Observational (case controls and cohort studies)


2- Experimental (Randomization)
Studies that entail manipulation of the study factor
(exposure) and randomization of subjects to treatment
(exposure) groups
Analytical studies
Case control:
• Is there a relation between outcome and risk factor
• Retrospective (in the past)
Cohort studies:
• Causation of an outcome or to evaluate impact of treatment
• Retrospective (in the past) or Prospective (in the future)
Randomized clinical trials studies
• Gold standard
• Prospective
• Answer question on the effectiveness and safety of treatment and
interventions
Source of data
• Direct collection of information based on the
performance of the participant including
(hospital data, electronic health records,
administrative data and registries)
• Surveys or questionnaires.
• Secondary analysis – use of data collected for
another purpose.
Selection and inclusion and exclusion criteria

• Inclusion criteria
• Primary traits of the populations that will qualify
someone as a participant
• Exclusion criteria
• Those factors that would preclude someone from
being a participant
• Factors that are likely to interfere with interpretation
of the research findings
Populations & Samples

• Population
• The larger group to which research results are
generalized
• Defined as a group of persons, objects or events that
meet specific criteria (e.g. all people with hypertension)
• Sample
• A subgroup of the population
• Serves as a reference group for estimating
characteristics of or drawing conclusions about the
larger population
Sampling plan

1. Define the Population of Interest


2. Select a Sampling Method
3. Determine Sample Size
4. Execute the Sampling Plan
Data collection and outcome measures

• Data collection are wide and varied with any


one method of collection not inherently better
than any other.
• Data collection is determined by several
elements including (study design, research
question, types of variable and source of data)
outcome measures

• Outcome measures are defined as the “process


of assigning numerals to variables to represent
quantities of characteristics according to
certain rules
• Scientists and clinicians use measurement as a
way of understanding, evaluating and
differentiating characteristics of people and
objects
• Information can be used to evaluate a patient’s
condition and response to treatment (e.g.
blood sugar level of 60 mg/dL vs. “low”)
Variables and outcomes measures

• A variable is a property that can differentiate


individuals or objects; it represents an attribute
that can have more than one value
• The ability to measure a variable is dependent
on one’s ability to define it.
• For examples: Direct physical or physiological
methods (e.g. weight, heart rate, blood glucose
levels)
Types of variables

First consider what the unit of interest is in


the research study (eg person, animal, cell)
• Then what will you do to it with regards the
outcome measure?
– Count it
– Take measurements on it
– Measure the time taken for an event to occur.
Types of variables

• Continuous – can take on any value along a


continuum within a defined range such as body
weight and height
• Discrete – can be described in whole unit such as
heart beats/min
• Dichotomous – discrete variables that can take on
only two (2) values such as gender
Outcomes measures (endpoints )
• Outcome measure is the quantitative thing
used to address the objective
• Examples
objectives outcome measures
To determine the effectiveness of anti- Mean Hba1c level
diabetic therapy in people with
diabetes
To determine whether new Drug A for The proportion of patients who suffer a
asthma has a similar effect as standard severe asthma exacerbation
therapy
To examine the relationship between Heart diseases and age obtained for
heart diseases and age every study subject

To examine the relationship between Smoking and lung cancer for study
smoking and lung cancer subject
Summarizing outcomes measures

• Counts and percentages


• Pie and bar charts
• Component and stacked bar charts
• Two-way tables or cross-tabulations
Summarizing outcomes measures

• Descriptive statistics
1. Measures of central tendency (mean, mode,
median)
2. Measures of dispersion (range, variance, standard
deviation)
• Inferential statistics
1. Hypothesis testing
2. Regression analysis
References

• Medical statistics at a glance. A Petrie & C Sabin. BMJ Books,


2nd edition, 2005.
• Medical Statistics. B Kirkwood & J Sterne, Blackwells, 2nd
edition, 2003.
• A concise guide to clinical trials. A Hackshaw. Wiley-
Blackwell, 2009
• A concise guide to observational. A Hackshaw. Wiley-
Blackwell, 2015
Thank You

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