CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH PROCESS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lecture, students should be able to :
1. Elaborate various characteristics of a health
research process
2. Differentiate research from a non-research activity
3. Elaborate ingredients of researcher
4. Discuss the criteria for selection of a research
topic
5. Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative
data
Core Subject
1
WHAT IS A GOOD
RESEARCH QUESTION?
FINER
The characteristics of a good research
question, assessed in the context of the
intended study design, are that it be
feasible, interesting, novel, ethical,
and relevant (which form the
mnemonic FINER)
SEARCH ENGINES
Googlescholar
PubMed
STEPS IN HSR
A GOOD RESEARCH PROPOSAL IS BASED ON
SCIENTIFIC FACTS AND ON THE ART OF
CLEAR COMMUNICATION
TOP 10 REASONS MANUSCRIPTS
REJECTED
1. Wrong format, preparation
2. Disorganized study design
3. Defective tables, figures
4. Poor organization throughout, writing, spelling
5. No hypothesis or problem statement
6. No or insufficient conclusion
7. Over interpretation of results
8. Article unfocused, too verbose and long
9. Inappropriate statistical methods; methods not sufficient to
repeat study
10. Poorly written abstract/title
Pierson DJ, Respiratory Care 49(10), 2004
Byrne DW, Publishing Medical Research Papers, Williams and Wilkins, 19
SOME GUIDELINES
Write simple grammatically correct sentences
Brevity is the best practice
Avoid irrelevant details
Show the draft to colleagues
Read final draft carefully
Typographical and grammatical mistakes give
bad impression
Check tables and figures (Captions, size,
clarity)
QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCHER
Research oriented
Efficient
Scientific
Effective
Active
Resourceful
Creative
Honest
Economical
Religious
PRIORITY RATING FOR RESEARCH PROPOSAL
PRIORITY RATING FOR
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Horizontal
Integration
RESEARCHES IN BASIC
SCIENCES
Habbal O. Anatomical Research: Misconceptions and
opportunities. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2017
Feb;17(1):e1-e2. doi:
10.18295/squmj.2016.17.01.001. Epub 2017 Mar 30.
PMID: 28417020; PMCID: PMC5380403.
Vertical Integration
RESEARCH ETHICS
Research ethics refers to diverse sets of
values, norms and institutional
regulations that help to constitute and
regulate scientific activity.
ETHICAL ASPECTS IN
RESEARCH
Voluntary participation
Informed consent
Anonymity
Confidentiality
Conveying the potential for harm
Communication of results
Compensation for any loss
REFERENCES
1. Shah-Ilyas-Ansari-Irfan’s. Public Health and
Community Medicine. Introduction to Health
Research Methodology (8th Chapter). 8th Edition
2. Uwe Flick. Introducing Research Methodology: A
Beginner′s Guide to Doing a Research Project Second
Edition. SAGE Publications.
3. Aviva Petrie, Caroline Sabin. Medical Statistics at a
Glance. 2005. 2nd Edition. Blackwell Publishing.
Thank you