RSCH410%20Introduction%20to%20Health%20Research

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RSCH410 Introduction to Health Research

Research Methodology

• Writing
• a
• Research Proposal

Mohamed M. B. Alnoor Mona M. H. Diab
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Writing a Research Proposal
Content

• What is research ?

• What is a research proposal?

• Steps in conducting research

• Basic Proposal Outline

• Title page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology
• Expected results
• Ethical issues
• Timeline
• Bibliography (or References)

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Writing a Research Proposal
What is research ?
Re /
search
Research

• Research is the
• systematic collection
• analysis and
• interpretation of data
• to answer a certain question or
• solve a problem.

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Writing a Research Proposal
What is research ?

• Research
• demands clear statement of the problem
• requires a plan
• builds on existing data
• should answer the original research question

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Writing a Research Proposal
What is research ?
Identifying Problems for Research
Common Research Questions

• Description of Health Problem
• Magnitude of a health problem/disease
• Distribution of the health problem in time,
  place and person.
• Identification of risk factors and causes

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Writing a Research Proposal
What is research ?
Identifying Problems for Research
Common Research Questions

• Effect of an intervention
• Drug, vaccine, risk factor cessation, health
  education
• Evaluation of on-going interventions
• Coverage of Target Groups, Quality, Cost,
  Effect/Impact

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Writing a Research Proposal
Why research ?
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Writing a Research Proposal
Why, proposal?

• The primary functions of the proposal are to
• SELL the research idea
• Commit to do the research in a systematic way
• Explains the significance/importance of the
  research
• Explains the research methods

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Writing a Research Proposal
Why, proposal?

• The proposal also serves to
• Show interest in academic improvement and
  publication.
• Show that sufficient preliminary reading/
  research in the area of interest have been done
• (Generate funds to sustain the research units
  operation)

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What is a proposal?
Writing a Research Proposal

• A good proposals quickly and easily answer the
  following questions
• What is to be achieved.
• What difference will the research project make
  to
• the university
• the discipline
• the state, the nation

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What is a proposal?
Writing a Research Proposal

• What has already been done in the area of the
  project?
• How is it intended to be done?
• How much time will it take?
• How will the results be evaluated?

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Writing a Research Proposal
Steps in conducting Research
Selection / statement of Research Problem
Background / Literature review
2
1
Formulation of Objectives
3
Report Writing and Presentation
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R e s e a r c h P r o p o s a l
gy
Study Methodology
4
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Data Analysis
5
Proposal submission and approval
Field Work
6
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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Title page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology
• Expected results
• Ethical issues
• Timeline
• (Budget)
• Bibliography (or References)

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Title page
• Personal data
• Title of the research report.
• The name(s) of the supervisor(s).
• Abstract
• Concise summary of the WHOLE project
• Introduction
• Topic area
• Research question
• Significance to knowledge
• Literature review
• Previous research others yours
• International-regional- local

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Methodology
• Approach
• Data needs
• Analysis
• Expected results
• Ethical issues
• Timeline
• (Budget)
• Bibliography (or References)

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Title page
• Personal data (name, academic title, contact
  information)
• Title of the research report
• The title should be brief(ten words or 60
  characters), it should be accurate, descriptive
  and comprehensive, clearly indicating the subject
  of the investigation.
• The name(s) of the supervisor(s), and their
  affiliation.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Abstract (100 - 200 words),
• Should be a concise summary of the WHOLE
  project
• Background
• Objectives
• Methods
• Result
• Conclusion

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Introduction
• Topic area
• Starts broad and is then focused
• Step 1 Choose a subject or area of interest.
• Step 2 Conduct a preliminary exploration of the
  subject.
• Step 3 Narrow and shape the subject into a
  specific topic.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Hypotheses
• Significance to knowledge
• Rationale importance
• Impact(benefit from the research)

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Why should research objectives be developed?
• (Formulation of objectives will help to)
• Focus the study (narrowing it down to
  essentials)
• Avoid collection of data that are not necessary
  for understanding and solving the problem.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Why should research objectives be developed?
• (Properly formulated, specific objectives
  will)
• Facilitate the development of your research
  methodology.
• Help to orient the collection , analysis,
  interpretation, and utilization of data.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Formulation Of Research Objectives
• The objectives of a research project summarize
  what is to be achieved by the study.
• The objectives should be closely related to the
  statement of the problem.

eg.
the objective should be
gy
if the problem is
gy
to identify the reasons for this low
utilization.

low utilization of child welfare clinics
gy
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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• General objective states what is expected to be
  achieved by the study in general terms.
• Specific objectives It is possible (and
  advisable) to break down a general objective into
  smaller, logically connected parts.
• (Specific objectives should specify what
  is intended to be done in the study, where, and
  when.)

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• The general objective to identify the reasons
  for low utilization of child welfare clinics in
  District X to find solutions,
• could be broken down into smaller more
  specific objectives, such as

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Specific Objectives, such as
• 1. To determine the level of utilization of the
  child welfare clinics in District X, over the
  years 1998 and 1999.
• This first objective focuses on quantifying the
  problem.
• Often use can be made of available statistics or
  of the health information system.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Specific objectives, such as
• 2. To identify variations in utilization of child
  welfare clinics, related to the season, type of
  clinic, and children served.
• Objective 2 further specifies the problem,
  looking at its distribution.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Specific objectives, such as
• 3. To identify factors that make the services
  attractive or not attractive to mothers.
• This objective examines possible factors that may
  play a role in the problem
• This objective may be divided into smaller
  sub-objectives focusing on factors such as
  distance to the clinic, quality of the services,
  their acceptability to mothers

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Specific objectives, such as
• 4. To identify socioeconomic and cultural factors
  that may influence the mothers utilization of
  services.
• Again, this objective may be broken down into
  several sub-objectives.
• It also examines possible factors that may play a
  role in the problem

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Objectives(general specific)
• Specific objectives, such as
• 5. To make recommendations to all parties
  concerned (managers, health staff, and mothers)
  regarding what changes should be made, and how,
  to improve the use of child welfare clinics based
  on the research findings .
• This objective indicates how the results would be
  used, and should be included in applied studies.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• Characteristics of Good Objectives
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic/Relevant
• Time-Bound

SMART
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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Research question
• How to state the objectives?
• Cover the different aspects of the problem and
  its contributing factors in a coherent way and
  logical sequence
• Are clearly phrased in operational terms,
  specifying exactly what you are going to do,
  where, and when

Make sure that the objectives of the study
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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• How to state the objectives?
• Use action verbs that are specific enough to be
  evaluated.
• eg. to determine, to compare, to verify, to
  calculate, to describe, and to
  establish.
• Avoid the use of vague non-action verbs, such as
  to appreciate, to understand, or to study.

Make sure that the objectives of the study
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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• How to state the objectives?
• Eg. Utilization of child welfare clinics, more
  specific objectives may be
• 1. To compare the level of utilization of the
  child welfare clinic services among various
  socioeconomic groups
• 2. To describe the pattern of utilization of
  child welfare clinic services in various seasons
  of the year

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• How to state the objectives?
• Eg. Utilization of child welfare clinics, more
  specific objectives may be
• 3. To verify whether distance between home and
  the health facility is associated with
  utilization of the child welfare clinic services
• 4. To describe mothers satisfaction regarding
  quality of the services provided at the child
  welfare clinics.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal
Research question

• Hypotheses
• It is a prediction of a relationship between
  one or more factors and the problem under study,
  which can be tested.
• Based on experience with the study problem,
  it might be possible to develop explanations
  (formulate hypotheses) for the problem.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Hypotheses
• eg. low utilization of child welfare clinics
• It would be possible to formulate and test the
  following hypotheses
• Utilization of child welfare clinics is lowest in
  the rainy season due to the high workload of
  mothers during that period.
• Utilization of child welfare clinics is lowest in
  those clinics in which staff are poorly motivated
  to provide preventive services.

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Basic Proposal Outline
Writing a Research Proposal

• Significance to knowledge
• Rationale importance
• Impact(benefit from the research)
• Why is it important to answer this question?
• What are the implications of doing it?
• How is it significant to the body of knowledge?
• How does it stand to inform policy making?
• How does it plug the holes in the knowledge?

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Literature review
• Previous research others yours
• International-regional- local
• Cover research that is relevant and explains
  the relationship between variables being studied.

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline cont.

• Literature review
• Chronological Orderby the dates of publication.
• Problem-Cause-Solution Ordermove from the
  problem to the solution
• General-to-Specific Order Examine broad-based
  research first and then focus on specific studies
  that relate to the topic

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Common Errors Made in Literature Reviews
Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Review isnt logically organized
• Review isnt focused on most important facets of
  the study
• Review doesnt relate literature to the study
• Too few references or outdated references cited
• Review isnt written in authors own words
• Review reads like a series of disjointed
  summaries
• Review doesnt argue a point

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Methodology
• Approach
• Data needs
• Analysis

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Methodology
• Approach qualitative
• Research Design
• Identify and describe the proposed quantitative
  or the qualitative research designs . Provide a
  brief description for research designs that were
  chosen to study the topic.
• Study Area and Population
• Identify and describe where the study will
  take place, including city, state and
  institution.

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Methodology
• Approach qualitative
• Sample
• Identify and describe the sampling method for
  the portions of the proposed study (i.e., simple
  random sampling, convenience sampling, etc.
• Indicate the anticipated sample size for each
• of the quantitative and quantitative study.
• Describe the expected demographic characteristics
  of the quantitative and qualitative samples
• Specify inclusion exclusion criteria

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Methodology
• Data needs
• Measures and Instrumentation
• For the quantitative portion of the study
• Identify the independent and the dependent
  variables.
• Describe the type of quantitative study
  instrument being used, such as a questionnaire, a
  case record review form, or if the data are
  supposed to come from administrative data.

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline cont.

• Methodology
• Data needs
• Measures and Instrumentation
• For the quantitative portion of the study
• Describe the reliability of the study instrument,
  if known. If not known, then describe how you
  would address reliability issues.
• Describe the validity of the study instrument, if
  known. If not known, then describe how you would
  address validity issues.

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• For the qualitative portion of the study
• Identify and describe the main domains that are
  to be explored (e.g. the main topics you are
  going to ask about)
• Describe the type of qualitative study instrument
  being proposed, such as a semi-structured
  interview guide, or a focus group guide.
• Describe how potential issues related to the
  credibility and trustworthiness of the data will
  be addressed

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Data analysis
• Describe how collected data will be analyzed
• Describe how data will be presented(dummy tables)
• What statistical tests will you use?
• Be sure the statistics are appropriate for the
  study design
• Analysis should be linked to the hypotheses and
  clear how each hypothesis will be tested

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Ethical Considerations
Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Describe how you will obtain informed consent,
  ensure participants confidentiality or
  anonymity, Fairness , Honesty, protect them from
  harm, and submit your proposal to an IRB for
  review and approval.
• Data Collection Procedures (if the proposed study
  includes an intervention, describe the
  intervention )

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline
Timeline
Title selection Objectives formulation Backgroun
d Lit search Methods
Area Pop Sampling Instrument Analysis plan
Proposal submission and approval
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Writing a Research Proposal
Subject/wks 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16
Title selection
Objectives
Background
Lit review
Area Pop
Sampling
Instrument
Analysis plan
Proposal/ submission and approval
Proposal/ submission and approval


















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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Bibliography (or References)
• What is referencing?
• A standardised way of acknowledging the sources
  of information.
• It allows the sources to be identified.
• Why reference?
• Is important to
• Avoid plagiarism.
• Enable readers to follow up what is written.

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Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Bibliography (or References)
• Steps in referencing
• Record the full bibliographic details.
• Follow the guidelines of the institution.
• Insert the citation at the appropriate place in
  the text of the document.
• Include a reference list at the end of your
  document.

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Bibliography (or References)
Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• Include only the literature which was actually
  cited
• References may be done in either the Harvard or
  Vancouver style.

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Bibliography (or References)
Writing a Research Proposal
Basic Proposal Outline

• References may be done in either the Harvard or
  Vancouver style.
• Harvard style(Parenthetical referencing)
• partial citationsfor example, "(Smith 2010,
  P1)"
• Vancouver style(author-number system)
• A superscript number is inserted in the text
  e.g.(Type 2 diabetes,1but it has been)