Research

The Science in Research

"Research is conducted according to the researcher’s intention, their purpose, and the paradigm they’re operating from within. While many people use the word “research” to loosely mean “gathering information” scientists use this word in a more specific way.

The term “research” in a scientific context usually refers to the entire scientific method from start to finish. The information gathering portion of the scientific method is more properly called a “review.”"- Martyn Shuttleworth, Lyndsay T Wilson (Oct 3, 2008). Definition of Research. Retrieved Jun 18, 2019 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/definition-of-research

Center of Evidence Based Medicine: Study Designs

According the Center of Evidence Based Medicine study designs include:

A defined population (P) from which groups of subjects are studied
Outcomes (O) that are measured

Experimental and analytic observational studies also include

Interventions (I) or exposures (E) that are applied to different groups of subjects

Click here: CEBM to go to a description of each research study type, their strengths and weaknesses

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What is PICO?

PICO is a mnemonic used to aide the clinician or researcher in identifying the important parts of a well-defined clinical question. This question then provides the basis for a search of medical literature on the question topic.

Elements of a Clinical Question

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Types of Possible Questions in Relation to PICO

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Literature Searching: What and Why?

Literature searching is the systematic review of published articles, data, books and reviews. Sometimes referred to as "evidence", this process is carried out with the intention of supporting or disproving a query.

Evidence based practice (EBP) includes literature searching in response to identified clinical or practice based questions.
It is important that researchers understand the characteristics of the databases within which they are searching.
Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and quality research manuscripts can be found in databases organized and indexed using biomedical terminology and medical subject headings [MeSH].

National Library of Medicine Videos

The following set of videos, designed specifically for nurses, provides an introduction to searching literature in PubMed. Click on the icon below for a live link:

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Click on the icon above to access a quick reference for searching in PubMed with MeSH

CINAHL Searching Tutorial

Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists

is an international not-for-profit, research and development center within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. Renown for quality evidence based research and protocols, JBI offers critical appraisal checklists as tools for researchers.

Using boolean operators to connect search terms

Image credit: Dr.Samir Haffar slide deck; https://www.slideshare.net/shaffar75/how-to-search-the-medical-literature-on-the-net

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

"OECD iLibrary is the central knowledge base of OECD expertise. OECD publishes its recommendations, analysis and data on OECD iLibrary to help inform policy makers, researchers and analysts to implement the best possible responses in their countries. OECD iLibrary’s Books, Papers, and Statistical content provide the foundation for international planning and research projects delivered on an award-winning platform following solid and reliable standards.

Research Focused eBooks