Communicating Research

Flashcards with key vocabulary terms and their definitions from a lecture on research communication in medical science.

Principal Investigator

The Principal leader of a research study team.

Chief investigators

Usually includes a biostatistician in a research study.

Associate investigators

May be responsible for recruiting study participants.

Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research

Guidelines for conducting human medical research in Australia.

National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research

Guidelines for conducting human medical research in Australia.

Study protocol

A key component to include aims and hypotheses, background and rationale, participant inclusion and exclusion criteria, clinical and laboratory methods, statistical analysis plan, expected outcomes, with timelines, and patient information and consent form.

Research data management

Must include planning ahead of study commencement, ownership of intellectual property, documentation and metadata, storage and backup of data, sharing and reuse, retention and disposal of data.

Data Presentation

Discuss data with your supervisor(s) before presentation.

Abstract Submission selections

Poster, oral/poster, oral, online, and rejection.

Poster Presentations

Good for networking.

Poster Presentation Guidelines

Adhere to guidelines for that conference. Keep text to a minimum and use bullet points where possible.

Minimum font sizes for Poster Presentations

Heading 120; subheadings 48; text 36.

Oral presentations

Use MS Powerpoint (or equivalent).

Oral presentation planning

Plan for about 1 slide per minute. Use 3-7 bullets points per slide.

Powerpoint slide font

Use sans serif fonts (Arial, Calibri or similar) not serif fonts (Times New Roman, Courier).

Type size for Powerpoint slides

Preferably 28, 32 or 36.

Colour on Powerpoint slides

Dark letters against a light background are best for smaller rooms, especially when the lights are on for teaching.

Colour on powerpoint slides (Large room)

Light letters on a dark background also work in a large room but most people use white backgrounds.

Figures in Powerpoint slides

Must be readable, understandable and uncluttered. Keep simple and use colour for clarification.

State what you are going to say, say it, and summarise what you have said and make conclusions.

Principles of an effective presentation.

Basic structure of a presentation

Title slide, introduction/background, methods, results, summary/conclusions, acknowledgements.

Summary slide

List main findings as dot points.

Conclusions slide

List important conclusions and future studies.

Acknowledgement slide

Collaborators and their institutions and funding sources.

Presenting research findings by publication

Inform and involve all authors at all stages of manuscript production.

Structure of a manuscript

Title page, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, materials and methods (or online), references.

Abstract

Provide a brief, accurate summary of – Study rationale – Important methodology – Important findings – Conclusions.

Introduction

Describe the clinical significance and epidemiology of the disease under study. Outline the rationale for conducting the study.

Methods (participants)

Participant inclusion and exclusion criteria. Statement that participants gave informed consent (ie. signed consent form).

Methods (clinical and laboratory)

Describe methods used with sufficient detail for another investigator to reproduce your investigations.

Methods (statistics)

Outline statistical methods used and why they were used, if appropriate.

Results

Present study findings as text and in numbered figures or tables referred to in the text.

Results (participants)

Describe cases and controls (table or figure) with particular reference to the number of cases and controls.

Results (data)

Organise results into sections with appropriate subheadings. At the start of each section, briefly indicate why an experiment or clinical study was done.

Discussion

First paragraph summarises major findings.

References

List references at the end of the manuscript, using the citation method specified in journal Instructions for Authors.

Acknowledgements in publications

Affiliation to institutions in authorship list.

Recruiting study participants

Essential skill for part of study

Poster presentations

Minimum font sizes: heading 120; subheadings 48; text 36

Methods Participants

Statement that the study was approved by a human (or animal) research ethics committee.