communicating research and lit review

In neuroscience does publication vary across publishers

yes

Regardless of the publisher, what should all primary articles contain

Title( includes the DV and IV)

Author list with affliations

abstract

introduction

methods

results( figures and tables)

conclusions

references

what is an abstract

concise summary of the objectives, methodology, key results and major conclusion of the study

what is introduction

briefly indicate the objective of the study, background information to clarify why it was studied, the research question, and what hypotheses were tested. SO tells the reader what was studied and why

what is the materials and methods

How the researchers answered the research question. It should be brief and sufficient to allow other investigators to repeat the research

In journal neuroscience what does it require as a subsection of the materials and methods

it requires every research manuscript to include an experimental design and statistical analysis section

what does the statistical analysis mean

describes statistical tests used in a study

when is a good time to consult a statistician

when planning the study and planning experimental design

what should be reported in the experimental design section

• full details of the experimental design of each individual experiment( within and between subjects factors

• full descriptions of critical variables required for independent replications( number of animals of each sex, number of litter for development studies etc)

what is results

presents the experimental findings. Only results essential to establish the main points of the work should be included

• the numerical data should be analyzed using appropriate stat tests described in the experimental and stat analysis subsection

• provide detailed info for each stat test applied ( the df, exact p-value and any estimates of effects sizes)

• Figures and tables

what is discussion

include brief statement of principle findings, discuss the validity of the observations, findings in light of other published work about related subjects and a discuss possible significance of the work

what is complex designs

when we manipulate more than one independent variable

advantage to complex designs

explore interaction between variables, we want to know if there is an interaction between our variables

what is the interaction in complex designs

when the effect of one IV(1) on the DV is affected by the presence of another IV.

so determines if the effect of IV(1) on the DV depends on what is going on with IV(2)

• it is the combined impact of the Ivs on the DV

factorial designs

instead of using a single IV with varying levels, a factorial design is when you use 2 or more IVs with varying levels

why are factorial designs efficient

it is an efficient way to examine multiple IVs at the same time and it allows to test main effects and interactive effects

what is a factorial

every possible combination of each IV

what are main effects

individual effects of the IVs on the DV

how do you analyze results of a factorial design and what does it yield

run a factorial ANOVA ( or a 2 way ANOVA),

it yields an f-score for all the interactive and main effects examined

give a 2 by 3 factorial design we saw in class

The anxiety experiments for one independent variable there are 2 levels ( if they attending the training or not) and for the second independent variable there are 3 levels

What does an overap(cross over) mean when you graph 2 independent variables

There is an interaction between those 2 independent variables

how can factorial designs vary

• in the number of Ivs they involve

• in the number of levels each IV has

what is a 2 ×2 factoral design, what is a 3×3, what is a 2×3×3 , what is a 2×4

(2×2) 2 independent variables that have 2 levels each

(3×3) 2 independent variables that have 3 levels each

(2×3×3) 3 independent variables, 2 of them have 3 levels each and the other has only 2 levels

(2×4) 2 independent variables, one has 2 levels and the other has 4 levels

what does the number of values represent in a factorial design

number of IVs in the study

what does the actual values represent

the number of levels for each variable

where can factorial designs be used

in repeated measures studies and between subjects studies

what is a mixed measures design

uses both within subject variables and between subject variables

for example a 2×3 mixed design could be sex and dosage of drug(3 levels) you would use a between group for sex and use same men and women for each level of the drug ( within subjects)

advantage to mixed measures designs

benefit from advantages associates with each design and get a more realistic picture of how a group of variables interaction

what stat test do u use for a 2 group between subject design and for a two measure within subject design

between- t-test

within- paired t-test

what stat test do you use for 2 or more group

one way anova

what do u use for a 2 or more group and a 2 or more IV

factorial anova

what do you use for more than two measures in a within subject or mixed design

repeated measures anova

what is systematic review

• most valuable

• a research question or hypothesis is being addressed

• high level research study that answers a specific question by using all empirical evidence( papers that already exist) that meet pre-specified eligibility criteria

• only using peer-reviewed literature

what is a meta -analysis review

on top of a systematic review, researchers do statistics on the data, it is a meta-analysis.

meta analysis is a type of systematic review

what is a scoping review

it is a knowledge synthesis to map the extent and nature of the literature and identifies any gaps in knowledge for that topic, to justify new studies

not limited to peer-reviewed literature ( can use preprint, book chapters etc)

what is a narrative review

comprehensive, descriptive summary of existing literature on a specific topic

it provides an overview of current knowledge, themes and research gaps

it is more qualitative

what are the essential skills for writing reviews

• finding

• evaluating

• synthesizing

• paraphrasing'

• citing

In rule 2 of writing reviews, what happens if someone has already done the review

• discuss difference approaches and limitations between your review and others

• suggest a new angle

• incorporate new material that was not available in previous previews

what happens if we have low published research and low literature reviews

write a review that identifies research questions to drive research forward

what happens if we have low published research and lots literature reviews

write a review that points out the need for more research because the topic is interesting

what happens if we have lots published research and lots literature reviews

write a review of reviews:

what is a mini and full review

mini: shorter, limited reference list. Easy to read, so more common and popular

full: longer, more freedom to cover topics in detail

what is descriptive and integrative reviews

descriptive : focus on methods, findings and interpretations

integrative: find common ideas from a set of findings: coming up with new conclusions

what are the main takeaways from a review

• the major achievements in the field

• main areas of debate

• the outstanding research questions