04: special topics

drug monographs and textbooks

outline basic information anout drugs (indications, administration, adverse effects, etc.)

evidence summaries

resources that summarize and appraise available evidence

systematic reviews

search for all relevant studies and appraise them to answer a research question

meta-analyses

pool data from individual studies and perform statistical analyses on the combined results

guidelines

make recommendations on how to provide optimal care

Medline

most commonly used database to search for medical journal literature

Ovid Medline

• easier to find useful MeSH terms

• simpler to search for articles on classes of drugs

• easier to do complex searches with multiple concepts

Medical Subject Headings

~25,000 terms that are used to label articles

keyword search

database looks for an exact match for that word or phrase in the title, abstract, and a few other places (not the full text of the article)

explode

shows you if there are more specific terms you can search

exp

exploded MeSH term

.mp

keyword search

*

finds different word endings

limits

focus on special populations or study types

literature review

• academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the existing academic literature on a specific topic

• includes a critical evaluation of the material; a process of reviewing the existing literature

scoping review

• map the literature on a research question

• often have a broader research question than systematic reviews; usually do not appraise the quality of included studies

systematic review

• attempts to identify, appraise, and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question

• researchers use explicit methods aimed at minimizing bias, in order to produce more reliable findings that can be used to inform decision making

meta-analysis

• pools and analyzes data from included studies

• statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies

PROSPERO

systematic reviews in health only; no scoping reviews; long delay in registration; potential to be declined

PROCEED

open access registry of titles and protocols in environmental sciences

Open Science Framework

immediate registration possible; any topic or review type

UBC cIRcle

open access repository open to any topic or review type

PRISMA

have been adopted as best practices for reporting by many journals

grey literature

produced on all levels of government, academics, business, and organization in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing

critical assessment

assessment of evidence for validity and applicability

data synthesis

narrative/descriptive review of the data

research approach

plans and procedures for a research project and includes the designs and research methods used

quantitative research

• involves numbers, and closed ended questions

• testing hypotheses and evaluating the relationships between variables

• methods are pre-determined, quantified, and involve statistical analysis and interpretation

qualitative research

• involves words and meaning, and uses open-ended questions

• open-ended interview questions to explore concepts and in-depth understanding of lived experiences

• methods are emergent, and involve the analysis of text, images, and observations by identifying themes and patterns

mixed methods research

• involves the collection of both quantitative and qualitative research

• both types of data are integrated and interpreted together

• balance the weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative approaches

• comprehensive understanding of the research question

paradigm

general. philosophical orientation about the world and the nature of research that a researcher brings to the study

positivist paradigm

• assumes there is one single objective reality

• believes that reality can be objectively studied, captured, and understood

• uses quantifiable observations

• largely out of practice

post-positivist paradigm

• aims to observe and measure the objective reality that exists, while recognizing the subjectivity that a researcher brings

• acknowledges that reality can never be exactly understood/measured – but rather that we can estimate it

• tied to quantitative research

constructivist paradigm

• recognizes that there are multiple realities and cannot be objectively understood

• believe that reality is shaped by the context of a person’s world

• interpretation of data by the researcher is also subjective

• tied to qualitative research

research design

strategy/structure/framework of the research methods and techniques used for a particular study

narrative

• coherent account of lived experience, in sequence, across time, that makes sense of life

• collect descriptions of events to configure into a story

phenomenology

• explores questions about meaning and to understand the basis of lived experiences

• constructing and exploring themes from interviews

grounded theory

• explores questions about process, situation, or interaction

• systematic and rigorous steps of coding text from interviews

ethnography

• focuses on observational and descriptive types of questions regarding behavior, values, actions, and beliefs of a a cultural group

• thick description and interpretation, coding text, diagrams to illustrate patterns in data

case study

• in-depth analysis of a case – such as a program, organization, event, location, or individual(s)

• coding and summarizing of data, with the goal of constructing a detailed description

observations

gathering data by watching people, events, or noting physical characteristics in their natural setting

participant observation

researcher becomes a participant in the culture or context being observed

direct observation

researcher strives to be as unobtrusive as possible so as not to bias the observations; gathering data without intruding into the lives of the people being studied

indirect observation

results of an interaction, process, or behavior are observed

interviews

• questions that cover the topic of interest and align with the participant’s experience

• participant does most of the talking, researcher is there to listen, observe, and to encourage responses

documents

data written in the direct words of participants

audio-visual materials

photographs, videos, art, sounds, film

thematic analysis

method for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns within data

purposive sampling

strategic sampling of participants based on their characteristics and an ability to provide insight into the research question

saturation

• reached a point of redundancy in the data

• addition of new participants into the study does not lead to the construction of new concepts, and the categories and themes are comprehensive