Tips and tricks in hand surgery research

Tips and tricks in hand surgery

research

5th International Conference on Plastic Surgery 'PlastiCon 2017‘Dhaka, 28 February 2017

Mr Vaikunthan RajaratnamSenior Consultant Hand Surgeon

MBBS(Mal),AM(Mal),FRCS(Ed),FRCS(Glasg),FICS(USA),Dip Hand Surgery(Eur), Dip MedEd(Dundee), MIDT Dist. (OUM),

MBA(USA), FHEA(UK), FFST(Ed)

vaikunthan@gmail.com

What clinical

research is all about

original contribution to

knowledge

Must have two important things: • a worthy research problem/question

(not been previously answered) • you have solved the problem/question

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Stay motivated

• Why are you doing this?

• Be highly motivated and driven to succeed at clinical research - can be cultivated and learned.

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What can be expected of the initial stage of the research journey?

• Begin with a question and read the existing literature • Speak to people • Develop pre-theories and hypotheses • Structure for the process of research – begin with the end(This paper has shown that ….. has better …… than …… in our study)

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Centering on your literature

review

• Exploring and understanding of current knowledge in the area.

• Literature review - the beginning of research.• Think of your own research’s implication for

the body of knowledge

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Framework of a literature

review

• Tell what the research says (theory) • Tell how the research was carried out

(methodology) • Tell what is missing, i.e. the gap that

your research intends to fill.

Source: https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/2_assessmenttasks/assess_tuts/lit_review_LL/purpose.html

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Network and collaborate

Ask for advice and mentorship

Offer advice and mentor

Get to know others outside your institution – through conferences, Researchgate, etc.

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From the beginning to the end you will need …

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Good advice

• Be motivated• Project management• Time Management• Network and collaborate with others• Set yourself high standards • Produce the best quality work • Have the right attitude• Handle ups and downs

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Track your progress

Maintain a Research Journal - Evernote

1These recordings will help you track your progress.

2Use project management – Gannt Chart

3

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Use your time wisely

• Multi-task activities.

• Prioritize

• Assign deadlines

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Tips• to do lists

• time at the start or end of the day

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Getting startedINTRODUC

ING THE RESEARCH JOURNEY

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A. Define the Problem 1. this is the critical step

a. what is it you are actually trying to do?

b. the research question

2. your research is your experiment

a. your DEPENDENT variable

b. What are you are actually interested in?

c. this is the focus of your research intentions

3. identify your perspective

a. what is your point of view?

1) will you be attempting to solve a problem or explain it? (intentions are NOT synonomous)

2) are you examining your issue as a particular kind of researcher?

4. degree and definition

a. how broad is your problem?

> individual, local, state, national, international?

b. how do you define your key variables?

1) must itemize your operational definitions

2) these definitions must be exact, as explicit as possible

B. Develop Theory (explanation / solution)

1. what is the explanation / solution to your problem? > based on your perspective, what are you proposing?

2. a statement of what you believe

3. identifies what it is you will examine as well as what it is you will not

4. the library should be your first stop

5. work with what you know (ontology) along with how you find out (epistemology) in response to what

it is you do not know

C. Conceptualization / Measurement

1. understanding specifically what you intend to examine

2. what do you “see” when you “see” someone doing

what you intend to examine? 3. what information are you actually seeking

> what do you want / need to prove your point? 4. a more thorough discussion of this area will be conducted later (in the research design section), but this is thinking about your problem

D. Identify Methodology / Data Collection Strategy

1. how will you seek the answers to the questions you must ask to prove your point?

> what questions need to be asked?

2. what are your options to generate the“best”information?

3. typical social science strategies

a. secondary analysis

b. face-to-face interviews

c. self-report questionnaires

d. unobtrusive measures

e. field research

E. Data Analysis/Presentation 1. what strategy best shows your efforts?

a. various levels of statistical analysis are the most popular in social science research

1) univariate, bivariate, multivariate statistical analyses

2) graphs (pictograms)

3) tables

b. narratives (growing in popularity; post modernism)

> written, verbal descriptions

c. multi-media presentations

2. purpose is to illustrate what it is you did

F. Summary 1. based solely on the problem you address, the sources of your information, and the data generated from those sources...what did you find out?

> this is the only reasonable conclusion possible

2. speculation about what if, or perhaps if, can only be an addendum to your basic conclusion

Qualities of a good

clinical research

• good presentation and style • show adequate knowledge and

discussion of the literature• exhibits proficiency in the method • shows good techniques of research

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Ensure your

paper

contribution to new knowledge demonstrates originality new understanding, theories, research

techniques shows more critical analysis

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Writing it upEssentially, effective titles:• identify the article’s main issue• begin with the article’s subject matter• are accurate, unambiguous, specific and (when possible) complete• are as short as possible• are enticing and interesting; they make people want to read further

• Only authors who’ve made an intellectual contribution to the research should be credited

• The abstract should summarize the problem or objective of your research, and its method, results, and conclusions.

• State the questions you’re answering and explain any findings of others that you are challenging or furthering. Briefly and logically lead the reader to your hypotheses, research questions, and experimental design or method.

• Method - how you studied the problem, identify the procedures you followed, and structure this information as logically as possible

• Ethics statement

Results• present your findings objectively, • explaining them largely in text clearly and logically • how your results contribute to the body of scientific knowledge, • Do not interpret your results – that comes in the Discussion

Discussion & Conclusions • your results directly support your conclusions• you use specific expressions and quantitative descriptions • you only discuss what you defined early in the paper • all interpretations and speculations are based on fact, not imagination

References• acknowledged published work• recognized with a citation; and quoted

text should be within quotation marks• include a reference.