Anatomy of a research paper
Dario M Torre, MD,MPH, PHD
Associate professor of medicine
Drexel University College of Medicine
Objectives

Learners will be able to:
◦ Describe key elements of the research
question
◦ Identify the main sections that constitute a
research paper
◦ Recognize factors related to the submissionreview process
Element of a Research questions: FINER
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Feasible
Interesting
Novel
Ethical
Relevant
Hulley SB and Cummings SR. Designing Clinical Research 1988.
FINER
Feasible
-affordable in time, money, resources
-manageable in scope
-adequate number of subjects
-adequate technical expertise
FINER
Interesting
to the researcher
to other stakeholders(medical educators,
administrators)
to the outside academic and non academic world
FINER
Novel
-confirms or refutes previous finding
-expands previous findings
-provides new findings
FINER
Ethical
-pose harm to the participants, invasion of privacy
- violates confidentiality
- IRB!!
FINER
Relevant
contributes to the literature, advances scientific
knowledge
may change current ideas or practice
potential to develop further projects
Retrieve the components of
Research question!!!

FINER
Feasible
 Interesting
 Novel
 Ethical
 Relevant
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Operationalize the research question
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Review the literature

Capitalize on what you do
 Identify a problem in your clinical practice, QI, course or
fellowship
 Implement and assess a possible solution
 create a new program and assess feasibility or outcomes

National & International meetings
◦ Formal presentations, informal discussions with colleagues
Operationalize the research question
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Peruse the literature; why is that important?
◦ Your question might have been already answered
◦ No literature has addressed the proposed question
◦ Additional research questions may be identified building upon
other research
◦ Another researcher may have used a particular methodology
for a similar question
Research question: few tips!

Formulation of a clear and concise research question
is the most difficult step of your research project yet
the most important

You might decide to answer more than one research
question however …FOCUS!!!

Discuss your research questions with peers, mentors,
or experts

Some research questions may not require new data
to be generated (however it may hinder the quality of
the question, or create limitations for your project )
So ASK yourself

Would anyone care whether I answered
this question/solved this problem?
Is it framed as a question; can it be
answered?
 Has it been studied before?
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Does it pose risks or invasion of privacy?
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Does it matter? Will it advance
educational knowledge and practice?
Use the worksheet and write a
research question 5-10 min
Research Hypotheses

Written as a statement of prediction
about the specific relationships that are
studied or expected outcomes.
Structure of the paper
1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
The Introduction
The problem supported by few key refs,
the current status (What is known)
 Importance of the problem, gaps in
current knowledge (set up your “so what
early”)
 Justify the need for the study

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Hypothesis, Research question and
Purpose
The Introduction
The introduction builds a logical case and
an appropriate context for the statement
of the problem and purpose
 It orients the reader to the topic of the
paper
 Moves logically from the known to the
unknown

McGaghie et al, 2001
Statement of purpose

Written as a statement of intent
(purpose)summarizing key elements of
the study.
◦ The purpose of this study is to assess
whether students who do attend case-based
discussions achieve higher scores on the
NBME Self Exam in Internal Medicine when
compared to students who do not.
Methods
Reader should be able to replicate the
study
 Describe in detail how the study was
performed
 Describe variables and how they were
measured
 Describe data collection and
measurement instrument/s

Methods
Study population and setting
 Study design
 Data collection
 Data measurement
 Outcomes
 Data analysis

Methods

Study population and setting
◦ Describe the population studied, sampling
method, setting where the study was
performed
◦ Think that the reader or reviewer need to
understand what/why/how you select the
population and the setting
Methods: study design

articulate the link between research
question/purpose and study design

Study design may be:
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Meta analysis or SR
RCT
Case-control
Cohort study
Observational
Case report
Data collection

Specify population and sampling
◦ 5 sampling methods : random, simple,
systematic, stratified random, and cluster.
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Locate or develop an instrument to
collect data
◦ Is the instrument valid and reliable?
◦ Is there an already validated instrument? Ask
for permission
Data measurement

Measurement instrument
 Test: knoweldge-based test, labs, imaging study,
procedure, etc..
 A validated questionnaire, rubric
 Assess issues of validity and reliability
 Consider using a previously validated instruments
Results

Include only data ,not background or
methods
◦ State findings without interpretation
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Start with descriptive data then univariate
and multivariate results(if quantitative)
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Provide data relevant to the research
question and purpose of the study
Results
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Use tables and figures sparingly:
◦
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do not repeat what is in the text
use to present complex data
Table 1 usually is baseline characteristics
Table 2-3
Regher, 2001
Who is he?
Giacomo Puccini, 1858-1924
Discussion

The organization of the Discussion
section should match the structure of the
results section to present a coherent
interpretation of data and methods.
Discussion

State the main findings of the study
◦ First paragraph

Explain meaning of your results
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Discuss and interpret results
◦ Cite appropriate references
◦ May need to explain unexpected results
Discussion(cont)
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Include limitations
◦ Every study has limitations
◦ Acknowledge limitations of the study
◦ Assess whether they are fatal
◦ Limitations may be addressed as needs for
future research
Discussion
Keep in mind
the research
question
Summarize your study findings
Do not repeat
the intro
Novelty of your findings,
compared to other
literature(be selective with the
literature)
Do not overstate
the results !!!
Compare and contrast with
other studies
Acknowledge limitations before
the reviewers do!!
Summarize the potential
significance of your findings and
changes your study may
support
Few tips : submission and review
process

Look at the type of articles published by the
journal you are planning to submit. Would
they be interested?
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Read instructions for authors: Cover letter,
abstract, text, figures and tables
◦ Use a software for refs format
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Grammar , spell check…don’t upset the
reviewers!!
Discussion
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Establish the novelty of your findings
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The conclusions follow from the design,
methods and results
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If appropriate state the implications
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Conclude by making a point in relation to
the main finding
Few tips : submission and review
process
Make sure the journal is peer reviewed
 Look at their Impact Factor

◦ A journal's impact factor is a measure of the
frequency with which an average article in a
journal has been cited in a particular year
Med Ed Health Prof journals
Medical Education and Health Professions Education Journals
Academic Medicine (3.524)
Advances in Health Sciences Education: Theory and Practice (2.089)
Advances in Physiology Education (1.547)
BMC Medical Education (1.15*)
Canadian Medical Education Journal (6.4)
Clinical Teacher (0.443*)
Education for Health: Change in Learning & Practice
Evaluation & the Health Professions (1.231)
Focus on Health Professional Education (0.882*)
Journal of Advances in Medical Education and Practice
Journal of Cancer Education (0.762)
Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions (1.521)
Journal of Graduate Medical Education
Medical Teacher (1.217)
Journal of Surgical Education (1.376)
Journal of the International Association of Medical Science Educators
Medical Education (3.5)
Medical Education Development
Medical Education Online
http://www.med.uottawa.ca/aime/eng/journals.html
Summary

The research question:
◦ Identify a problem, review the literature,
develop your research question, look at what
you do!!
◦ Don’t forget the so what??

Introduction:
◦ justify the need for the , state clearly why the
answer to this questions is important
◦ State the purpose clearly
Summary
 Methods
◦ Select the appropriate approach(quantitative vs.
qualitative) to answer the research question
◦ Explain what you did and how
◦ Follow a framework
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Study population and setting
Study design
Data collection
Data measurement
Outcomes
Data analysis
Summary
 Results
State the main finding/s first
 Provide data relevant to the research
question
 Do not interpret your finding in this section
 Start with descriptive data then univariate
and multivariate results(if quantitative study)
 Integrates tables and figures with the text

Summary
 Discussion
Summarize your findings first
 Interpret the meaning of your findings and
compare to most updated literature
 Do not forget limitations
 Do not overstate your results
 State conclusion, implications,
future research
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Questions!