The research process

Question 1

What are the most important sources of scientific information

Answer 1

professional journals, textbooks, scientific reviews, papers in scientific journals

Question 2

How is knowledge spread

Answer 2

-scientific meetings and conferences
-scientific papers- peer reviewed
-press releases to the media
media publications- internet

Question 3

what is the general layout of research papers

Answer 3

RUNNING HEAD
TITLE
AUTHORS and AFFILIATIONS / ADDRESSES
ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS
ABBREVIATIONS USED
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
(Acknowledgements)
REFERENCES

Question 4

what is the abstract

Answer 4

• summary of the whole paper
  -strict word limits
  -some abstracts are divided into sections with subheadings
  -second part you read

Question 5

what are abbreviations

Answer 5

-list of any abbreviations used in the text
-list can be at start or end
-doesn’t include common abbreviations e.g BMI

Question 6

what is the introduction

Answer 6

-Background to the study
-aim and hypothesis tested
-context for study
-evidence by up to date primary references
-clearly states the objectives of the study

Question 7

what is in the methods section

Answer 7

-divided into sub sections- e.g experimental design
-references other methods used in other research
-should describe the study logically in the same order the work was done

Question 8

what is the results section

Answer 8

-results of the study and nothing else
-no reference to other papers (unless the paper is comparing data from studies)
-clear logical order with sub headings
-data presented in tables or figures and sometimes photos

Question 9

what should figures be drawn as

Answer 9

-be clear and concise.
-Avoid Tables and Figures that have only a little data, or which are very large
-Data should not be duplicated; present it only as a Table or Figure, but not both
-do not repeat the actual data in the text, but draw attention to the key points
-note the key points that you will want to discuss later, in the Discussion.

Question 10

what is the discussion

Answer 10

-results are discussed in relation to aims of study and the hypothesis
-wider significance of results is discussed in relation to the causes and prevention of diseases
-
However, it is important to focus on the present results, and not to include too much speculation.

A good paper will have a short conclusion in a sentence or brief paragraph that gives the “take-home-message” and suggests areas for further work.

Question 11

what is the funding, acknowledgements and conflicts section

Answer 11

-payed for the work (research council, charity, company).
-Thank people and organisations who may have helped with the work, but who are not authors.
-Indicate if any conflicts exist that could cause concern to impartiality

Question 12

what are the references

Answer 12

-lists all the references cited in the text
-references should include all relevant / recent work in the area, but not be exhaustive.
-Some journals restrict the number of references.

Question 13

what sets a minimum quality standard for research

Answer 13

peer review

Question 14

what does it mean if research is published in peer reviewed journal

Answer 14

passed minimum quality standards

Question 15

can the quality of research published in peer reviewed journals vary

Answer 15

the quality of research published in peer-reviewed journals will vary. Some peer-reviews are less rigorous than others, and journals will vary in the general quality of the research published.

Question 16

what are impact factors

Answer 16

-the average number of times papers from the journal published in the past two years have been cited in other papers.
-Journals with higher Impact Factors publish papers that have been more heavily cited than journals with lower Impact Factors.
-This indicates that journals with higher Impact Factors publish papers that are of greater significance to the field

Question 17

what does Q1 mean

Answer 17

What quarter is journal in Q1 – its in the top 25% of journals in the discipline