Transcript Setting up a research project in medical education Professor Patsy Stark Director of Strategic Development ASME.

Setting up a research project
in medical education
Professor Patsy Stark
Director of Strategic Development
ASME
Format of the session
• Introductions
• “Starting off”
• Processes of design and delivery
• Final questions
Aims
• To provide an overview of the principles and
process of designing a medical education
research project/study
Introductions
Ideas for a study?
If not, an example might be...
Evaluation of a teaching
innovation:
rd
3
Teaching
year medical
undergraduates in the pre-op
assessment unit
Starting off
• Getting the idea...
– Where do the ideas come from?
• Have you been given a topic?
• Is there something you are interested in?
• Write a research question
• A “project” is usually either a research study or an
audit
– Both research and audits require approvals
– Just because it may be of a short duration or (in your
mind) informal , there is a required rigour
Steps in the process
– Develop the research question(s)
– Perform a literature review
– Decide on the methodology
– Seek ethics approval / register the audit
– Design the study and instruments
– Conduct the study (data gathering)
– Analyse the data
– Reach conclusions and make recommendations for
practice or further research
– Write up and disseminate your findings
The research question(s)
• THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION !!
• RQs are not the title or aim of the project
• RQs must be:
– Unambiguous
– “Researchable”
– Specific in time and setting
Think SMART!
Be prepared to refine the question in response to the
literature review or other input
Using our idea...
Teaching 3rd year medical undergraduates in the pre-op
assessment unit
• A possible RQ could be
What are the perceptions of 3rd year
students at Stellar Medical School, of the
learning opportunities and outcomes
following a 3 week attachment in the preoperative assessment unit?
SMART!
S
M
A
R
T
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Timely
Perform a literature review
• Ground your work in the continuum of
academic endeavour
• Potential data bases
• Key search terms
Decide on the methodology
• Qualitative
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Free text in questionnaires
Interviews and focus groups
Observational studies
Delphi studies
• Quantitative (positivist)
– Questionnaire data
– RCT
The methodology drives all actions from this point
Ethics approval; registering an audit
• Audit
– Register it with the relevant office in the Trust
• Ethics approval
– Essential for all studies with human participants
– University or NHS?
Design the study
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How long have you got to do it?
Where will you conduct it?
How will you get access to a study population?
Do you have any contacts?
To pilot or not?
Do you have the necessary analysis skills OR
Can you develop them in the time available?
• Is there an existing validated audit tool
Design the instruments
• Questionnaire
– Is there a validated tool available?
• Interview/focus group schedule
– Gathering all the data you need to answer the RQ
• Observation plan
• Delphi documents
Conduct the study
• Data gathering
– Think about how long it will take to get what you
need
– Consider any potential logistical issues
– Try to maximise the response rate
Analyse the data
• Quantitative analysis
– Using a statistics package
Analyse data
• Qualitative analysis
– Content analysis
– Constant comparative analysis/Grounded theory
– Phenomenological–immersion in, and reflection on,
data, generating a rich understanding underlying a
particular human experience
– Ethnographic – study of social and cultural groups
– Discourse analysis- critical inquiry into the language
and how it is used to uncover societal influences
underlying behaviours and thought
Reach conclusions and make
recommendations for practice or
further research
• This goes back to the idea of the
continuum of research – feed into the
body of knowledge
Write up the study and disseminate
your findings
• Typical chapter headings:
– Introduction and background
• Include the subject matter literature review
– Methodology (if using qualitative methodologies)
• Include methodological literature review
– Methods
– Results
– Discussion
– Conclusions and recommendations
In summary
• The steps are:
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Think about a broad topic
Develop (and refine as necessary) the research question(s)
Perform a literature review
Decide on the methodology
Seek ethics approval / register the audit
Design the study and instruments
Conduct the study (data gathering)
Analyse the data
Reach conclusions and make recommendations for practice
or further research
– Write up and disseminate your findings
Over to you!
Steps in the process to work through
– Develop the research question(s)
– Perform a literature review
– Decide on the methodology
– Seek ethics approval / register the audit
– Design the study and instruments
– Conduct the study (data gathering)
– Analyse the data
– Reach conclusions and make recommendations for
practice or further research
– Write up and disseminate your findings
Feedback to the group
Any provisional or concrete ideas? What is the timeframe?
What is the research question? Do you need ethics
approval?
What is your literature review plan?
What methodology will you use? How will you gather the
data? How will you analyse the data?
What to do with your study?...
Publishing – Steve Trimble
Career aspirations – Sarah Yardley
Publishing – Steve Trumble
Editor; The Clinical Teacher
JASME Workshop
Brighton, UK, 2012
Getting your
message across
Steve Trumble
Editor in Chief, The Clinical
Teacher
Why publish?
• to bring a sense of completion to your project
• so others may benefit from your work
• to leave a mark on the world
• to advance your career
• ‘cos it feels good (see above)
Writing for publication
What you say (to CTs)
• A few clear messages
• What’s new?
• What’s interesting?
• What’s relevant?
Brevity & clarity
Where to publish?
Consider your
Peer reviewed journal
• A peer-reviewed journal is one that has
submitted most of its published articles for
review by experts who are not part of the
editorial staff (ICEMJ)
• Improves the quality of the articles accepted
for publication?
• Identification of gaps, duplications, relevance
• The “sniff test”
Conclusion
Publishing is a vital outcome of research
Communicate with Accuracy, Brevity, Clarity
Choose your target
Just do it!
<Insert motivational
image here>
Sarah Yardley:
strategies to get involved
Ask yourself?
• What am I interested in?
– e.g. Educational or clinical themes
• How do I want to be involved?
– e.g. Clinical / Academic (teaching/research)
balance
• Who do I know who might be able to help
me?
• What can I do now to make the most of new
opportunities?
Formal academic career pathways
Semi-formal options
• Qualifications in teaching / research
– Certificate / Diploma / Masters in Education
– Research methodology / methods
• Full time / Part time / ‘Out of programme’
– Teaching Fellowship posts
– Research degrees
– Teaching on courses / participating in national
forums as student / trainee representatives
Informal options to start with…
• Audit / Evaluation / Service improvement
• National Tools and Guidelines
• Does your Consultant / Lecturer have a practical
question you could help research, or part of a
bigger project you could contribute to?
• Peer / One step ahead teaching – keep a record
including feedback
• Does someone senior to you have teaching
commitments you could participate in?
Selling yourself
• Telling a convincing story about your
scholarship : discovery, integration,
application, teaching (Boyer)
• Records for CV and portfolio’s:
– Use guidelines, proformas, ask to see others
– Feedback
– Teaching assessments
– Presentations, posters, publications
• Tailor to your audience