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Research Methodology ASR702. By Reaz Uddin , Ph. D. Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi. Course Contents. Public Safety (Dr. Raza Shah) (2 classes)
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Research Methodology ASR702 By Reaz Uddin, Ph. D. Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi
Course Contents • Public Safety (Dr. Raza Shah) (2 classes) • Lab Safety (Dr. Raza Shah) (2 classes) • Environment conservations (Dr. Raza Shah) (2 classes) • Scientific Record Keeping (Dr. HinaSiddiqui) (2 classes) • Handling of Research Material (Dr. HinaSiddiqui) (2 classes) • Research Misconduct (Dr. HinaSiddiqui) (2 classes) • Critical Evaluation of Research (Dr. HinaSiddiqui) (2 classes) • Ownership of Data (Dr. HinaSiddiqui) (2 classes) • Research Ethics (Dr. Reaz Uddin) (2 classes) • Scientific Integrity (Dr. Reaz Uddin) (2 classes) • Effective use of computers and internet (Dr. Reaz Uddin) (2 classes) • Publication (Dr. Reaz Uddin) (2 classes) • Communication of Science (Dr. Reaz Uddin) (2 classes) • Students Presentations (Dr. HinaSiddiqui and Dr. Reaz) (10 classes) • Biostatistics (Mr. YaseenMenai) (9 classes)
Publication Types • Original research Article • Letter • Resource (presents a large dataset of broad usefulness, interest and significance) • Brief Communication or • Technical Report • Reviewing research • Progress articles (highly topical, short reviews) • Insights (themed collections of several review articles) and occasionally, • Analysis (meta-analysis of existing data)
Publication Types • Perspectives and Historical Perspectives. Perspectives discuss models and ideas from a personal but balanced viewpoint. They are intended to stimulate discussion and new experimental approaches. • News and Views: short, accessible articles focused on one scientific advance independent of the author's own research. • Opinion and comment • Editorials: opinion articles written by the editors about topical issues of the day concerning science, particularly its interface with wider society • short correspondence or longer, more rounded Opinion articles (commissioned by the editors) • Commentary, Opinion or Correspondence • Science and Culture • Books
Scholarly Article By writing a scholarly article you are contributing to a community of thought on a particular topic. A scholarly article allows you to communicate your research with your peers. It should provide complete information about a particular piece of research. Frequently, publishing a scholarly article is a time-intensive process. The highest caliber journals are generally peer-reviewed, and getting your research reviewed can take a while. To get your research out to the world faster, try publishing a conference article! The key to finding scholarly articles is using scholarly databases or browsing scholarly journals.
Letter A letter is shorter than a scholarly article and does not present a full explanation of research the way a scholarly article does. It is usually an explanation of work that has been done, either a design or research, without all the data presented. You would write a letter if you just wanted to summarize your work in a brief document without presenting all your research. Letters are often used to get the word out quickly about research, and then followed up by complete journal articles. Many journals are devoted to letters alone, for example: IEEE Computer Architecture Letters and Electronic Letters on Computer Vision and Image Analysis.
Conference Paper A conference article is similar to a scholarly article insofar as it is academic. Naturally, you need to find a conference appropriate to your subject area where you can present the paper. One great thing about conference articles is that they are published more quickly than scholarly articles. You can get your research to your community much faster via conferences than journals. Many conference publications are peer-reviewed, especially in computer science. You can find conference papers in many of the same places as scholarly articles.
Review Article A review article summarizes a particular field of study and places the recent research in context. It provides an overview and is an excellent introduction to a subject area. The references used in a review article are helpful as they lead to more in-depth research. You might want to write a review article to summarize progress in a field you've been working on.
Table of Contents • Introduction • Part I: Publication & Peer Review • Deciding to Publish • Submitting Your Paper • After Submission • Overview of Peer Review • Purpose of Peer Review • How It Works • The Role of Editor • Limitations and Issues
Table of Contents Cont’d • Part II: Writing a Scientific Manuscript • The Scientific Manuscript • Word Choice • The Abstract • The Introduction • The Methods & Materials Section • The Results Section • The Discussion Section • Figures, Tables, Equations, and References
Deciding to Publish andSubmitting Your Paper • What to publish? • abstract vs. full report • Choosing your forum • Which type of journal is best for you? • What audience are you targeting? • Research the journal • Publication guidelines • Article style
After Submission • Publication Procedure (6-12 months) • Author submits • Editor is assigned to manuscript • Editor assigns reviewers (associate editors) to inspect • Reviewers decide on whether to review paper • Several reviewers inspect and edit • Editor decides on accuracy of revisions and whether to accept paper • If accepted, editor sends paper back to author with revisions • Author revises paper and sends it back • Possibility of second review process • Publication!
What is Peer Review? • Review process for scientists by scientists • Purpose • To filter what is published as “science” • To provide researchers with perspective • Where is peer review used? • Scientific publication • Grant review • Tenure promotion
Constraints of Peer Review • Slow • Conflicting views • Confronting theory bias • Personal views • Objective vs. personal edits • Fraud • Data manipulation and invention “Editors and scientists portray peer review as a quasi-sacred process that helps to make science our most objective truth teller. But we know that the system of peer review is biased, unjust, unaccountable, incomplete, easily fixed, often insulting, usually ignorant, occasionally foolish, and frequently wrong.” -- Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet,
Scientific Misconduct • Gift Authorship • Redundant Publication • Plagiarism • Fabrication • Falsification • Conflict of Interest
Writing Style and Audience • Checklist: • Void of anecdotes or stories • Reports facts not outlandish conclusions • No misspellings • Grammatical accuracy • Meets formatting guidelines • Avoids using the first person • Who’s the audience? • Write for your target audience
Word Choice • Examine vs. Analyze • Activity to gain knowledge vs. Describing the analysis of that knowledge • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Knowledge • Comprehension • Application • Analysis • Synthesis • Evaluation
Word Choice • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Knowledge: Recitation of fact • Found, identified, labeled • Comprehension: State a problem or interpret fact • Discuss, predict, compare • Application: Apply old information to solve new problems • Solve, show, examine, classify • Analysis: Used to explain patterns or meaning • Analyze, investigate, compare, contrast • Synthesis: Making predictions or discussing possibilities • Predict, plan, devise, propose • Evaluation: Drawing conclusions, making recommendations • Justify, verify, argue, recommend, determine
Manuscript Structure • Abstract • Introduction • Body of Article • Results • Discussion and Conclusions • Acknowledgements • References • Figures and Tables
Abstract • Summary of Manuscript (200-300 Words) • Problem investigated • Purpose of Research • Methods • Results • Conclusion
Abstract • Common Mistakes • Too much background or methods information • Figures or images • References to other literature, figures or images • Abbreviations or acronyms
Introduction • Broad information on topic • Previous research • Narrower background information • Need for study • Focus of paper • Hypothesis • Summary of problem (selling point) • Overall 300-500 words
Introduction • Common Mistakes • Too much or not enough information • Unclear purpose • Lists • Confusing structure • First-Person anecdotes
Methods and Materials • Provides instruction on exactly how to repeat experiment • Subjects • Sample preparation techniques • Sample origins • Field site description • Data collection protocol • Data analysis techniques • Any computer programs used • Description of equipment and its use
Methods and Materials • Common Mistakes • Too little information • Information from Introduction • Verbosity • Results/ sources of error reported
Results • Objective presentation of experiment results • Summary of data • NOT a Discussion!
Results • Common mistakes • Raw data • Redundancy • Discussion and interpretation of data • No figures or tables • Methods/materials reported
Discussion • Interpret results • Did the study confirm/deny the hypothesis? • If not, did the results provide an alternative hypothesis? What interpretation can be made? • Do results agree with other research? Sources of error/anomalous data? • Implications of study for field • Suggestions for improvement and future research? • Relate to previous research
Discussion • Common Mistakes • Combined with Results • New results discussed • Broad statements • Incorrectly discussing inconclusive results • Ambiguous data sources • Missing information
Figures and Tables • Tables • Presents lists of numbers/ text in columns • Figures • Visual representation of results or illustration of concepts/methods (graphs, images, diagrams, etc.) • Captions • Must be stand-alone
Figures and Tables • Guidelines for Figures and Tables • High resolution • Neat, legible labels • Simple • Clearly formatted • Indicate error • Detailed captions
References • Check specific referencing style of journal • Should reference: • Peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, books • Should not reference: • Non-peer-reviewed works, textbooks, personal communications
References • Common Mistakes • Format, Format, Format • (Figures & Tables, Equations, and References) • Redundant Information • Text, Figures, Tables, and Captions • Type of Reference