Refining the Research question & Searching the literature 63-377 Helen Power Helen.power@uwindsor.ca

Agenda Identifying a research topic Refining a research question Developing a thesis Searching the literature Identifying relevant articles

Developing a Research Strategy Why is this important? Saves time Makes you think about your topic Improves your searching techniques Makes sure you find relevant articles

First steps What are the requirements for the assignment? Read the entire assignment carefully before you begin What is the purpose of the assignment? Identify a research question Turn the topic into a question that interests you Make sure the question is answerable Length of the paper Time for research Amount of literature available

Manipulating the question The question can be broadened or narrowed, depending on the assignment and the amount of research available Example: What is the relationship between early onset dementia and exercise?

Broaden search Example: What is the relationship between early onset dementia and exercise? 3 key concepts: Early onset Dementia Exercise Remove 1 concept, or broaden 1 or more concepts Neurodegenerative disease and exercise Central nervous system disease and exercise Dementia and physical fitness Dementia and physical/mental fitness Dementia and general health

PICO P – Patient, Population or Problem I – Intervention or Indicator Ex. Diagnostic test, exposure, therapy C – Control or Comparator Ex. Alternative strategy, test or therapy O – Outcome Consequence of the intervention T – Time Duration of research or data collection

Narrow Search Early onset dementia and exercise Population Young adult women with dementia Middle-aged women with dementia Middle-aged women with Alzheimer’s Intervention Cardiovascular physical exercise Comparator Strength training None Outcome Memory recall ability

Finding the right question… When is a question too broad? Raises too many questions that cannot be answered Not specific enough Too many competing ideas in the literature When there is too much literature When is a question too narrow? Theoretically – never Practically – when there is not enough research on this topic

Example: 1. What is the relationship between early onset dementia and exercise? 2. Does exercise reduce the prevalence of dementia in middle-aged women? 3. Does moderate cardiovascular exercise retard memory degradation in middle-aged women with Alzheimer’s?

Thesis Statement Short summary of the argument or analysis Important because: States your position Pin-points your argument Improves organization Directs the search for supporting research Our thesis: Moderate cardiovascular exercise significantly retards memory degradation in middle-aged women with Alzheimer’s

Break thesis into concepts Alzheimer’s Exercise Intensity Gender Time Outcome Cardiovascular exercise Aerobic exercise Running Jogging Swimming Cycling Walking Moderate Low intensity Non-strenuous Women Female Sex Early onset Middle-aged Young-adult Memory Recall Recollection Remembering

Search Tools AND – Used to combine concepts OR – Used to combine synonyms/similar terms “ ” – Used to keep words in a phrase together * - used to represent 1 or more characters Example: Alzheimer* AND (“cardio* exercise” OR Aerobic*) AND (moderate OR “low intensity” OR “non-strenuous”) AND (women OR female) AND (“early onset” OR “middle-aged”) AND (memor* OR recall OR recollect* OR remember*)

No results. Need to broaden search.

As you go through adjusting these search parameters, keep your thesis in mind. You don’t want to cut out the most important aspects of your thesis (ex. Exercise or memory)

I cut out the gender limitation, and the age limitation

Modify your thesis Moderate cardiovascular exercise significantly retards improves memory degradation function in middle aged women patients with Alzheimer’s Cardiovascular exercise improves memory function in patients with Alzheimer’s Keep broadening thesis until there’s enough literature on the topic.

Select fields – title to search only the title field Select fields – title to search only the title field. Abstract to search only abstract—to get more specific results.

Add the best articles to your folder – so you can retrieve and read those articles easily later. Limit results by the facets on the left-hand side. Limit by date –ex. Most recent 5 years… Limit by gender Limit by age

Read the abstract first! Read the abstract first to make sure the article is relevant to your topic! Read the abstract first!

Summary Come up with a research question that fits the assignment Develop a thesis Do some research Revise thesis Broaden/narrow search

Assignment #1 Finding Research literature 25 Marks (5% of Final Grade) Section 01 - Wednesday, September 21st    Submit a one sentence statement of your group’s chosen topic. (1 mark) Devise a broader and a narrower question based on the topic and provide a one sentence statement of each. (4 marks) From your topic, develop a focused research question and an associated thesis. Provide a one or two sentence statement of each. (10 marks) In CINAHL, search for and submit references for two scholarly sources that establish the thesis developed can be supported by available research. (6 marks) Provide a copy of the search history. (4 marks) Submit to: helen.power@uwindsor.ca  Due: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at midnight

In-Class Assignment #1 Finding Research literature (5% of Final Grade)   Section 02 - Friday September 23rd Section 95 - Monday September 26th You may work in groups of 2 or 3 students to complete the assignment. The topic of the assignment is to examine the whether family members stay with a patient during CPR. Write a question that you would like to answer about the topic. Write a PICOT statement to reflect your question. Conduct a literature search and find 4-5 articles that may answer your question. Each article must Have been published within the last 5 years (2011 or later) Be written from a nursing perspective, and Be a research report Using the articles that you have located, create a reference list in APA format Your submission for the assignment should contain: The names and student numbers of the members of the group who prepared it A copy of your search history, A reference list in APA format Peggy Oldfield oldfield@uwindsor.ca