Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health From a presentation originally prepared by Teresa Burgess and Chris Barton What is Research? Research is an active process of learning from others. Research is an active process of learning from others. Research encompasses activities that increase the sum of human knowledge Research encompasses activities that increase the sum of human knowledge Research and experimental development comprises: creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications; [OECD Definition].

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health Choosing a Topic 1.An area of interest Based on your experience Is there a question you would like to answer? A topic is not a research question Can come from a variety of sources 2.Is it feasible? Is it researchable?Is it researchable? Can you observe or measure what you want to? – is the question too broad?Can you observe or measure what you want to? – is the question too broad? Can you get the required co-operation of other individuals?Can you get the required co-operation of other individuals?

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health Choosing a Topic What resources can you find? You have to locate or generate data and analyse dataWhat resources can you find? You have to locate or generate data and analyse data If it’s a big question, your resources may allow you to answer a small question rather than the big oneIf it’s a big question, your resources may allow you to answer a small question rather than the big one Recognise it will evolve, and you may change your original questionRecognise it will evolve, and you may change your original question Think about data analysis right from the beginning. Whatever data you collect you will need to analyse – how will you do this?Think about data analysis right from the beginning. Whatever data you collect you will need to analyse – how will you do this?

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health How do you decide on a research question? Research problems can be found everywhere and anywhere, but the researcher must be careful in choosing a topic. If its too obvious you will get bored. If no-one else in the world would be interested you are either a genius, or its the wrong question. Before beginning any research: look around, do background seeking, look in reference books or on the Internet for a topic that interests you and would present a good topic to research.

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health The Research Process You’ve found your question You’ve looked around to see what information you can find on it Now you need to decide what further information you need to locate or collect using existing datasets collecting data (surveys, experiments...) Design your research: how, who, when, what (always keeping in mind how you will be analysing it) and you will need to address ethics, budget, time frame... CollectionAnalysisReporting

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health Or, more formally What is the research question you want to answer? Often the most difficult part of the process Determining your research question How are you going to undertake your research? (Decided by a number of things including your research question, time and funding available) Determining your research methodology Who is going to participate in your research? Determining your sample size Is what you propose ethically acceptable? Determining ethical appropriateness How are you going to analyse the information you collect? Analysing your data What does it all mean?Reporting your results

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health Research Design Qualitative – why and how This type of research deals with opinions and attitudes. For example, if you wanted to know why bereaved spouses attend support groups, you would use qualitative research. Quantitative – how much? This type of research deals with facts and figures. Quantitative research tells you how many. It seeks to quantify (measure) numbers. For instance, you might seek to identify how many people in SA attend support groups following the death of a spouse. Numbers, graphs, statistics

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health Research Design Sometimes useful to have both For example, you want to investigate why people go to support groups following the death of a spouse but it seems important to know how many, or what proportion, of bereaved people go to such support groups.

Department of General Practice Discipline of Public Health Six phases of a project (anonymous)   Enthusiasm   Discouragement   Panic   Cover-up   Punish the innocent   Reward those not involved