1. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC CHAPTER 6 Reviewing the Literature

2. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC Reviewing the Literature Helps limit the inquiry to manageable effort You set the limits of review- recent articles Reveals popular topics-possibly change directions of search Seek guidance if necessary from senior researchers on topic of interest 2

3. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC Sources of Information Books-excellent place for basic theories and concepts place for -Likely to be outdated when published as a source for research - Good source for references Journal Articles- primary source for formulating research plan -Articles may reveal conflicting findings -Reveal areas for new research 3

4. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC Sources of Information Databases- collection of facts -Bibliographic Databases-contains information on books, book chapters, reports, citations, abstracts (PubMed, MEDLINE) -Citation Databases- track the progress of an idea or research topic by searching the published works that cite a particular author or article (ISI) -Synthesized Databases -pre-filtered records for particular topics and usually subscription based (Cochrane Collaboration, UptoDate) 4

5. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC Sources of Information Portals-a starting point for using the Web -Mdconsult Electronic Journals and Books-medical journals and books are available online General Internet Resources-proprietary search algorithms such as Google, Yahoo, AltaVista 5

6. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC Sources of Information Suggestions for Conducting Searches - Use librarian - Know your topic - Be specific 6

7. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC How to Read a Research Article Necessary Competencies of Lifelong Learning Critical and creative thinking Problem analysis Ability to gather and organize information Abstract reasoning Interpretive and assessment skills Insight and intuition in generating knowledge Effective communication Information literacy competency, which consists of the following abilities: To recognize the need for information To know how to access information To understand how to evaluate information To know how to synthesize information To be able to communicate information 7

8. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC How to Read a Research Article Selecting a Research Paper to Read Why read this research paper at all? It is an area of science or practice with which you are already quite familiar and have an active interest. The title suggests the paper supports your bias. The title suggests it may disprove your belief. It appears to be an area in which you know little, and want to know more. It could it provide a solution for a clinical issue you are currently facing. You know nothing about the subject but have a desire to increase your knowledge. It was assigned to you to be read. 8

9. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC How to Read a Research Article Organization of Research Papers-follow a certain pattern -Title -Abstract -Introduction -Methods -Results -Discussion -References 9

10. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC Title Readers notice first Search engines look for keywords Good titles give important information related to the research Allows for quick acceptance or rejection 10

11. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC Abstract Gives understanding on particular parts of research Structured-background, methods, results, and conclusions Helps you decide if you should read the entire paper 11

12. Handbook for Health Care Research, Second Edition Chapter 6 © 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC How to Read the Actual Paper Methods section is a good starting point- details needed to understand the experiment and describe the procedures Results section-just findings no interpretations of findings Statistical test and level of significance-ensure appropriate tests conducted Limitations- reveal shortcomings and weaknesses 12