Preface

xiii

About the Author

xv

Chapter 1

The Purpose and Process of Health Research

1

1.1

Types of Health Research

1

1.2

The Goal of Health Research

3

1.3

The Research Process

5

STEP 1

IDENTIFYING A STUDY QUESTION

7

Chapter 2

Selecting a General Topic

9

2.1

Brainstorming and Topic Mapping

9

2.2

Keywords

10

2.3

Exposure, Disease, Population

11

Chapter 3

Reviewing the Literature

15

3.1

Factsheets, Websites, and Informal Sources

15

3.2

Statistical Reports

16

3.3

Abstract Databases

16

3.4

Full-Text Articles

17

3.5

What Makes Research Original?

18

Chapter 4

Focusing the Research Question

21

4.1

Study Approach

21

4.2

Study Goals and Specific Objectives

22

4.3

Checklist for Success

23

Chapter 5

Assembling a Support Team

25

5.1

Collaborators, Consultants, and Friends

25

5.2

Authorship Criteria

26

5.3

Authorship Order

28

5.4

Decisions About Authorship

29

STEP 2

SELECTING A STUDY APPROACH

31

Chapter 6

Overview of Study Approaches

33

6.1

Types of Study Approaches

33

6.2

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Studies

34

6.3

Study Duration

35

6.4

Primary Focus: Exposure, Disease, or Population?

36

Chapter 7

Reviews

37

7.1

Overview

38

7.2

Selecting a Topic

39

7.3

Library Access

39

7.4

Narrative Reviews

40

7.5

Systematic Reviews

40

7.6

Meta-Analysis

40

Chapter 8

Correlational (Ecological) Studies

43

8.1

Overview

44

8.2

Data for Correlational Studies

44

8.3

Analysis: Correlation

45

8.4

Age Adjustment

46

8.5

Avoiding the Ecological Fallacy

47

Chapter 9

Case Series

49

9.1

Overview

50

9.2

Case Definitions

50

9.3

Special Considerations

51

9.4

Analysis

52

Chapter 10

Cross-Sectional Surveys

53

10.1

Overview

54

10.2

Representative Populations

54

10.3

Analysis: Prevalence

54

Chapter 11

Case-Control Studies

55

11.1

Overview

56

11.2

Finding Cases and Controls

56

11.3

Matching

57

11.4

Special Considerations

58

11.5

Analysis: Odds Ratios

59

11.6

Matched Case-Control Studies

62

Chapter 12

Cohort Studies

65

12.1

Overview

66

12.2

Types of Cohort Studies

66

12.3

Special Considerations

69

12.4

Analysis: Incidence and Risk Ratios

70

Chapter 13

Experimental Studies

77

13.1

Overview

78

13.2

Describing the Intervention

79

13.3

Defining Outcomes

79

13.4

Selecting Controls

81

13.5

Blinding

83

13.6

Randomizing

84

13.7

Ethical Considerations

85

13.8

Analysis

86

13.9

Screening and Diagnostic Tests

88

Chapter 14

Qualitative Studies

!H

14.1

Qualitative Study Methods

91

14.2

Consensus Methods

92

14.3

Program Evaluation

93

STEP 3

DESIGNING THE STUDY AND COLLECTING DATA

95

Chapter 15

Developing a Proposal and Protocol

97

15.1

Overview of Research Plans by Study Approach

97

15.2

Resources for Research

98

15.3

Funding Sources and Budgets

99

15.4

Research Timelines and Responsibilities

100

15.5

Writing a Research Proposal

102

15.6

Writing a Research Protocol

102

15.7

Preparing for Data Collection

103

Chapter 16

Primary Studies: Selecting a Sample Population

105

16.1

Types of Research Populations

105

16.2

Target and Source Populations

106

16.3

Sample Populations

107

16.4

Study Populations

108

16.5

Populations for Cross-Sectional Surveys

108

16.6

Populations for Case-Control Studies

109

16.7

Populations for Cohort Studies

111

16.8

Populations for Experimental Studies

112

16.9

Vulnerable Populations

114

16.10

Community Involvement

114

Chapter 17

Primary Studies: Estimating Sample Size

117

17.1

Importance of Sample Size

117

17.2

Bigger Samples Are Usually Better

118

17.3

Sample Size Estimation

120

17.4

Power Estimation

121

17.5

Refining the Study Approach

123

Chapter 18

Primary Studies: Developing a Questionnaire

125

18.1

Questionnaire Design Overview

125

18.2

Questionnaire Content

126

18.3

Types of Questions

127

18.4

Anonymity

129

18.5

Types of Responses

129

18.6

Wording of Questions

131

18.7

Order of Questions

133

18.8

Layout and Formatting

134

18.9

Validation

136

18.10

Commercial Research Tools

136

18.11

Translation

136

18.12

Pilot Testing

137

Chapter 19

Primary Studies: Surveys and Interviews

139

19.1

Interviews Versus Self-Administered Surveys

139

19.2

Recruiting Methods

140

19.3

Data Recording Methods

143

19.4

Training Interviewers

144

Chapter 20

Primary Studies: Additional Assessments

147

20.1

Supplementing Self-Reported Information

147

20.2

Anthropometric Measures

147

20.3

Vital Signs

148

20.4

Clinical Examination

148

20.5

Tests of Physiological Function

149

20.6

Laboratory Analysis of Biological Specimens

149

20.7

Medical Imaging

149

20.8

Tests of Physical Fitness

150

20.9

Environmental Assessment

150

20.10

GIS (Geographic Information Systems)

150

Chapter 21

Primary Studies: Ethical Considerations

151

21.1

Beneficence, Autonomy, and Justice

151

21.2

Incentives

153

21.3

Informed Consent Statements

154

21.4

Informed Consent Process

155

21.5

Informed Consent Documentation

156

21.6

Confidentiality and Privacy

157

21.7

Cultural Considerations

158

21.8

Vulnerable Populations

159

21.9

Ethics Training and Certification

160

Chapter 22

Ethical Review and Approval

161

22.1

Ethics Committee Responsibilities

161

22.2

Warning: Ethics Review Takes Time

162

22.3

Application Materials

162

22.4

Review Process

164

22.5

Review by Multiple Committees

165

22.6

Ongoing Review

166

22.7

Conflicts of Interest

167

22.8

Is Ethics Review Required?

167

Chapter 23

Secondary Studies: Existing Data Sets

169

23.1

A Overview of Secondary Analysis

169

23.2

Publicly Available Data Sets

170

23.3

Private Data Sets

171

23.4

Clinical Records

171

23.5

Ethics Committee Review

172

Chapter 24

Tertiary Studies: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

173

24.1

Overview of the Systematic Review Process

173

24.2

Search Strategy

174

24.3

Data Extraction

175

24.4

Meta-Analysis

176

STEP 4

ANALYZING DATA

179

Chapter 25

Data Management

181

25.1

Codebooks

181

25.2

Data Entry

183

25.3

Data Cleaning

184

25.4

Data Recoding

185

25.5

Maintaining Confidentiality

186

Chapter 26

Descriptive Statistics

187

26.1

Analytic Plan by Study Approach

187

26.2

Types of Variables

188

26.3

Measures of Central Tendency

190

26.4

Measures of Spread

191

26.5

Statistical Honesty

195

26.6

Consultation and Collaboration

195

Chapter 27

Comparative Statistics

197

27.1

Comparative Analysis by Study Approach

197

27.2

Hypotheses for Statistical Tests

198

27.3

Rejecting the Null Hypothesis

199

27.4

Interpreting p-Values

201

27.5

Interpreting Confidence Intervals

202

27.6

Measures of Association

204

27.7

Selecting an Appropriate Test

205

27.8

Comparing a Population to a Set Value

206

27.9

Comparing Independent Populations

207

27.10

Comparing Paired Data

209

Chapter 28

A Brief Guide to Advanced Health Statistics

211

28.1

Confounding and Effect Modification

211

28.2

Regression

213

28.3

Linear Regression

214

28.4

Logistic Regression

217

28.5

Dummy Variables

218

28.6

Survival Analysis

219

28.7

GIS/Spatial Analysis

220

STEP 5

REPORTING FINDINGS

221

Chapter 29

Article Structure

223

29.1

Abstract

223

29.2

Introduction

224

29.3

Methods

224

29.4

Results

225

29.5

Discussion

225

29.6

Endmatter

225

29.7

Tables and Figures

226

29.8

Writing Checklists

228

Chapter 30

Citing

231

30.1

Referring to the Scientific Literature

231

30.2

Writing in One’s Own Words

233

30.3

What is Common Knowledge?

235

30.4

Avoiding Plagiarism

235

30.5

Citation Styles

236

Chapter 31

Writing Strategies

239

31.1

The Writing Process

239

31.2

Getting Started

240

31.3

Staying Motivated

241

31.4

Conquering Writer’s Block

242

Chapter 32

Critically Revising

245

32.1

Does the Paper Have a “Plot”?

245

32.2

Structure and Content

246

32.3

Style and Clarity

247

Chapter 33

Posters and Presentations

249

33.1

Purpose of Conferences

249

33.2

Structure of Conferences

249

33.3

Submitting an Abstract

250

33.4

Preparing a Poster

251

33.5

Presenting a Poster

253

33.6

Preparing for an Oral Presentation

254

33.7

Giving an Oral Presentation

257

Chapter 34

Selecting Target Journals

259

34.1

Choosing a Target Journal

259

34.2

Aim, Scope, and Audience

260

34.3

Impact Factors

261

34.4

Journal Characteristics

261

34.5

Publication Costs

261

34.6

Online Journals

262

Chapter 35

The Submission, Review, and Publication Process

263

35.1

From Paper to Publication

263

35.2

Journal Selection

264

35.3

Manuscript Formatting

264

35.4

Cover Letter

266

35.5

Online Submission

267

35.6

Initial Review

269

35.7

External Review Results

270

35.8

Rejection

270

35.9

Revision and Resubmission

271

35.10

After Acceptance

274

Chapter 36

Why Publish?

277

36.1

Scientific Dialogue

277

36.2

Critical Feedback

278

36.3

Respect for Participants and Collaborators

278

36.4

A Step Toward Future Research

278

36.5

Personal Benefits

279

Index

281