Medical Research

Importance of conclusion• For any research project and any scientific discipline, drawing

conclusions is the final, and most important, part of the process.• Whichever reasoning processes and research methodswere used, the

final conclusion is critical, determining success or failure. If an otherwise excellent experiment is summarized by a weak conclusion, the results will not be taken seriously.

• Success or failure is not a measure of whether a hypothesis is accepted or refuted, because both results still advance scientific knowledge.

• Failure is poor experimental design, or flaws in the reasoning processes, which invalidate the results. As long as the research process is robust and well designed, then the findings are sound, and the process of drawing conclusions begins.

• The key is to establish what the results mean. How are they applied to the world?

• Writing and editing the paper is the last step in the research process

• The paper tells the story from study inception, through data collection, statistical analysis, findings and and discussion

• The process of writing the paper should be analogous to the research process—it requires attention to detail, time, and revision

The Paper

1. Wrong journal, format, preparation

2. Disorganized study design

3. Defective tables, figures

4. Poor organization throughout, writing, spelling

5. No hypothesis or problem statement

6. No or insufficient conclusion

7. Overinterpretation of results

8. Article unfocused, too verbose and long

9. Inappropriate statistical methods; methods not sufficient to repeat study

10. Poorly written abstract/title

Top 10 Reasons Manuscripts Rejected

The Results

• The heart of your paper• Write after figures and tables are constructed– Consider your data critically– Construct tables, figures and include them in outline– Write the results– Use subheadings

• Results determine– Whether you’ve answered your original question(s)– Your direction for future studies– Both of which belong in the discussion

Results—The Beginning

• State ALL the findings – Whether significant or not– Without bias or interpretation– Do not include weaknesses, strengths of study, ie don’t discuss results

• List experiments in order listed in methods

• Use logical headers and group your findings– Characteristics of study subjects– Findings in order listed in methods– General to specific

• Use past tense

• Results confirm or reject your hypothesis: they do not prove anything.

Results—The Beginning

• Short and to the point—Main or most important findings first• Present only data directly relevant to the study—focus• Don’t repeat methods but you may remind the reader briefly

how you measured something.• Allow the data to speak for itself—use tables/figures —

construct them first and use as a basis for writing• In Tables and Figures, be descriptive, specific. Do not repeat the

obvious:– NO: Results of the kidney lead analysis are shown in Table 1.– YES: Kidney lead concentrations increased in group 1 over the first 10 study

weeks (Table 1).

• Present absolute numbers and percentages so reviewers can judge the significance of the findings.

• Statistical significance ≠ clinical significance

Results—Major Mistakes• Failure to provide all the data critical to answering the

research question

• Interpreting or commenting on results– “Six of the 20 patients required intubation, illustrating the seriousness of this

problem” (belongs in Discussion)– “Over 40% of treated rats exhibited a decreased inflammatory response, an

unexpected finding” (belongs in Discussion)

• Failure to adequately address statistical methods

• Tables and figures inappropriate, unbalanced

• Tables and figures poorly constructed

The Discussion

• Summarize major findings—1st paragraph

• Explain how your findings relate to those of others—what do they mean?

• Clinical relevance of the findings?

• Limitations and how this influenced your study?– How will you overcome these in the next studies?

• Explain the implications of findings

• What future direction(s) will you take?

Discussion Construction

Discussion—Common Mistakes

1. Unwarranted speculations

2. Injecting tangential issues

3. Conclusions not supported by the data

4. Not suggesting future directions for research

hypothesis Ô study Ô data/results Ô conclusions

TIGHT PACKAGE

However, very few experiments give clear-cut results, and most research uncovers more questions than answers.The researcher can use these to suggest interesting directions for further study. If, for example, thenull hypothesis was accepted, there may still have been trends apparent within the results. These could form the basis of further study, or experimental refinement and redesign.

Generating Leads for Future Research

The final stage is the researcher's recommendations based upon the results, depending upon the field of study. This area of the research process can be based around the researcher's personal opinion, and will integrate previous studies.For example, a researcher into schizophrenia may recommend a more effective treatment. A physicist might postulate that our picture of the structure of the atom should be changed. A researcher could make suggestions for refinement of the experimental design, or highlight interesting areas for further study. This final piece of the paper is the most critical, and pulls together all of the findings.The area in a research paper that causes intense and heated debate amongst scientists is whendrawing conclusions.It is critical in determining the direction taken by the scientific community, but the researcher will have to justify their findings.

Suggestions Based Upon the Conclusions