Training In Research Methodology Research Articles

HEREDITARY ENDOCRINE TUMOURS: CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-ART AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES: Challenges and opportunities in genetic counseling for hereditary endocrine neoplasia syndromes

The Genetic Counseling Working Group from the 16th International Workshop on Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN 2019) convened to discuss contemporary challenges and opportunities in the area of genetic counseling for individuals and families affected by hereditary endocrine neoplasia syndromes. As healthcare professionals with multidisciplinary training in human genetics, risk assessment, patient education, psychosocial counseling, and research methodology, genetic counselors bring a unique perspective to working toward addressing these challenges and identifying their subsequent opportunities. This Working Group focused on the following broad areas: (1) genetic counseling resources for endocrine neoplasias, (2) candidate gene discovery, (3) implications of increasingly sensitive and expansive genetic testing technologies for both the germline and the tumors, and (4) situating clinical diagnoses for hereditary endocrine neoplasia syndromes in the context of present-day knowledge.

Health research methodology education in Canadian emergency medicine residency programs: A national environmental scan.

ObjectivesOur objective was to describe the variability of research methodology teaching among English-speaking Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada emergency medicine (RCPSC-EM) residency programs. We also aimed to identify barriers to teaching research methodology curricula.MethodsAn electronic survey was sent by email to program directors and residents of English-speaking RCPSC-EM training programs countrywide. Reminder emails were sent after two, four, and eight weeks. Quantitative, descriptive statistics were prepared, and qualitative data and themes were identified.ResultsWe received a total of seven responses from the possible 12 program directors (response rate = 58.3%). Out of 354 potential resident respondents, 82 (23.2%) completed the survey. There was disparity between resident and program director responses with respect to the existence of curricula, preparation for Royal College exams, and usefulness for future practice. Barriers to teaching a research methodologies curriculum included lack of time, support, educated faculty, and finances.ConclusionThis survey demonstrates that Canadian EM residency programs vary with respect to research methodology curriculum, and discrepancies exist between residents’ and program directors’ perceptions of the curriculum. Given the lack of a standardized research methodology curriculum for these programs, there is an opportunity to improve training in research methodology.

Research Barriers from the Viewpoints of Staff of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2018

Introduction: Research activities are the main sources of new information and knowledge used by different organizations. Research is an attempt to find the best possible solutions for solving problems in different life aspects. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the research barriers from the viewpoints of the staff of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd in 2018. Methods: This quantitative, descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional study was carried out among the staff working in Deputy of Management Development and University Resources selected using the census method. A researcher-made questionnaire was administered to collect data, which addressed the individual, organizational, cultural, social, economic, and demographic barriers. The questionnaire's validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach alpha of 87.2. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The participants' overall satisfaction of economic, social and cultural, organizational, and individual factors was less than the average (12.8%), more than the average (57%), moderate (21.9%), and moderate (40.7%), respectively. A significant association was observed between history of research activities and economic factors as well as between organizational status and organizational and individual factors (participants = 0.05). Conclusion: The university should provide the researchers with spiritual appreciation, seek to eliminate economic barriers for further research, allocate more resources for research, provide an easy access to facilities for conducting research, conduct research methodology training courses within the organization tailored to the existing administrative expertise, and review the processes of presenting projects and payments.

Barriers and Facilitators Perceived by Spanish Experts Concerning Nursing Research: A Delphi Study.

The identification of research priorities in line with current health needs and nursing competencies is a priority. Nevertheless, barriers and facilitators perceived by nurses to performing nursing research have scarcely been investigated. The main aim of this study was to explore the situation in nursing research in Spain, as perceived by Spanish experts. A Delphi study technique in two phases was applied using an online survey tool. A panel of 20 nursing experts in nursing, teaching and management positions participated. The strengths highlighted were the possibility of reaching the PhD level, the possibility of receiving continuous training in research methodology, and access to scientific knowledge through the Internet. The weaknesses identified were the lack of Spanish nursing journals in which to publish the research results, the lack of funding in nursing care research, and the lack of connection between the healthcare institutions and the university. According to the experts, elements that could enhance leadership in research are the creation of nursing research units in hospitals, the economic recognition of nurses with PhDs, and considering research work as part of their daily tasks in clinical settings. The idea of being subordinated to physicians still remains in nurses’ ways of thinking.

The contribution of theory to an ethnographic case study on interprofessional placements in healthcare education

ABSTRACT Theoretical frameworks add depth to research and increase the transferability of findings. Unfortunately, theory application within interprofessional research is often ad hoc, superficial and poorly reported. Consequently, there are limited examples for researchers in the field to draw on when selecting and applying theory. In this paper, we explore how a suite of sociomaterial, and sociological theories were selected to guide an ethnographic case study about interprofessional placements. Theory supported development of nuanced data collection tools. This facilitated comprehensive exploration of the factors impacting interprofessional placements, beyond those immediately visible. The use of a combination of theories was well suited to this complex phenomenon. We recommend research methodology training aims to develop researcher facility with theory and more consistent consideration of theory in reporting and quality appraisal tools. This may support more meaningful theory application, generating findings with deeply embedded theoretical foundations in interprofessional research.

A Model Course to Enhance Veterinary Student Exposure to Research.

Despite many career opportunities available to veterinarians in research related fields and requirements for training in research methodologies by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA COE), formal approaches to development of veterinary curriculum related to research topics have not been widely reported. Colorado State University (CSU) offers a one-credit course that introduces first-year veterinary students to skills and career opportunities in research. Here we provide information about the course structure and content, and report outcomes of survey data that assesses the impact of the course on student appreciation and understanding of the research process. We found that most United States (US) veterinary colleges do not offer a didactic course on the research process. Student opinions of veterinary researchers were generally high, though a proportion of students (30%-40%) would have preferred a practice management class to a course on research principles. Nearly 25% of students reported that they were significantly influenced to consider research careers after taking the course. We document that this one-credit seminar course improved veterinary student perceptions of their understanding of the research process and resulted in self-reported influence of career choice.

Factors Affecting Undergraduates' Participation in Medical Research in Lagos.

Background:The current situation regarding the scope and contribution of undergraduate medical research to the health space in Nigeria is still largely unreported in formal literature. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and the perceived barriers faced by medical students in Lagos toward research.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study design was conducted among all medical students in 200–600 levels of study at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. With the aid of Self-administered questionnaires, we examined their knowledge of research and the analytical tools used in research, their attitudes and the perceived barriers to their participation in research.Results:The data were obtained from 221 medical students, of whom 52.9% had prior involvement in research and 14.0% and 6.3% had presented or published their research, respectively. The overall knowledge of medical research was low (21.3%) and reported barriers included lack of funding for research' (79.6%), “lack of research and biostatistics curriculum” (76.0%), “inadequate training in research methodology” (74.7%), “insufficient time allocation to undergraduate research” (73.3%), “lack of professional supervisors and proper mentoring” (58.8%), and “lack of equipped laboratory facilities to conduct research” (77.8%).Conclusion:Our results highlight the need for more mentored supervision and training to improve their knowledge of the principles and techniques of clinical research to increase involvement.

A distance clinical research training course in Ghana

Clinical research training in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has not been adequately incorporated into local physicians' education. The lack of trained physician–scientists in LMICs is due in part to poor research infrastructure in these areas including limited funding support and scarcity of senior-level physician–scientists to provide training in research methodology. This article describes the structure, content, and evaluation of a combined synchronous/asynchronous distance and onsite learning program implemented in Kumasi, Ghana, to train physicians in clinical research. The course was delivered over 18 months and was associated with a clinical research study for which the participants were coinvestigators. A substantial increase in clinical research self-efficacy, as measured by the Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory, was found at the end of the course compared to baseline. This course could serve as a model for the delivery of clinical research training in other LMICs. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medcal knowledge, Practice-based learning and improvement.

Health numeracy skills of medical students:cross-sectional and controlled before-and-after study

BackgroundAlthough numeracy, defined as understanding and handling numbers, is an important skill for the medical profession, it is not clear whether it changes during graduate medical education and whether it can be improved by specific interventions. The objective of this study was to assess objective and subjective numeracy levels at different stages of medical education and explore whether a research methodology/statistics course improves numeracy levels in a longer period.MethodsWe performed cross-sectional and controlled before-and-after studies. First-year sociology students and first- to sixth-year medical students from the in the cross sectional study and two groups of first-year medical students in a controlled before-and-after study. The intervention was a course on biostatistics and research methodology using blended approach. Numeracy was measured using Subjective Numeracy Scale (Cronbach α = 0.70) and Numeracy Understanding in Medicine instrument (Cronbach α = 0.75).ResultsWhereas first-year medical students did not differ from first-year sociology students in objective numeracy, medicine students had higher results on subjective numeracy. Students from higher years of medical school had generally higher subjective and objective numeracy scores. In the controlled before-and-after study, the intervention group improved more in subjective numeracy (median difference on a 0–8 scale = 0.5, 95% CI 0.3 to 0.7 vs − 0.4, 95% CI − 0.4 to − 0.1, P < 0.001) but not in objective numeracy.ConclusionsAlthough the numeracy levels at the beginning of the medical school are within the range of non-medical population, both objective and subjective numeracy improve during the higher years of medical school. Curriculum during medical school may help in numeracy increase, while research methodology training may help to increase subjective but not objective numeracy skills.

Research Methodology Training for International Relations Graduate Students in China

This article discusses the current situation of research methodology training for international relations (IR) graduate students in China. Since the country’s opening up, research methods training in IR has gradually advanced in universities. We administered a survey to postgraduate IR students in China about their training in research methodologies. The results reveal that IR methodology training in China is still not satisfactory at most schools and varies across universities. Although most of the students did not know much about quantitative research methods, they are beginning to demand more training in this area. This is reflected in both the curriculum design at universities and our survey results. Thus, improvements in teaching IR research methods at Chinese universities are needed, especially improvements that focus on quantitative methods and formal modeling.

Research Methodology Training for First Year Postgraduate Residents: Perception of the Participants at Kirkpatrick Level One

A research methodology training is a crucial to develop capacity of future healthcare professionals with art of research skills...

Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a Practical Lens to Guide Classroom Action Research in the Biology Classroom

Classroom action research (CAR) represents a midpoint between teacher reflection at one end and traditional educational research at the other. CAR is a process in which a teacher identifies problems in the context of his or her own classroom and then engages in investigative methods to address the problems. Teachers sometimes shy away from CAR, due to their lack of training in research methodology, time constraints, and the fact that not all schools value or support such a scholarship of teaching and learning. I show how cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) could be used as a practical lens when engaging in CAR, and how this could help biology teachers become more reflective practitioners by using a rigorous tool to analyze data. Third-generation CHAT is explained and the reader is shown, through a practical example, how research findings could be analyzed and interpreted through a CHAT lens.

Attitudes Towards Research During Residency Training: a Survey of Canadian Radiation Oncology Residents and Program Directors.

Radiation oncologists require clinical appraisal and research methodology skills, yet it is unclear how to develop these competencies during residency. We sought to attain a deeper understanding of the barriers that limit, as well as the factors that promote, engaging in research/scholarly activity during radiation oncology residency training in Canada. Following ethics approval, online surveys were circulated to all Canadian Radiation Oncology program directors and residents. Unidentifiable demographics, prior research experience, and descriptions of current research environment and barriers to engaging in research and scholarly activities were collected. Thirty-three percent (35/105) of residents and 71% (10/14) of program directors responded. Ninety-seven percent of residents, and 90% of program directors, agreed or strongly agreed that research/scholarly activity was an important part of residency training. While 66% of residents felt that there was a lack of protected time for research/scholarly activity, only 20% of program directors agreed this was a barrier (p = 0.011). While 94% of residents thought mentorship was important to completing high-quality research/scholarly activity, only 48% of respondents had a mentor. The highest barriers to completing research/scholarly activity projects were lack of protected time (for both residents and faculty), high resident clinical workload, and lack of experience in research skills. Canadian Radiation Oncology residents expressed strong enthusiasm to participate in research/scholarly activity, yet lack of protected time and competing demands were identified as major barriers. We suggest programs offer more protected time for research/scholarly activity, provide optional research methodology training, and support meaningful mentorship relationships.

LO60: Health research methodology education in Canadian emergency medicine residency programs: a national survey of curriculum assessment

Introduction: With a shift towards competency-based medical education, it is crucial to not only emphasize learner abilities such as clinical skills but also leadership in the conduct of research. Though the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's (RCPSC) training objectives for Emergency Medicine (EM) residents state that the specialist physician be able to describe the principles of research, the research methodology curriculum across EM training programs in Canada is likely variable. The primary goal of this study was to describe the variability of research methodology teaching among RCPSC-EM residency programs. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to English-speaking RCPSC-EM program directors (PDs) and EM residents. The survey investigated residents' and PDs’ thoughts on the adequacy of their local curriculum and asked them to quantify their research methodology teaching. The primary outcome was the frequency and content of current research methodology and research ethics teaching as well as a description of scholarly project requirements of EM residency programs across Canada. The data was presented with simple descriptive statistics. Results: 79 EM residents and 7 PDs responded (response rate 22.3% and 58.3%, respectively). All 7 PDs indicate having a research methodology curriculum while 71.6% of residents are aware of this curriculum. Only 57.1% of PDs report having formal assessments. Most programs (71.4%) teach via small groups while 28.6% of programs use large group sessions. Residents identify teaching as led by research staff (68.9%), staff physicians (60%), and EM researchers (57.8%), while only 17.8% use outside educators. Students noted various modalities of curriculum feedback such as online surveys, weekly forms, and verbal feedback. Regarding the strength of the curricula, 85.7% of PDs believed their curriculum prepares residents for board exams, while only 62.2% of residents felt similarly. When asked about using a standard web-based curriculum module if available, 60.5% of residents responded in favour. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that EM residency programs across Canada vary with respect to research methodology curriculum and discrepancies exist between residents’ and program directors’ perceptions of the curriculum. Given the lack of a standardized research methodology curriculum for these residency programs, there is an opportunity for curriculum development to improve training in research methodology.

Attitudes and Barriers to Research Among Oncology Trainees in East Africa.

East Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and faces a rising burden of cancer; however, few people are equipped to effectively conduct research in this area. A 31-item questionnaire was distributed to current trainees and recent graduates of the Master in Medicine in Clinical Oncology Program at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania. Areas that were assessed included (a) demographic information, (b) prior research training, (c) prior and current research activities, (d) attitudes toward the importance of research, and (e) supports and barriers to inclusion of research in an oncology career path. A total of 30 individuals responded to the survey, of whom 53% (n = 16) were male and 70% (n = 21) identified as current trainees. Among the majority of respondents, attitudes toward research were strongly favorable. Although only 37% (n = 11) reported receiving any formal training in research methodology, 87% (n = 26) reported intentions to incorporate research into their careers. The absence of protected time for research and lack of access to research funding opportunities were identified by a majority of respondents as critical barriers. A majority of current or recent oncology trainees in Tanzania desire to incorporate research into their careers, but most also lack adequate training in research methodology and longitudinal mentorship. Our future collaboration will focus on creation of appropriate research training curriculums and fostering an environment that catalyzes interprofessional development and transforms and extends context-specific cancer research in East Africa. Current and recent oncology trainees in East Africa expressed a high enthusiasm for research, driven by a sense of urgency related to the burden from cancer that the region faces. This highlights the need for cancer research training and mentorship in this setting. This work hypothesizes that African principal investigators can operate effectively if proper attention is given to selection and provision of high-quality foundational didactic training to learn the theory and implementation of research as well as to the development of an environment conducive to mentoring.

DISCOVERING AUTOSCOPY AS A MEANS TOWARDS REFLECTION AND LEARNING

O caso aborda a experiência de formação de pesquisadores por meio da autoscopia, um dispositivo metodológico de natureza qualitativa com abordagem reflexiva. A autoscopia é uma alternativa ao uso de entrevistas em pesquisas qualitativas. Essa fase de pesquisa integra dois momentos: videogravação e sessões reflexivas. Objetiva-se nesse caso fomentar discussões sobre uma experiência vivencial e refletir acerca da viabilidade da aplicação da autoscopia. Conta a história do treinamento prático de pesquisadores, ao destacar os momentos de aprendizado durante o experimento que foi realizado com pesquisadores e bolsistas de uma Universidade Federal do Brasil. Além de narrar a implementação piloto da metodologia, o caso de ensino inclui objetivos de aprendizagem, questões de discussão e referências para ajudar na discussão do caso. É um método que implica reflexão e, portanto, apropriado para uso em disciplinas que trabalham com aprendizagem experiencial e treinamento em metodologia de pesquisa.

Impact of Research Methodology Training on Research Skill Development of Faculties

The study aims to analyze the perception of faculties on their research skill development through research methodology training conducted by Bagiswori College, a renowned community college in Bhaktapur district affiliated to Tribhuvan University. The training schedule, teaching pedagogy and learning environment are taken as independent variables and research skill development is taken as dependent variable. Data are collected through closed ended questionnaire. Five point Likert scale using strongly disagree, disagree, agree to some extent, agree, strongly agree was made to know the perception of participated faculties on research skill development through research methodology training. The study has used regression, mean score, t-test and F-test for the analysis of data. The study has found that the teaching pedagogy and the learning environment of research methodology training have significant impact on perceived faculties’ research skill development and training schedule of research methodology training has not significant impact on perceived faculties’ research skill development.

Development and implementation of a competency-based module for teaching research methodology to medical undergraduates.

CONTEXT:Research experience helps an undergraduate student to understand published works, to learn teamwork, and even to consider research as a career. Few medical institutions have attempted to engage undergraduates in research experience. Competency-based medical education has emerged as a core strategy to educate and assess medical students worldwide.AIMS:This study aims to develop and implement a competency-based research methodology training module for undergraduate students and find out students’ perception about this.SETTINGS AND DESIGN:A cross-sectional study of mixed design was undertaken in the Department of Community Medicine, UCMS, Delhi, India.METHODOLOGY:A competency-based research training module was developed and implemented with 4th semester undergraduate students posted in the department. Students’ feedback about the module was obtained.STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED:For quantitative variables, means, ranges, medians, and percentages were calculated. To find out students’ perception about the posting a qualitative analysis was done.RESULTS:The module was implemented with 25 students posted in the department in May 2017. However, feedback was obtained from 23 students. About 83% of the students reported as highly satisfied with the posting, 61% of the students mentioned that after completion of this posting, they felt motivated to do further research. A qualitative analysis of the feedback showed that students found the project helped them to enhance their knowledge and develop skills.CONCLUSIONS:Competency-based research methodology training can serve as a tool for teaching research methodology to undergraduate students.

Addressing research barriers and facilitators in medical residency.

Objective:To develop and implement an instrument to identify contributing factors and obstacles to resident research participation.Materials and Methods:Clinical Research Excellence Development in Innovation and Technology (CREDIT-20), a 20-point questionnaire, was developed through a four-stage methodology to measure opportunities and challenges to enhance participation of medical residents in research. The study was distributed to all medical residents at three Joint Commission–accredited academic medical centers in the emirate of Abu Dhabi between March 2017 and July 2018. Participant responses were analyzed and represented as mean ± standard error of mean, and subgroup analysis was conducted using Fisher's exact test.Results:In all, 314 of 380 residents completed the survey (83% response rate). Resident interest in research was high, with the majority of trainees responding that research will enhance their critical thinking (93%) and add to their knowledge of medicine (92%). Lack of protected time and lack of research methodology training were the most significant barriers. Over half of the residents cited the lack of a dedicated research budget as a program organization challenge. Age significantly correlated with resident perceptions of the benefits for conducting research, with trainees age 27 years or less indicating that they would be more likely to benefit from conducting research than their older counterparts (164 vs 128, P < 0.05).Conclusion:Improving research methodology training and dedicating structured-protected time for the scholarship are strategies to increase research output in international academic medical centers. The CREDIT-20 survey can identify specific barriers faced by trainees and assist medical educational leaders in implementing targeted interventions.

REHABILITATION RESEARCH BARRIERS IN PAKISTAN

In diverse field of rehabilitation, it is so difficult for us to state that whether our work is debilitating or restorative. The impact of what we are doing is measured by the rehabilitation research. It is one of the source through which we test the belief of making a difference in the lives of people we serve.1 Major rehabilitation research barriers documented worldwide may include four major barriers: technical barriers-lack of access to library resources2, lack of familiarity with research process 3, 4, lack of research mentors5-7, and lack of statistical support8, personal barriers-lack of time4, social barriers-ethical concerns about use of human participants and animal subjects1 and professional barriers-lack of funds2 , clinician researcher dichotomy9. In Pakistan, the barriers in rehabilitation research correlate as lack of time (63%), lack of administrative support (38.9%), while 37% do research only for advancing in careers and 9.3% lack interest in research 10 . Another similar study showed 58% holding back in research due to limitation of time because of extensive curriculum 49.3% exam phobia and 16.7% lack of interest. Improper training in research methodology and scientific literature search were also documented to be two important barriers contributing 25.3% and 31.4% respectively 11. Limited access to the digital libraries impedes the know-how of the current and latest researches in the advancing, innovative field of rehabilitation. This barrier puts a restraint on gaining an insight in the area of interest hence proving to be a huge stone in doing quantitative as well as qualitative research work 12. The development and establishment of digital libraries is the direct after effect of lack of: concept of digital libraries, technological applications, and human resource with relevant skills, copyrights and financial support 13. Such barriers are a great hindrance in the quality of research work and negates rather than potentiation in narrowing of the gap between antiquated, still in practice techniques and modern modifications of regimen incarnated into the rehabilitation protocols. Due to the combination of lack of interest and pre-disposing factors, the rehabilitation research is in very critical phase. Moreover, if a research successfully goes through its final form by the experience, constant hard work, dedication and commitment, it still fails to appear on the larger grounds due to failure of publishing. This failure not only buries it under the heap of leaves but also result in continuation of the previously discarded techniques1. Research must be incorporated in undergraduate studies to properly produce trained students that will come forward and apprehend the challenges faced today. Independent learning, writing, and critical appraisal of the existing literature will become so easy by such assimilation of skills 14,15 . These skills also help in further postgraduate studies without wastage of further time in acquiring the research skills from a new and varied perspective. The background knowledge will provide a definite base in flourishing of the rehabilitation research 16. As it is so difficult to erase the rehabilitation research barriers, we must work coherently to minimize such limitations, as much as we can, to enhance the quality of the work we produce in contributing towards the growing domain of rehabilitation. Creating awareness among the people about destigmatizing the participation in research, awareness among the users, customizing the users’ interface and providing proper training to the students/researchers 17 helps positively in potentiating the achievement of required goals of rehabilitation research. Training of library professionals 18 to assimilate digital competencies in developing, managing and protecting digital libraries and their contents 11, proper administrative, mentoring and financial support will also contribute in enhancing the rehabilitation research.