Communication of research report

NURSING RESEARCH - COMMUNICATION OF RESEARCH REPORT

1. COMMUNICATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS MRS.V.ELIZEBETH RANI, READER, VHS- MACCON

2. INTRODUCTION Communication of research findings is the final & one of the most important steps of research process. No study is complete until the findings have been shared with others in a research report. Reporting research results contributes to the base of evidence for nursing practice, and is a professional responsibility. This chapter offers guidelines for helping researchers to disseminate their research results.

3. RESEARCH COMMUNICATION The communication of meaningful researchfindings through various strategies. RESEARCH UTILIZATION It is the process of tranferring specific research based knowledge into actual practice.

4. Effective communication of the research report helps in the following ways: Promotion of learning of new knowledge among professionals. Expansion of the base for the evidence – based practices. Improving the health care outcomes or client care outcomes by refining the existing body of professional knowledge.

5. CRITERIA FOR COMMUNICATING THE RESEARCH Selecting proper channel for communicating: Student related outlets like term papers, theses, and dissertations. Professional academician’s publication of research articles in professional journal, books, reports to funders, conference oral research presentations.

6. 2). Knowing the audience Will the audience be nurses only, or will it include professionals from other disciplines Will the audience be researchers or will it include professionals from other disciplines Are clients(lay people) a possible audience? Will the audience include people whose native language is not Tamil? Will reviewers, editors and readers be expert in the field?

7. 3 ).Developing an effective plan for writing a research report Deciding on authorship When a study has been completed by a team or by several colleagues, one critical part of the plan involves division of labor and authorship. b) Deciding about the content Researchers also have to decide how many papers are required to communicate the findings of the research effectively, as sometimes researchers collect a huge amount of data that cannot be communicated in a single paper. c) Careful selection of a journal for publication of a report : In selecting a journal for publication, some important factors must be kept in mind, such as the journal’s goal, audience, its prestige, acceptance & frequency of publication.

8. d) Preparing outline of report It is important that if there are multiple authors of a report, each one has responsibility for different sections of manuscript. The advantages of having an outline are that it can be incorporated into a timeline that sets goals for completing the manuscript. Assemble the material needed to begin a draft & finally start preparing a report with outlined timeline. e) Careful review of the author’s manuscript guidelines: Researchers need to be careful to review the journal instructions to authors because each journal has its own guidelines for submission of the manuscript. Most of the journals limit the manuscript to 15 – 20 double- spaced typed pages.

9. METHODS OF COMMUNICATION OF RESEARCH Research results can be presented in various venues and types of publication. Student related - Term paper - Theses - Dissertation Professionals - Journal articles - Books - Report to funders - Conference presentation

10. ORAL PRESENTATIONS (typically at professional conferences) can be a formal talk in front of an audience. Most conferences also give researchers the option of presenting findings in poster sessions in which results are summarized on a poster.   Advantages of oral presentations they typically can be done soon after study completion, Offer opportunities for dialogue among people interested in the same topic. WRITTEN REPORTS can take the form of research journal articles published in traditional professional journals, or in a variety of new outlets on the Internet. Advantage of being available to a worldwide audience of readers—an important consideration in thinking about how a study can contribute to evidence- based nursing practice.

11. CHACTERISTIC OF A GOOD RESEARCH REPORT

12. WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT

13. 13 CONTENT OF RESEARCH REPORT Quantitative research report Qualitative research report should include following information - Why was the study done? (I) - How was the study done? (M) - What was learned? (R) - What does it mean? (D) This conventional format is referred as IMRAD format.

14. 14 INTRODUCTION This section should acquaint the reader with research problem and its significance. - Should cover description of the existing literature (in brief) - The study’s conceptual framework, - The problem, - Objectives, - Hypothesis, - Assumption (if any) and the rationale for doing the study. But introduction should be concise, written in a funnel shaped structure.

15. 15 All the materials before the method section is considered to be the introduction. The literature review should make clear what is already known, and also gaps or deficiencies in that knowledge. This section should also include definitions of concepts under investigation. Complete operational definitions are included only in the method section.

16. 16 THE METHOD SECTION This section should provide detailed description of the research methods that another researcher could replicate the study. This section is subdivided into several parts, which helps readers to locate vital information. Should begin with description of the research design and its rationale It is important to identify steps taken to control the research situation in general and confounding variables in particular Should also address steps taken to protect the rights of study participants

17. 17 The method section (contd..) Research design, Sample and setting, Data collection instruments, Procedures, Data analyses, etc.

18. 18 THE RESULT SECTION In quantitative study, the results of the statistical analyses are summarized in a factual manner. If both descriptive and inferential statistics are used, the descriptive statistics is to be presented first. Research results are then to be ordered interms of their overall importance. Researcher must report all results as accurately and completely as possible. Use table, with precise headings and titles to present statistical information and to summarize them.

19. 19 Use figures also to summarize results. Refer table in the text while reporting the findings in the table. Remember that the report should never claim that the data as proved, verified, confirmed or demonstrated and that hypotheses were correct or incorrect. Only you can report that the hypotheses are supported or unsupported, accepted or rejected.

20. 20 THE DISCUSSION SECTION In this section the researcher interprets the findings in the light of current status of knowledge on that topic. The focus of the discussion is on making sense of (and not merely repeating) the results. Researcher should justify their interpretations, explicitly stating why alternative explanations have been ruled out. If the findings conflict with those of earlier studies tentative explanations should be offered. The implications derived from a study are often speculative and therefore, should be couched in tentative terms. e.g. suggest

21. 21 OTHER ASPECTS OF THE REPORT Title Every research report should have a title indicating the nature of the study to prospective reader. Title should include – the dependent and independent variables, study populations but briefly 2 . Abstract Abstract has brief description of the problem, methods and findings of the study. By reading the abstract the reader can decide whether to read the entire report on not

22. 22 3. Key words Title Include 5-10 key words that will be used in indexes to help others locate your study. 4. References Each report is concluded with a list of references cited in the text using prescribed reference style (APA style, Vancouver style). 5. Acknowledgement People who helped with the research but whose contribution does not qualify them for authorship are acknowledged in this section.

23. 23 THE STYLE OF RESEARCH REPORTS In quantitative reports Personal pronouns such “I”, “my” and “we” are often avoided Passive voice and impersonal pronouns are used which suggest greater impartiality Avoid subjective statement, emotionally laden statements or exaggeration To avoid bias

24. 24 Qualitative reports Often written in the first person and in an active voice Allows narration with rich description, direct quotes and insightful interpretation

25. 25 General Avoid jargons and highly technical terms. Use simple, concise and straightforward sentences. Can add elegance to the report without interfering with clarity and accuracy. Avoid grammar and spelling mistakes – report should reflect scholarship. Organize the report – give attention to organization within sections and sub sections. Themes or ideas should not be introduced abruptly or abandoned suddenly. Present methods and result section in the past tense.

26. 26 Types of research reports Thesis and dissertation Front matter Title page Abstract Copyright page Approval page Acknowledgement page Table of content List of tables List of figures List of appendices

27. 27 Dissertation - Main body Chapter I – Introduction Chapter II – Review of the literature Chapter III – Methods - Chapter IV - Analysis & Findings - Chapter V - Discussion - Chapter VI - Summary, conclusions, implications and recommendations Supplementary pages – Bibliography, Appendix

28. 28 Chapter I – Introduction Background of the topic ( write this without giving side heading) Need for the Study Statement of the problem Objectives of the study Hypothesis (if any) Eg . Pregnant women who receive prenatal instruction are less likely to experience postpartum depression than those with no prenatal instruction Operational definitions Assumptions Delimitations Conceptual framework

29. 29 Chapter II Review of Literature Chapter III Methodology Research Design - include schematic design also. Setting - can include area map (if any) Population / sample Sampling Technique Criteria for sample selection Inclusion criteria Exclusion criteria Development of the Data collection Instrument Description of Data collection Instrument Score Interpretation of instrument (if any) Validity

30. 30 Description of the Intervention(if any) Pilot study Reliability Sample size calculation Data collection procedure Plan for Data Analysis Chapter IV - Analysis & Findings Chapter V - Discussion Chapter VI - Summary, conclusions, implications and recommendations

31. 31 Journal article Selecting a journal - Query letter Preparing the manuscript Submission of a manuscript – corresponding author Manuscript review – Independent anonymous peer review - Referred journal

32. 32 Electronic publication On line One web page Peer reviewed electronic journals (E-journals)

33. 33 Presentation at professional conference Call for abstracts - 6 to 9 weeks 500 – 1000 words Time – 10 to 15 minutes Poster presentation

34. Plagiarism Finally…Avoiding Plagiarism What is it? Among other things, plagiarism refers to taking others’ work and representing it as if it were your own. In academics this is bad because with plagiarism: One cannot assess students’ development accurately The person who makes his or her livelihood by scholarly pursuit is being robbed of credit It masks the lineage of ideas and facts. “Plagiarism is to academics as Enron-accounting is to corporate America.”

35. Finally…Avoiding Plagiarism Lineage of Ideas: Original sources of research are all the proof we have for some facts. Without the “paper trail” of academic thought: People could pass incorrect ideas off as facts We would have to keep “re-proving” things. The contexts that generated facts and ideas get lost. Research becomes highly inefficient as it becomes incredibly difficult to find “full information” on a topic .

36. Finally…Avoiding Plagiarism To avoid plagiarism: Document every source for information that is not “general knowledge”—this includes facts and ideas. Cite every time a fact or idea is used unless it is clear that one citation is referring to a group of facts or ideas. If you quote material, put quotation marks around the quoted stuff and include a page number within the citation. It is alright to paraphrase material, but you still have to cite from where the paraphrased material came. When in doubt, cite the source. Improper citing is grounds for failure on the course paper.

37. REFERENCES Polit , D.F., Beck, C.T ( 2011). Nursing Research : principles and methods ( 7 th ed.). New delhi : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Sudha , R.(2017). Research & Biostatistics for Nurses (1 st ed.). New Delhi : Jaypee brothers medical publishers. Sharma, S.K. (2017). Nursing Research and Statistics ( 2 nd ed.). India : Elsevier Publication.