Material and Methods.pptx

Brief description on how to write material and method of a research article

1. How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper Dr. Shobhit Gupta, SR, Neurology, GMC, Kota

2. Introduction “ Materials ” refers to : What was done? Where it was done? Time frame? Various treatments ( eg , drugs) Instruments ( eg , EEG, NCV, ventilators) used in the study. “ Methods ” refers to How Materials were manipulated to answer the experimental question, How measurements and calculations were made, How the data was analyzed

3.  What is the purpose of the methods section?  Allows a researcher to replicate a study Scientists can judge whether the conclusions drawn can be reached? Permits inferences to be drawn regarding the quality of the study

4. Content 1. Describing the materials used in the study 2. Explaining how the materials were prepared 3. Describing the research protocol 4. Explaining how measurements were made and what calculations were performed 5. Stating which statistical tests were done to analyze the data

5. Flow Diagram

6.  What is the purpose of the methods section?  Provides the information by which a study’s validity is judged. It must be written with enough information so that: 1. The experiment could be repeated by others to evaluate whether the results are reproducible, 2. The audience can judge whether the results and conclusions are valid.

7. Writing Style 1. Should be written in direct and precise way 2. Should be written in past tense. 3. Should be organized chronologically. 4. If large amount of information be presented divide in subsections 5. Within each section and subsection, material must be organized from most to least important. 6.Avoid Unimportant details. Compound sentence

8. Materials & Methods    Study design Study setting Study population Study period Sample size & Sampling frame Inclusion & exclusion criteria Procedure of data collection Operational definitions Data entry & analysis Test of significance used Significance level Ethical considerations

9. Protocol Design Sequence of manipulations and measurement procedures that make up the experiment. Description should follow the exact sequence First it involves description of baseline conditions and any associated baseline measurements. Sequence of manipulations of the independent variable Measurement of changes in the dependent variable.

10.  Statistics  Describe sample size estimation and methods by which bias was eliminated – Randomization methods • State how data are summarized (central tendency and variation) • Identify the statistical tests used (which variable and what test) • State the level of significance • Details of computer Software used

11.  Ethical considerations Mention whether approval of ethics committee was obtained. • Indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards . • State whether informed consent from patients were obtained. • If using photographs, state whether permission to use them was obtained from the patient.

12. THANK YOU