PT 750 CRITICAL INQUIRY I / INQUIRY IN HEALTH MEASUREMENT
Fall 2003
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE COURSE PROJECT
Introduction
The topics discussed in this course form the building blocks for subject matter that will be covered in the Quantitative Research (Critical Inquiry II) and Qualitative Research (Critical Inquiry III) courses. In addition, the skills gained in the course will be useful and necessary throughout your professional career. The general theme for the course project is to critically examine the literature for evidence supporting clinical practice.
The course project is structured to help you begin to understand how to critically examine the literature for evidence to support clinical practice. In addition, the course project provides insight into how to develop a well defined clinical research question. Finally, the course project is designed to help with the integration of concepts discussed throughout the semester by providing you with an opportunity to practice some of the skills gained in the course, i.e. reviewing and critiquing the literature, performing a literature search using medical databases and the internet, professional writing, and preparing a scientific presentation.
For the project, you will work in groups of four. The course project consists of 6 sequential phases, some of which will be graded, while others are incorporated to allow the course instructor to give you feedback as you progress with your project. Phases of the project are as follows:
1. Selection of a project topic and student group - due Friday, October 4, 2003.
2. Development of a research question and reviewing the literature related to the topic of interest and question selected.
3. Introduction, statement of the problem, clinical research question, purpose statement, and annotated bibliography - due Friday, October 24, 2003.
4. Rough draft of the paper and final version of the research question - due Wednesday, November 20, 2002.
5. Class presentation - Friday, December 5, 2003.
6. Final written version of the paper due Friday, December 12, 2003.
The introduction to the paper and annotated bibliography (5%), final written version of the proposal/literature review (12.5%), and the class presentation (12.5%) will be graded and will count toward 30% of the final course grade.
Instructions for Completing the Introduction to the Paper and Annotated Bibliography
The completed assignment must include the following: (1) an introductory paragraph which consists of primarily of background information about the topic that allows the reader to understand the relevance of the clinical problem being addressed in the paper; (2) a clear and concise statement of the clinical problem being addressed by the paper; (4) list the research question; and (4) a concise purpose statement. The length of the introduction should be 2-4 paragraphs and no more than 2 double spaced pages. References must be used in the introduction and the style is according to the American Psychological Association (APA)
The annotated bibliography component of the assignment must include the following: (1) a concise summary of the findings for each study (1-2 sentences); and, (2) within each annotated summary, a sentence stating the relevance of the study for your clinical question. The annotated bibliography is a brief summary of the key points or significant findings in each paper. Each entry in the annotated bibliography is limited to a maximum of 50 words or 3-4 sentences.
The reference style for the introduction and listing each citation is according to the American Psychological Association (APA). The grading criteria for the Introduction to the paper and annotated bibliography is available on line.
Type can be 10 or 12 point and the margins are to be 1" on all sides. The maximum number of references that are to be included in the bibliography is 10. Please include only the most relevant papers. However, there are no limitations on the number of references that can be used for the final paper and course presentation.
When submitting the annotated bibliography, you must include a copy of the actual first page of each article summarized. Copies of the abstract printed from the Internet, Medline, or other databases are not acceptable to include with the bibliography.
Written Paper
Final Version. The written portion of the assignment is similar to the introduction section of a research paper. The paper is also similar to a review paper but shorter. Typically, the introduction (1) provides background information into the topic which helps the reader understand the problem encountered in either the literature or clinical practice, (2) contains a statement of the problem, and (3) a clear and concise purpose statement. A good template for how to organize or construct the final and draft versions of your paper is contained either in the introduction sections of many peer reviewed journals or in reviews of the literature. Several course readings have also addressed the elements of a research paper.
The critical elements that must be included in the paper are as follows: (1) a title that is related to the purpose statement of the paper and the clinical research question; (2) an introduction that provides the reader with background information; (3) a statement of the problem that is addressed by the paper; (4) a purpose statement; (5) a review of the literature section which is a logically organized critique and review of the scientific literature that represents a synthesis of the information garnered from multiple literature sources; and (5) a conclusion which summarizes the information contained in the paper and can include your professional opinion and/or specific recommendations for future investigations.
When reviewing the draft and final versions of the paper, close attention will be given to the group's ability to synthesize and use the research literature to support the statement of the problem and proposed purpose for conducting a review of the literature. The review of the literature (ROL) has several functions. First, the ROL should support your problem statement and reason for conducting the clinical study or ROL. The ROL can highlight the research that has been done to date by other authors addressing a similar question. The ROL should logically lead to your purpose statement or statement of the problem. When reviewing the literature to support the purpose for conducting the study, most authors will devote a few sentences to describing the most relevant studies. Usually, all studies listed in the reference list are not discussed in detail in the review of the literature only the most critical. The review of the literature should be balanced and include articles that may be contradictory to the points being made in the paper.
The number of references that should be used is determined by your topic. You should avoid overusing books and non-referred sources. Peer-reviewed sources tend to provide the most compelling evidence. However, the non-peer reviewed literature can be used to provide support for background information. As for the number of references, the only recommendation is that one is too few and fifty might be too many. It is expected that you will find and use references that were not included in the bibliography assignment. Conversely, upon doing further research may choose not to use some of the references included in the bibliography assignment.
The final draft of the paper is limited to a maximum of 8 double spaced pages. The emphasis is on the quality of the content, not quantity. The reference list is not included in the 8 page limitation and must be single spaced. Reference style is APA. A copy of the APA guideline for writing papers is available in the departmental library for review or can be accessed on the web. Type can be 10 or 12 point and the margins are to be 1" on all sides. When submitting both the final and draft copies of the paper, you must include a copy of the actual first page of each article used in the reference list. Copies of the Internet, Medline, or other database abstracts are not acceptable.
Rough Draft. The rough draft of the paper will not be graded. The purpose is to provide you with feedback on your progress toward answering the proposed research question and to give you some guidance for improving the quality of the final outcome. When handing in the rough draft, please include a copy of the abstracts for all references used in the paper. One thing to keep in mind, the more polished the draft, the better the quality of the feedback from the course instructor.
Group Presentation
Each group will have up to a maximum of 20 minutes for the oral presentation. The first 15 minutes should focus on presenting your research question and reviewing the literature that supports the purpose for the investigation. Using less than the allotted time is allowed. The presentation is graded based on quality not quantity. However, going over 15 minutes for the formal portion of the presentation will result in a reduction in grade. The last 5 minutes are for answering questions and audience discussion. The oral presentation will be graded according to the criteria that has been distributed.
During the presentation, please consider the following:
• the title of the presentation should be a logical extension of your research question and the purpose of the study
• the problem your paper is addressing should be evident from the presentation
• the purpose(s) of the study and the problem statement should be clearly communicated during the presentation
• the discussion of the literature should be a synopsis of the scientific literature supporting your problem statement and reason for undertaking the investigation
• when developing support for the topic, the group should avoid presenting the review of the literature as series a abstracts of individual articles
• during the review of the literature, the group may choose to spend a little more time highlighting one or two studies that are believed to be most critical to the research question
• synthesis of the literature to support your purpose for conducting the study is most important and the group should endeavor to tell the audience how the literature being discussed is related
• when presenting and synthesizing the scientific literature, some time should be spent discussing the relevance of the findings of a specific study or a group of studies
• the discussion of the scientific literature should logically lead the audience to your purpose for doing the study
• the group may and should present its opinion during the course of the presentation as long as the scientific literature is used to provide support
• all members of the group do not have to present - feel free to select the 1 or 2 people from the group with the strongest presentation skills
• AV's that are well done will enhance the impact of your presentation. Please limit the amount of information that is contained in each slide to a few bullets or important talking points. The slides are a guide and the presenter should not read the slides to the audience.
• I would also encourage each group to provide the audience with a handout that contains the title of the presentation, the names of the presenters, the research question, a general outline and a list of references.
• I would encourage the group to spend some time rehearsing the final presentation.