1 / 35

Developing Research Hypotheses: Key Concepts and Practical Examples

This lecture focuses on the essential steps in developing a research project with a well-formulated question and hypotheses. It discusses proper literature citations, writing clear hypotheses, and grading clinical outcomes through practical examples, like the "Refresh Contacts" study. The presentation emphasizes the importance of originality, ethical considerations, and relevance in research. Learn how to effectively reference literature in the increasingly digital age and utilize the FINER criteria to evaluate the feasibility and importance of your research question.

jersey
Download Presentation

Developing Research Hypotheses: Key Concepts and Practical Examples

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. 6350 Lecture 3: Developing a Project with Hypotheses • Key Concepts: How a question is developedProper Literature Citations (test)Hypothesis Writing (test)Clinical Grading (e.g., staining; test) Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  2. Thought for the Day “To him/her whose elastic and vigorous thought keeps pace with the sun, the day is a perpetual morning” Henry David Thoreau

  3. Student Research and the Research Question The Most Important Aspect of Research (according to JP) You want people to say: “What a neat idea!”when you describe your project

  4. It’s Tough to Ask a Good Question! Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  5. Dr. Paugh’s Example – The “Refresh Contacts” Study • Solution toxicities observed clinically with multi-purpose solutions (MPSs) • Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC): • Ubiquitous wood fiber; viscosifying agent in artificial tears and CL lubricants  The Question: Can a pre-application drop of CMC reduce solution toxicity? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  6. Grade 3.5 SPK “worst sector” on a 0-4 Scale; Grade 14.5 on a 0 – 20 Total Scale Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  7. Dr. Paugh’s Example What does the literature say? • Solution reactions exist: • especially silicone-hydrogels & MPSs • Evidence that CMC can neutralize MPS actives (i.e., PHMB) • Vehige et al., Eye and CL, 2003: chemical availability of PHMB less in water and MPS when CMC present • Also, bacterial survival rates greater when CMC added  binding Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  8. How Do We Reference the Literature? (especially in this increasingly electronic age?)

  9. Literature Citations • Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals • Used by many medical journals, including OVS, IOVS, etc. • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE); general medical journal editors who meet annually to develop uniform standards) • Consider reference software such as EndNote Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  10. Citing Electronic Material: ICMJE* How To: SCCO Library: • Go to intranet, SCCO Library • Click on “How To” • Click on “ICMJE” • Go to specific chapter you need *Patrias K. Citing medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers [Internet]. 2nd ed. Wendling DL, technical editor. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2007 [updated 2009 Oct 21; cited Year Month Day]. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  11. Citation-Journal (paper): • Use Index Medicus abbreviations for the journal (e.g., Optom Vis Sci) • List the first six authors followed by “et al.” • Example: • Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7. Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  12. Citation-Book (paper): • Personal Author: • Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis:Mosby;2002. + page numbers!!! Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  13. Citation-CD-ROM(“electronic material”) e.g.: Anderson SC, Poulsen KB. Anderson’s electronic atlas of hematology [CD-ROM]. Philadelphia: Lippincott and Williams and Wilkins; 2002. e.g.: Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  14. Citation-Internet Journal Article: e.g.: Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  15. Citation-Homepage/Web Site • Cancer-Pain.org [homepage on internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from http://www.cancer-pain.org/. Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  16. Citation-SCCO Student Research Paper • Williams R. Strabismus and its therapies [student research paper]. Fullerton (CA): Southern California College of Optometry; 1980. • Note: could have a second author and faculty advisoras well Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  17. FINER TEST (for student research) • F – feasible (adequate subjects, affordable?) • I – interesting (to investigator & profession) • N – novel (confirms or refutes prior work) • E - ethical • R – relevant? (to knowledge, clinical care?) (i.e., the So What? Test) Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  18. Dr. Paugh’s Example (Refresh Contacts) • Poll Contact Lens Staff-What do you think? • So What? • Clinical care: • may corroborate in vitro findings • may develop a simple and cost effective solution to a given problem • Pre-application drop lubricates the lens-eye system-a benefit! • Feasibility! Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  19. Dr. Paugh’s Example • Is there a difference between pre-instillation of a CMC vs. a non-CMC lubricant? • i.e., subjective? • Dryness, comfort etc. • i.e., objective? • Staining (overall and cumulative) • Bulbar injection • Limbal redness Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  20. REFINING AND DEFINING:IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!! • Keep it small • Define the population rigorously • Focus on one thing - one relationship • Define the end-point in terms of primary outcome variable(s) and secondary outcome variable(s) • What exactly are you going to measure? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  21. Dr. Paugh’s example Population • Experienced soft lens wearers • NB: ideal would be identified solution responders • In reality, ANY soft lens wearers • > age 18 (expedited IRB review) • No torics • Fit with lens material that is likely to demonstrate the problem- Ethics??? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  22. Dr. Paugh’s example, cont’d Methods: • Fit all subjects with one lens material • All subjects disinfect with ReNu • During one 4-week period, use ReNu lubricant as pre-application drop • During 2nd 4-week period, use CMC lubricant as pre-application drop • Responses: subjective & biomicroscopy Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  23. Variables – Definitions (textbook) • Independent variable or Predictor variable • The variable that is held constant; HOWEVER, the investigator controls it • A factor that is suspected to influence the outcome of an analytic study (e.g., a CL lubricant, or drug treatment, etc.) • Dependent variable or Outcome variable • Primary • Secondary • The response of interest (e.g., the development of staining, cure of disease etc.) Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  24. Dr. Paugh’s Example • What is the independent / predictor variable? • e.g., disinfecting solution? • Lens material? • Length of wear? • Lubricant? • What is the dependent / outcome variable? • e.g., comfort? staining? refractive error? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  25. Research Questions: Summary • “Ask a Good Question!!!” • How? Discover an unanswered need: • Why does this happen clinically? What is known about this?, etc. Literature review; speak with experts Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  26. Dr. Paugh’s Questions-Personal • How long does an ophthalmic solution last on the ocular surface? • Can a novel, more convenient method be developed to measure epithelial barrier function? • What are the factors that influence tear exchange beneath contact lenses? • Does ed peri-ocular humidity improve non-invasive tear parameters? • What is the in situ aqueous tear viscosity? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  27. Dr. Paugh’s Questions-Student • How much plus can be added to a rigid CL prior to optical distortion? • What is the prevalence of MGD? • Do warm compresses for MGD really provide benefit? • Do neophyte, latent hyperopes accept more plus with rigid contact lenses? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  28. List in Your Hands!!! Faculty to Contact: • Drs. Sendrowski, Comer, Tong: Ocular Disease • Drs. Barnhardt, Cotter, Borsting, Chu: • Pediatrics, VT, dyslexia, strabismus • Drs Jim Bailey, Stark • Accommodation, VT, Visual Optics • Drs. Edrington, Marsden, Lam et al. • Contact lenses, tear film, keratoconus • Dr. Ridder: Contrast threshold, ERG, aberrations • Dr. Paugh: Tears, CLs, dry eye Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  29. GENERATING HYPOTHESES • Specify the end-point carefully: • e.g., IOP, TBUT, BI to break, etc. • What are you measuring exactly? • Is it best expressed as a mean? • e.g., average score, average difference, average visual acuity, average IOP • Is it best expressed as a proportion? • e.g., percentages, proportion with and without (a condition), categories (disease, no disease) Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  30. HYPOTHESES: General • Null is always “no difference” • Alternative can be one-tailed or two-tailed • What is of interest to you? • What makes sense clinically? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  31. NULL HYPOTHESIS • There is no difference between... • ...Is not associated with... • ...Is not different... • Symbols: mu for means  pi for proportions  • Use equal sign = • E.g.: • Ho: 1 = 2 • Ho: 1 = 2 Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  32. ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS • One-tailed or two-tailed? • Not equal, greater than, less than • Symbols: (mu)  for means (pi)  for proportions • Use appropriate mathematical symbol for one-tailed or two-tailed ≠; >; < Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  33. Dr. Paugh’s CMC Example • What exactly did we measure as the principal outcome measure? • Is this expressed as a proportion or a mean? Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  34. Dr. Paugh’s Example • Should the alternative hypothesis be one-tailed or two-tailed? • Could SCL wearers have more or less staining when using lubricants? • Two-tailed makes it more difficult to demonstrate significance, but, more robust statistically  use 2-tailed approach if possible Writing Questions and Hypotheses

  35. Examples: Writing Hypotheses • Null (no difference) Hypothesis: • E.g., There is no difference in the residence time, in minutes, between product 1 and product 2 • Ho: 1 = 2 • Alternative Hypothesis: • There is a difference in residence time, in minutes, between product 1 and product 2 • HA: 1 ≠ 2 • Two-tailed most robust (because covers all possible outcomes) Writing Questions and Hypotheses

More Related