1. Research beyond the
theory
Hazem Ghaith
• Fifth-year medical student at faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar
University, Cairo, Egypt.
• Has +10 publication and +15 abstracts in top international
journals, and top conferences in the world.
• Editor at Frontiers in Neurology journal (top cited open access
journal in 2018) and reviewer in several international journals.
• Member at Junior section of the Global Neurosurgery
Committee, WFNS
• Researcher at Future African Neurosurgeons Association (AFAN)
2. Clinical Research ?
Research
The systematic scientific process of generating
new knowledge, involves the collection,
summarization, and analysis of information to
generate new knowledge.
Clinical Research
Research that deals with human patients, samples,
and clinical data to inform the clinical practice
about the safety and efficacy of treatments and the
accuracy of diagnostics as well as to answer the
clinically important questions.
3. WHY CLINICAL RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT
BETTER TREATMENTS
CURE DISEASES
ECONOMIC
BURDEN OF DISEASES
LIVE LONGER
QUALITY OF LIFE
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Twitter
Instagram
Social Network (
الباردة الغنيمة
)
Social Media
LinkedIn
ResearchGate
Reaching
out
(Connections)
Subscribe to the top journals that match your interest
(Follow the editorial letters)
10. Reviewing the Literature
What is the meaning of literature ?
Literature
Published
research
papers
Conference
Textbooks
Medical literature referrers to all information in the
field of medicine
11. The importance of reviewing the
literature
1- To ensure that the gap of knowledge is really existing
2- To be aware of used methodologies in similar topics
3- To know the most appropriate study design for your idea
4- To know statistical tests that should be used to provide an answer to your research question
Note: we, as researchers, should follow the legacy of previous researchers and start from the point
where they stopped
12. Literature Search VS Literature Review
• It is well-organized search for all the literature
published on a specific topic
• A step in any research project
Literature
Search
• It is a summary of published literature
• Collection information about specific topic
• Written article
Literature
Review
19. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
What should I use of these databases ?
20. Keywords
Use words not sentences
Choose the principle words that will be most relevant to your topic
Knowing the study design of your idea will help you to basically determine the
most appropriate search words
E.g.
1- Observational study (Indicator + outcome + population)
2- Interventional study (Intervention + outcome + population)
3- diagnostic test accuracy study (Diagnostic tool + Standard tool + Population)
21. Interventional studies
Population + Intervention + Outcome (If specified)
Remdesivir for COVID-19 patients
In case of an interventional study that includes two interventions
Population + Intervention + Comparator + Outcome (PICO)
Acetaminophen Vs. Placebo for post craniotomy pain management
Observational studies
Population + Indicator (risk factor) + Outcome
Association between smoking and lung cancer
Diagnostic test accuracy
Diagnostic test + Population
CT for the diagnosis of appendicitis
Survival
22. Search Strategy
Definition: a collection of
keywords using to find the most
relevant results to specific topic
Using Boolean operators allow
an appropriate search strategy
Include all relevant synonyms
and subgroups
23. MeSH Terms
Medical Subjects Headings (MeSH) that
facilitates searching. Therefore, without
MeSH, there is no finish
Warning !!
27. Notes
1. X AND Y = Y AND X
2. X OR Y = Y OR X
3. X NOT Y ≠ Y Not X
4. * AND $
Search strategy
(aspiration OR ADAPT) AND (stent-retriever OR
Solitaire OR Trevo OR Merci) AND (stroke OR Large
vessel occlusion OR LVO).
