Aids in designing and conducting research in hand surgery

1. Tips and tricks in hand
surgery research
5th International Conference on Plastic Surgery 'PlastiCon 2017‘
Dhaka, 28 February 2017
Mr Vaikunthan Rajaratnam
Senior Consultant Hand Surgeon
MBBS(Mal),AM(Mal),FRCS(Ed),FRCS(Glasg),FICS(USA),
Dip Hand Surgery(Eur), Dip MedEd(Dundee), MIDT Dist. (OUM),
MBA(USA), FHEA(UK), FFST(Ed)
vaikunthan@gmail.com

2. What clinical
research is all about
original contribution to
knowledge
Must have two important things:
• a worthy research problem/question
(not been previously answered)
• you have solved the problem/question

3. Stay motivated
• Why are you doing this?
• Be highly motivated and driven to
succeed at clinical research - can be
cultivated and learned.
3

4. • Begin with a question and read the existing literature
• Speak to people
• Develop pre-theories and hypotheses
• Structure for the process of research – begin with the end
(This paper has shown that ….. has better …… than …… in our study)
4

5. Centering on your
literature review
• Exploring and understanding of current
knowledge in the area.
• Literature review - the beginning of research.
• Think of your own research’s implication for
the body of knowledge
5

6. Framework of a
literature review
• Tell what the research says (theory)
• Tell how the research was carried out
(methodology)
• Tell what is missing, i.e. the gap that
your research intends to fill.
Source:
https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/co
ntent/2_assessmenttasks/assess_tuts/li
t_review_LL/purpose.html
6

7. Network and
collaborate
Ask for advice and mentorship
Offer advice and mentor
Get to know others outside
your institution – through
conferences, Researchgate, etc.
7

9. From the beginning to the end you will need …

10. Good advice
• Be motivated
• Project management
• Time Management
• Network and collaborate with others
• Set yourself high standards
• Produce the best quality work
• Have the right attitude
• Handle ups and downs
10

11. Track your
progress
Maintain a
Research Journal -
Evernote
1
These recordings
will help you track
your progress.
2
Use project
management –
Gannt Chart
3
11

13. Use your time wisely
• Multi-task activities.
• Prioritize
• Assign deadlines
13

14. Tips
• to do lists
• time at the start or end of the day

15. Getting started
INTRODUCING
THE RESEARCH
JOURNEY
15

16. A. Define the Problem
1. this is the critical step
a. what is it you are actually trying to do?
b. the research question
2. your research is your experiment
a. your DEPENDENT variable
b. What are you are actually interested in?
c. this is the focus of your research intentions
3. identify your perspective
a. what is your point of view?
1) will you be attempting to solve a problem or
explain it? (intentions are NOT synonomous)

17. 2) are you examining your issue as a particular
kind of researcher?
4. degree and definition
a. how broad is your problem?
> individual, local, state, national, international?
b. how do you define your key variables?
1) must itemize your operational definitions
2) these definitions must be exact, as explicit as
possible

18. B. Develop Theory
(explanation / solution)
1. what is the explanation / solution to your problem?
> based on your perspective, what are you
proposing?
2. a statement of what you believe
3. identifies what it is you will examine as well as
what it is you will not
4. the library should be your first stop
5. work with what you know (ontology) along with
how you find out (epistemology) in response to what
it is you do not know

19. C. Conceptualization / Measurement
1. understanding specifically what you intend to
examine
2. what do you “see” when you “see” someone doing
what you intend to examine?
3. what information are you actually seeking
> what do you want / need to prove your point?
4. a more thorough discussion of this area will be
conducted later (in the research design section),
but this is thinking about your problem

20. D. Identify Methodology /
Data Collection Strategy
1. how will you seek the answers to the
questions you must ask to prove your point?
> what questions need to be asked?
2. what are your options to generate
the“best”information?
3. typical social science strategies
a. secondary analysis
b. face-to-face interviews
c. self-report questionnaires
d. unobtrusive measures
e. field research

22. E. Data Analysis/Presentation
1. what strategy best shows your efforts?
a. various levels of statistical analysis
are the most popular in social science
research
1) univariate, bivariate, multivariate
statistical analyses
2) graphs (pictograms)
3) tables
b. narratives (growing in popularity; post
modernism)
> written, verbal descriptions
c. multi-media presentations
2. purpose is to illustrate what it is you did

23. F. Summary
1. based solely on the problem you address, the sources
of your information, and the data generated from
those sources...what did you find out?
> this is the only reasonable conclusion possible
2. speculation about what if, or perhaps if, can only be
an addendum to your basic conclusion

24. Qualities of a
good clinical
research
• good presentation and style
• show adequate knowledge and discussion
of the literature
• exhibits proficiency in the method
• shows good techniques of research

25. Ensure your
paper
 contribution to new knowledge
 demonstrates originality
 new understanding, theories,
research techniques
 shows more critical analysis

26. Writing it up
Essentially, effective titles:
• identify the article’s main issue
• begin with the article’s subject matter
• are accurate, unambiguous, specific and (when possible) complete
• are as short as possible
• are enticing and interesting; they make people want to read further

27. • Only authors who’ve made an intellectual contribution to the research
should be credited
• The abstract should summarize the problem or objective of your research,
and its method, results, and conclusions.
• State the questions you’re answering and explain any findings of others that
you are challenging or furthering. Briefly and logically lead the reader to
your hypotheses, research questions, and experimental design or method.
• Method - how you studied the problem, identify the procedures you
followed, and structure this information as logically as possible
• Ethics statement

28. Results
• present your findings objectively,
• explaining them largely in text clearly and logically
• how your results contribute to the body of scientific knowledge,
• Do not interpret your results – that comes in the Discussion

29. Discussion & Conclusions
• your results directly support your conclusions
• you use specific expressions and quantitative descriptions
• you only discuss what you defined early in the paper
• all interpretations and speculations are based on fact, not imagination

30. References
• acknowledged published work
• recognized with a citation; and quoted
text should be within quotation marks
• include a reference.