AAPM&R-RPC: Resident’s
Research Packet
Research Design
It is
essential to have a detailed and well thought out research design in place before
data collection is started. Projects developed “on the fly” tend to
get bogged down, develop big holes, are often more biased and often lead to
poor research. Great care must be taken to control as many variables as
possible, limit bias, and anticipate problems. In order to help you organize
and think through your project, a copy of the very useful Research
Workbook by Michael J. Gordon is provided in Appendix A. You should also
take a look at the supplement issue of the American
Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feb.1991 (Amer
J Phys Med Rehabil, 1991, Vol 70, No.1 Suppl). Especially useful are the
articles by Thomas Findley. Some of his original, highly recommended articles
are listed below and have been reproduced in the supplement issue.
There are
many different research designs. The fundamentals of research design are
outlined briefly in Appendix B. A number of additional books and articles are
also listed below. We hope you will find them useful in designing your
project.
References On Research
Design
-
Bausell RB. Conducting
meaningful experiments: 40
steps to becoming a scientist. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications; 1994.
-
Findley TW. Research
in physical medicine and rehabilitation. I. How to ask the
question. Amer J of PM&R 1989 68:26-31.
-
Findley TW. Research
in physical medicine and rehabilitation. II. The conceptual review
of the literature and how to read more articles that you ever wanted to
see in your entire life. Amer J of PM&R 1989 68:97-102.
-
Findley TW, et
al. Research in physical medicine
and rehabilitation. III. The chart review or how to use clinical
data for exploratory retrospective studies. Amer J of PM&R 1989
68:150-157.
-
Reilly RP, et
al. Research in physical medicine
and rehabilitation. IV. Some practical designs in applied research.
Amer J of PM&R 1989 68:196-201.
-
Findley TW, et
al. Research in physical medicine
and rehabilitation. V. Data entry and early exploratory data
analysis. Amer J of PM&R 1989 68:240-251.
-
Findley TW, et
al. Research in physical medicine
and rehabilitation. VI. Research project management. Amer J of
PM&R 1989 68:288-299.
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