Thesis Components

By

Dr. Mohsen Dashti

Research I (492) 3rd Lecture

Components

• Title

• Authors

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Methods

• Results

• Discussion

• Acknowledgment

• References

• Numbers

• Abbreviations

Title

• Declarative…… - 1 : 500; whole paper : title only. Which one is yours?

- Make your title an invitation for the reader or examiner.

-- Comparing isoflurane to equithesin in fMRI study of

the rat brain.

-- Equithesin to isoflurane risk to no risk on rat brain

activity: a functional MRI study.

-- Cocaine use among teenagers in Kuwait.

-- Increased levels of cocaine use among Kuwaiti

teenagers.

Title

• More examples: -- X-ray risk awareness among nurses. Declarative??

-- Nurses in the line of x-ray fire in Kuwaiti hospital.

Awareness and education study.

-- Research title: its importance and value. Declarative?

-- Declarative research title valued over neutral title.

Authors

Only for publications… lucky you

Abstract

• Four basic sections:

1. Background (including purpose).

2. Methods.

3. Results.

4. Conclusions.

Abstract

• Conventional Vs. Structured Abstract: - Four basic sections are not identified.

- Laboratory studies use the conventional abstract.

- Applied mainly to case study and brief

communication.

- Clinical journals require structured abstract.

- Heading required for each of the four basic sections.

- Summarizes the entire study in accurate and

efficient style.

Abstract

• Dos and Don’ts:

Content

• Do - State reason for study (in background).

- Describe methods and/or study design.

- Present data and results clearly.

- Use statistics when appropriate.

- Interpret results.

- State significance of results (in conclusions).

Abstract

• Dos and Don’ts:

Content

• Don’ts - Duplicate accepted studies.

- Present irrelevant results.

- Draw conclusions without providing

data.

- Identify persons or institutions in text.

Abstract

• Dos and Don’ts:

Style

• Dos - Use correct font size.

- Explain terms before abbreviating

them.

- Use active voice.

- Use tables if necessary.

- Use standard terminology.

• Don’ts - Use graphs.

Introduction

• “The first sentence awakens interest” “Most medical communications are difficult to read. To

determine why, contributions to three issues of the New England Journal of Medicine were studied and the prose analyzed”

• Well written introduction includes: 1. The problem studied or the hypothesis to be

tested.

2. Specific findings by others that you are challenging or have developed in the study you are now presenting.

3. The main features of the methods you have used.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Introduction • “Nose bleeds in adults are the commonest reason for

emergency admission to an otolaryngology ward, but the

cause of the condition remains unknown. Case report

suggest an association between nose bleeds and regular,

high alcohol consumption.

We conducted a prospective case-control study to compare

the alcohol habits of adults with nose bleeds with those of

controls being treated for other otorhinolaryngological

conditions”.

1. The problem studied.

2. Specific findings by others.

3. The main features of the methods.

Introduction

• A+ Introduction:

1. Introduction should be kept to 1 page (typed double-

spaced).

2. A statement of the goal of the paper.

3. Sufficient background information to allow the reader

to understand.

4. Proper acknowledgement of the previous work on

which you are building.

5. Break up the introduction section into logical segments

by using subheads.

Methods

• Order of events

- Methods are best described in the order they were

used.

-- fMRI images showed no brain activity after injecting 6 rats

with equithesin for 25 minutes. Any problem & do you like

the order of events?

-- Injecting 6 rats with equithesin for 25 minutes revealed

no brain activity in the fMRI images.

Methods

• Full story

- Full details of a newly (not well known) used method

should be provided to the reader/examiner.

-- Kidney volume was measured as previously described.

What?

-- The kidney volume was measured with an ultrasound

apparatus containing a built-in volume program.

-- Measurement of bone density in this study of the

femur used similar technique previously published.

-- Bone mineral densitometry was used to measure

femur density in the current study.

Methods

• Full story:

1. Allows others to repeat the same measurement and

technique.

2. Paints a clearer image for the untrained eyes of

readers.

3. Explains the methodology for others to understand the

objectives of the research project.

4. Leaves no room for any vital/essential information to

be left out.

Methods

• The subject: - Subject selection should be carefully made.

- Entry and exclusion criteria must be provided. Why?

-- Other scientists should be able to relate to your research project.

-- Researchers and readers should be able to know points to avoid for follow up projects.

** Signed written consent must be given to all participants prior to starting any research project.

Results

• What is the goal of the results

section?

• The goal of the results section is to

report the specific findings of the

study, including the organization,

processing, and statistical analyses of

the data collected relative to the

operationalized variables.

Results

• Guidelines for an A+ results section:

1. Each distinct statistical analysis should be described in its own paragraph.

- Paragraphs should be separated depending on the number of statistical tests used.

- Different statistical tests should be detailed in the methods section for clarity.

Results

• Guidelines for an A+ results section:

2. Each paragraph should contain, at a bare

minimum, the following information, ideally,

in the order presented below:

a. A restatement of the hypothesis(es) being

addressed by the given statistical analysis. i.e. ANOVA

(the effects of the two independent variables on the

dependent variable), chi-square test (testing

independence).

b. Any information about data manipulation, selection,

averaging, calculation, etc. If warranted, a justification

for manipulation should also be included.

Results

• Guidelines for an A+ results section:

c. A detailed description of the statistical test used to assess the findings.

d. A definite statement about the outcome of the target statistical test. Such statements should include the appropriate statistical notation.

e. A concrete interpretation of the finding. Does one group have significantly more (or less) of the dependent variable than the group in question? Has the hypothesized relationship been demonstrated? This is not the place for interpretation about what the findings mean, but you should definitely address whether the concrete hypotheses have been supported or not supported.

Discussion

• The bottom line section…… - There is no generally accepted way or form on how

to arrange the various parts leading up to the

conclusion. HOWEVER…..

1. Main message.

2. Critical assessment.

3. Comparison with other studies.

4. Conclusions.

Discussion

1. Main message: answers the question posed

in the introduction section and includes the main

supporting evidence.

- A Strong opening paragraph is essential….

- Example…..

-- “Our data support the hypothesis that taking aspirin

or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs protects

against the development of colorectal cancer and

suggest that it does so by reducing the prevalence of

colorectal adenomas”. So what was the question???

Discussion

2. Critical assessment: opinions on any

shortcomings in study design, limitations in

methods, flaws in analysis, or validity of

assumptions.

- Discuss ways to improve the study design if you feel it

needs improvement.

- Discuss time limitations and methods limitations if you

faced problems with some software or hardware.

- Discuss the mistakes or problems in the analysis.

- Support and explain your scientific assumptions, if

there were any.

Discussion

3. Comparison with other studies: inconsistencies, similarities and differences are

discussed.

- Start this section of your discussion with the most

significant to the least if you intend to discuss several

observations.

- Start with studies that are consistent with your own

findings.

- Conclude with studies that contradict your findings.

- Always compare your findings with others to support

your hypothesis.

Discussion

4. Conclusions: comments on possible biological or clinical implications and suggestions for further research.

- A Strong finish is a KNOCK out punch…..

- Example…

-- “Studies are now needed to confirm these findings, to determine how non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs might act, and particularly to see if these drugs can prevent the recurrence of adenoma or even cause sporadic adenomas to regress”.

Acknowledgement

• Acknowledgment is given to people

who really helped, but their

contributions do not justify authorship.

• In case of a financial support, the main

contributing institute(s) should be

thanked and acknowledged.

• Do not thank others for the work you

did. • Acknowledgment is optional in a scientific thesis.

References

• How many reference styles are they??

• Two main styles of referencing:

1. Vancouver Style (The numbering system):

- Each reference is given a number starting from 1

based on the order of appearance in the actual text.

- Name of authors and year of publication is not

mentioned in the actual text. This is done in the

references section of the thesis.

- It doesn’t follow an alphabetical order in the

bibliography or references section of the thesis.

- Recommended by most scientific and medical

journals.

References

1. Vancouver Style: examples

- “The method was followed by only few workers in

the succeeding 20 years 1-6”.

- “The technique was initially introduced by Aburel

in 1938 7”.

- “PET scanners and fMRI magnets are used in

functional studies of the brain 5-20”.

References 2. Harvard Style (The name-and-year system):

- The name of authors and year of publication is given

each time they are referred to in the actual text.

- If more than two authors, then only the first author is

mentioned followed by et al and year of publication.

- Alphabetical order should be followed in the

bibliography or references section of the thesis.

- Some scientific and medical journals still use this

system.

- Careful attention should be paid for correct spelling

and order of publication year if more than one

reference used to support same point.

References

2. Harvard Style: examples

- “The technique was initially introduced by Aburel in 1938 (Bommelaer 1948)”.

- “The method was followed by only few workers in the succeeding 20 years (Bommelaer 1948; Kosowski 1949; de Watteville and d’Ernst 1950).

- “PET scanners and fMRI magnets are used in functional studies of the brain (Bommelaer 1948; Kosowski 1949; de Watteville and d’Ernst 1950; Smith et al. 1951; Al-Thifiri and Hameed 1955; Al-Mutairi 1960; Dashti et al. 1965; ……; …….; ……).

References

• World Wide Web:

- The date for accessing the website should be included in

the reference.

- A hard-copy of the web page should be made available for referral.

- The number of web-related references should be kept to as minimum as possible.

- (cited Oct. 20, 2011; available from: www.hsc.edu.kw/formats/internet.pdf).

Numbers • Spell out or write down????

- ALWAYS spell out numbers that start the sentence.

- Numbers below 10 can be spelled out or written as numbers.

- Numbers of different groups should not confuse the reader. i.e. 2 500-mg tablets two 500-mg tablets.

- The decimal sign in English is a POINT, not a comma. i.e. 0.3 (NOT 0,3).

Abbreviations

- Abbreviations should be kept to a minimum to avoid confusion.

-- “A patient with ASHD and PHM1, SPCABG, who PTA for

ERCP had an episode of BRBPR”.

- Refrain from inventing your own abbreviations as much as possible.

- Abbreviations and spelled-out terms should not be mixed.

-- “functional magnetic resonance imaging” or “fMRI” throughout the thesis.

Have fun with your research…..