SIG Research & Methodology

IFS SIG RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2024-26 INTRODUCTION

It is often presumed that learning research methods is restricted to students and their guides and that a general practitioner could stay comfortably removed from it. This cannot be further from the truth.

Medicine is not an exact or even a fully evolved science. There is still scope for disease pathogenesis to be understood, accurate diagnostic tests and effective treatments to be introduced and patient satisfaction, treatment accessibility and affordability to be improved.

Human physiology and their response to pathogen and therapy, however can vary widely. When dealing with this variation, a novice may often find the boundaries blurring between what constitutes the normal and the abnormal.

Research methods help in understanding and expressing this variation in an objective manner. Good research involves the use of replicable, unbiased methods and through these methods help in finding the true answer to any question.

Whether you are a student seeking to write your thesis or a Professor seeking to guide your students; whether you are a Consultant involved in private practice or an Administrator seeking to improve patient satisfaction or a Policy-Maker looking at health interventions for a population; learning and applying research methods is for you.

The IFS Special Interest Group in Research Methodology has been conducting Workshops for Clinicians, embryologists, fellows and post graduate students regularly with the following aims: -

• Provide an overview of the process necessary to move from an initial idea to the conceptualization and implementation of a study.
• To be able to publish their research in peer reviewed journals.
• Critically appraise research articles and apply evidence-based education more effectively in their practice.

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR RESEARCH
SIG RESEARCH METHODOLGY (2024-2026)

• Know your Data: data types and ways to summarize them.
• Learn correct ways to depict data graphically.
• Research questions determine study designs.
• Confounders, errors and biases: why an understanding of these concepts is needed to make your paper publish-worthy.
• Tests of significance depend on data type. Learn which one to use when.
• Can odds ratios be interpreted as risk ratios? Learn the nuances of each.
• Understanding Sensitivity and Specificity beyond their definitions.
• Why should researchers NOT rely on p-values alone?
• Basics of Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
• Using software to perform some basic data analysis.