Selection of problem

• The selection and analysis of the problem for research should involve
those who are responsible for the health status of the community.

• This would include managers in the health services, health-care

workers, and community leaders, as well as researchers.

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 When problem needs research?
 Perceived difference or discrepancy between what it is
and what it should be;
 The reason(s) for this difference should be unclear; and
 There should be more than one possible and plausible
answer to the question (or solution to the problem).
If the answer to the research question is obvious, we
are dealing with a management problem that may be
solved without further research

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 Case Scenario-1
• In district “Z” (population 150,000) there are 2 health
centers, 1 hospital and 15 health stations and all of
them function smoothly. However, at the end of the
year it was found that the EPI coverage was only 25%.
• Do You think the problem needs research?
• What is the Problem question?
• What is the Possible answers?

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 Case Scenario-2
 In district “Y” there are 1 hospital, 2 centers
and 10 health posts but only 2 health stations
were functioning, the rest were closed due to
insecurity in the area.
Do you think the problem needs research?

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 Statement of the problem
• After selecting and analyzing the problem, the
next major section in a research proposal is
“statement of the problem”

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 Why statement of problem?
• Foundation for the further development of the research
proposal component
• Enables the researcher to systematically point out why
the proposed research on the problem should be
undertaken and what you hope to achieve with the study
results.

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 Information included in the statement of a problem

• An overview of health status

• brief description of socioeconomic and cultural characteristics its
size, distribution, and severity (who is affected, where, since when,
etc.)
• Major factors that may influence the problem

• Convincing argument that available knowledge is insufficient to

answer a certain question

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 Information included in the statement of a problem…

• A brief description of any solutions that have been tried in the

past, how well they have worked, and why further research is
needed.
• If necessary, a short list of definitions of crucial concepts used
in the statement of the problem.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

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 Learning objectives

By the end of this session, students will be

expected to know :

o Importance of literature review

o Sources of literature review
o Steps of literature searching

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 Literature

o It is the systematic analysis and interpretation of

available information.

o In the terms of a literature review, "the literature"

means the works you consult in order to understand
and investigate your research problem.

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 literature …
o A description or account of the literature that has
relevant to a particular field or topic.
o Specifies which literature makes significant
contributions to the understanding of the topic.
o Consists of the published and unpublished
research that others have conducted in a number
of areas that are relevant to your own research
question:

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 Use of literature

• It prevents you from duplicating work that has been done

before.
• It increases your knowledge on the problem you want to
study
• It gives you confidence why your particular research
project is needed.
• To be familiar with different research methods

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 Sources of literature review

Sources of information
• Libraries
• Organizations (institutions)
• Published information (books, journals, etc.)
• Unpublished documents (studies in related
fields, reports, etc.)
• Computer based literature searches

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 Managing Literature review
Identified literatures
o Should first be read
o Summarization of important information
recorded on card or computer
– Summary of contents, brief analysis and
references
o Finally included in proposal
– Discuss in topics from global to local level

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How can search literatures
Steps of literature searching
There are five integrated steps in research
reviews:
1. Identifying the topic
2. Preparing a coding sheet
3. Searching for research publications
4. Synthesizing research publication
5. Reporting previous research on the selected
topic.
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Steps…
1. Identifying the topic
o Literature review starts with topic
identification.
o The choice of the topic is influenced by the
researcher and the research community.
o Similar to empirical research ,the identification
of the topic is also influenced by the literature
review process.

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 Steps …

Identifying the topic…

o To assist topic identification, researchers may conduct a
preliminary review of a dozen or so representative works
on the topic.

o Such a process enables reviewers to ascertain the

scope of research related to the topic, identify all needed
information for the review, and further refine the topic.

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 Steps …
2. Preparing a coding sheet
o Once the topic is identified and refined, the next
step is to construct a coding sheet for research
review.
o The coding sheet will be used to collect relevant
information from articles to be reviewed.
o It also necessary lf there are vast number of
studies to be reviewed.

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 Steps …
2. Preparing a coding sheet…
o A coding sheet enables reviewers to collect all
needed information during the first reading so that
the time-consuming practice of rereading research
reports is avoided.
o It is better to collect too much than too little
information, because the time spent in collecting
additional information during the first reading is
significantly less than if the researcher would have to
go back and retrieve new information.

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 Steps …
Preparing a coding sheet…
Coding sheet includes:-
o key words
o A summary of relevant information of the book or
articles
o A brief analysis of the content with comments
such as:
o Appropriateness of the methodology
o Possible weakness, important aspects of the study
o How information from the study can be used in your
research

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 Coding sheet …
Literature review coding sheet for items of general interest
Background Information
• Source __________________________________________________________________
• Author(s) ________________________________________________________________
• Title ____________________________________________________________________
• Journal __________________________________________________________________
• Year _____________________ Volume ______________Pages ____________
Design Information
• Primary/Secondary study ___________________________________________________
• Random/Nonrandom _______________________________________________________
• Control/No control ________________________________________________________
• Matching/Statistical control _________________________________________________
• Pretest/No pretest _________________________________________________________
• Type(s) of intervention _____________________________________________________
• Population _______________________________________________________________
• Sample size ______________________________________________________________
• Response rate ____________________________________________________________
• Sample characteristics _____________________________________________________
• Sample representativeness __________________________________________________
• Sampling biases __________________________________________________________
• Other ___________________________________________________________________

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 Coding sheet …
Measurement Information
• Research question or hypothesis
______________________________________________
• Dependent variable(s)
______________________________________________________
• Independent variable(s)
_____________________________________________________
• Validity of measures
_______________________________________________________
• Reliability of measures
_____________________________________________________
• Statistical measures
________________________________________________________
Outcome Information
• Hypothesis supported or refuted
____________________________________________

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 Steps …

3. Searching for research publications

o Begin by identifying keywords or phrases useful in
locating materials in an academic library at a
college/university and/or websites.
o With these keywords or phrases in mind, next go to the
library (i.e. journals and books). Or go to internet center
for searching.

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 Steps …
3. Searching
Major source of literature for reviewers to retrieve:
o Books
o journals, including professional journals,
published news (letter, magazines and news
papers), including doctoral, master’s, and
bachelor’s theses
o Unpublished work, including monographs,
technical reports, grant proposals, conference
papers, personal manuscripts, and other
unpublished materials

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 3. Searching…

Selection of Sources:
o Books- look at author’s credentials, scan table of
contents, index, bibliography, charts and tables and read
the preface.
o Articles- read abstract, authors credentials and scan the
hypothesis and methods sections and read the conclusion
and summary.
o Remember to note the author, title and year of publication.
It is best to use the article, not older than 7 years. most
recent articles
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 Steps …

4. Synthesizing research publications

o Synthesizing research publications entails
categorizing a series of related studies,
analyzing and interpreting their findings, and
summarizing those findings into unified
statements about the topic being reviewed.

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 Steps …
4. Synthesizing research publications…
o Properly conducted, synthesizing research
publications is a systematic process that
integrates both quantitative and qualitative
strategies.

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 How do you write literature review in your proposal?

ways of organizing the information

• From broader to narrow specific aspects
• From global to local situation of the problem
• From past to present situation of the issue
depending on the purpose of the study & type
of the problem

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 Literature review…
• In conclusion, after an exhaustive literature review,, the study topic
should be summarized and answer
• How much is known?
• What is not known?
• What should be done based on gaps?

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 Justification of the Study
Questions addressed significance of the study:
 Are there gaps in evidence?
 Will results influence programs, methods, and/or
interventions?
 Will results contribute to the solution of the problems?
 Will results influence the decision making of
organizations or companies?
 What will be improved or changed as a result of the
research?
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 Setting research objective
• Having decided what to study, and knowing why s/he
wants to study it, the investigator can now formulate his
study objectives

• Objectives should be closely related to the statement of

the problem.

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 Importance of developing objectives
• Focus the study
• Avoid the collection of data which are not strictly necessary
• Properly formulated specific objectives facilitate the development
of research methodology and help to orient the collection,
analysis, interpretation and utilization of data.
• Helps for evaluating the project

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 Objectives
• General objective:
– summarizes what is to be achieved by the study
– should be clearly related to the statement of the problem.
• Specific objectives:
– logically connected parts of the general objective
– focus the study on the essentials
– direct the design of the investigation
– orient collection, analysis and interpretation of the data
– They indicate the variable to be examined and measured
Eg. Assessment of low vaccination coverage in Dessie town, North east
Ethiopia,2019.
General objective:
Specific objectives:

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formats used for stating research objectives?

Research objectives can be stated as:

A) Questions: “The objectives of this study are to
answer the following questions …”

B) Positive sentence: “The objectives of this study are to

determine …”

C) Hypothesis: “The objective of this study is to verify

the following hypothesis...”

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 Formulating Objectives:
research questions vs hypotheses

• The format chosen depends on the type of

study that will be undertaken.

• A hypothesis requires sufficient knowledge of

the problem to be able to predict relationships
among factors which then can be explicitly
tested.

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 formats used for stating research objectives?

• Research questions are formulated when the

investigators donot have enough insight into the
problem being studied.
Eg of research question. Does post-menopausal hormone
replacement therapy predispose women to develop
endometrial cancer?
• If the study is descriptive or exploratory in nature, then
objectives are stated in the form of questions or positive
sentences.

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 Criteria for setting research objectives
• Focused: each covering a single point
• Ordered in a logical sequence
• Realistic and feasible to answer
• Operational: using action verbs such as
– determine - verify - identify
– describe - assess - compare
– calculate - establish - explore
• Measurable outcomes at the end of the research

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 What is a variable?
It is a characteristic that takes on different values in different persons, places, or

things.

These may be in the form of numbers (e.g., age) or non-numerical

characteristics (e.g., sex)

For example:

- heart rate,

- the heights of adult males,

- the weights of preschool children,

- the ages of patients seen in a dental clinic.

o

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 Va r i a b l e s …

Measurement
 Measuring: is the assignment of numbers to objects or events
according to a set of rules
Variables may be numerical or categorical
o Numerical quantitative variables can be continuous or discrete
o A categorical (qualitative) variables may be nominal or ordinal
o Nominal variables may be also dichotomous or polychotomous

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 Dependent and independent variables

o In health research, we often look for associations among

the factors and the outcome of interest

o So, it is necessary to identify the variables that will be

involved in the research project being designed

o This variables can be mainly categorized as dependent

and independent variables

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 Dependent and independent variables …

o Dependent /outcome variable The variable used to describe or

measure the problem under study is called the dependent

variable(s)
o Independent/predictor/factors/determinants: is the condition that

affect the occurrence of the outcome variable

o The objective of research is usually to determine the effect of

changes in one or more independent variables on one or more

dependent variables

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 Whether a variable is dependent or independent is determined by
the statement of the problem and the objectives of the study

 It is important when designing an analytical study to clearly state

which variable is dependent and independent variables

o If a researcher investigates why people smoke, smoking is the

dependent variable, and pressure from peers to smoke could be
an independent variable

o In the lung cancer study, smoking was the independent variable

and lung cancer is dependent variable
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Different types of variables related to the study
Background variables
o Socio-demographic and economic variables like:

age, sex, educational status, monthly income, marital status, religion

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Confounding variable
• Confounding is a mixing of effects between an exposure and
outcome

Example of confounding effect

• An observed association between consumption of coffee and
increased risk of myocardial infarction could be due, at least in
part, to the effect of cigarette smoking, since coffee drinking is
associated with smoking and, independent of coffee
consumption, smoking is a risk factor for MI.
Coffee MI

cigarette smoking

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 Confounding variable ...

E.g. In the study of the effect of measles (independent

variable) on child mortality (dependent variable), the
nutritional status of the child may play an intervening role as
a confounder.

- So to alleviate the problem of confounding we have to collect

data on every factors that are associated with the outcome

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Composite variable

o A variable based on two or more other variables may be termed a

composite variable

e.g. Body mass index (i.e. weight and height)

- nutritional status
- wasting – weight for age
- stunting – height for age
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 Seminar presentation
Title Title content Presented
by
1 STUDY DESIGN FOR A RESEARCH Types of study design Group-1
PROBLEM How to select study design

2 SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATION AND  Population and sample Group-2

WAYS OF SAMPLING STUDY  Rationale of sampling
POPULATION  Types of sampling methods
 Error in sampling

3 METHODS OF DATA  Data collection techniques Group-3

COLLECTION/DATA COLLECTION  Strength and limitation of d/nt
TECHNIQUES data collection techniques

4 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT  Data collection tool Group-4

DESIGNS  Steps in questionnaire
designing

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 THANK YOU

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