Research methodology in medical research

Research methodology in medical research

INTRODUCTION

Research could be defined as systematic and organized way of finding answers to a question in order to collect new information for the benefit of mankind. Medical research methodology aims at producing high quality and a reliable study data which could solve unanswered mysteries and which could be interpreted and applied in real life scenarios.

MEDICAL RESEARCH: CATOGORIZATION

The most influencing factor in medical research is the study design and its main component; the study type. Thus, study design decides the integrity of any medical research. Hence, study type has to be decided at the very beginning of the any research which starts with the research question which decides the usefulness and applicability of the study. In general, medical research can be classified into Primary and secondary research. Primary research involves actual studies whereas the secondary research summarizes the available studies in the form of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Primary research is further classified into basic medical research, clinical research and epidemiological research. Further section will deal with brief explanations on the classifications and sub classifications. Schematic representation of classification and sub classifications can be found in table 1.

Primary Research	Secondary Research
Basic/Experimental research	Clinical research	Epidemiological research	Meta-analyses	Systematic reviews
Experimental	Observational	Experimental	Observational
Animal studiesCell studyGenetic studyDevelopment and modification of diagnostic measurements like enzyme measurements, imaging procedures, MRI, biometric procedures.	Clinical trials Phase IPhase IIPhase IIIPhase IV	Prognostic studyDiagnostic studyCase studyCase seriesObservational studies with drugsTherapeutic  studies without intervention	Field studyGroup study	Cohort studyCase control studyCross sectional           study Ecological studyProspective,                       Surveillance  studyEcological studyDescription of               registry data	Statistical method of combining data from multiple studies.	Systematic literature review to collect secondary data and critically appraise the study and synthesize findings qualitative and quantitatively

• Descriptive studies are observational in nature describing the distribution of characteristics of disease or outcome
• Observational studies are observational studies which reflect the relationship between exposure and outcome and analyse them for possible causes and effects by using cases and control groups.
• Cohort studies  are follow-up studies, case control studies, cross-sectional studies (prevalence
• Studies), and ecological studies (correlation studies or studies with aggregated data).
• Intervention is defined as per the glossary of common site terms, clinical taials.gov-A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include non-invasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
• Epidemiological studies intention is to investigate the distribution and historical changes in the frequency of diseases and the causes for these diseases.

The study type should be suitable to answer the primary research question which relies on the scientific considerations, financial status, practicability, hospital capacity. A medical study should always be published in a peer reviewed journal. All the studies should be registered in the www.clinicaltrials.gov as per WHO and ICMJE guidelines which specifies that the registration of the study before inclusion of the first subject is an essential condition for the publication of the study results. A well planned study is the backbone of successful research.

References