The Research Process

Research for class may sound intimidating, but it's actually pretty simple when you break it down.  Fortunately, there is a straightforward process you can follow.  

The health care research process should always follow the same steps.

1. Background research
2. PICO
3. Search for evidence
4. Evaluate evidence

Example of comparing sources: 

Critical Thinking: What's missing? Contradictory? Inconsistent? Nonsensical?

A credible website is not a credible website (Whitewashing): https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm

A newspaper article is not a newspaper article (Deeper facts #): http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jan/25/local/me-hendon25

Critical Thinking: Like Prius is not a Tesla

An "article" is not just an "article" http://isu.libguides.com/evidence/findarticles

Whitewashing deaths by way of omission (i.e. lying)

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/disaster/casper/pdf-html/flint_water_crisis_pdf.html

Critical Thinking about Deaths Reported (Flint Water Crisis & Led Poisoning)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/21/flints-lead-poisoned-water-had-a-horrifyingly-large-effect-on-fetal-deaths-study-finds/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ae28a5e21d55

Wikipedia doesn't always capture all the data 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis

What is Health Research?

In the medical and allied health fields, researchers conduct scientifically-designed experiments to answer specific research questions.  Each study builds on previous research to add a new piece of evidence to the larger puzzle.  The goal of health research is to improve understanding of a particular field or subject area in order to improve technology, care, and decision-making.  

Evidence-based Practice

As a practitioner, it's important to develop an evidence-based practice (EBP).  EBP focuses on combining current research evidence with a practitioner's own experience and judgement and the patient's preferences .  It's a three-part approach called the three-legged stool of EBP. 

Clinical research can usually be found on special websites that search peer-reviewed journal databases.  Our library has subscriptions to some of these journal sites.

Read more about EBP in a peer-reviewed article from Credo Reference.

What Does Peer-Reviewed Mean?

Peer-reviewed sources are have been reviewed for quality by experts before they are published, which is different than many websites.

All of the links to library collections are peer-reviewed.  This means that you can generally trust information from the library's collections more than the information on the Web.  

Scribbr: Primary and Secondary Sources

Check out this guide for determining the difference between a Primary and Secondary source.