Research Review Paper Outline

Select two published research papers for your review: The research paper must be published in a reputable journal such as the following:

The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of American Medical Association, The Lancet, or American Journal of Public Health

Study hypothesis - a working assumption

Summarize the working assumption used by the study researchers in the two research papers that you are planning to critique and review

Population - describe the population used in the two research papers, for example

Closed cohort - membership is defined by a given event, and no exit is possible

Dynamic population - membership is defined by a given state, and exit occurs when the state terminates

Study design - describe the study design used in the research that you are reviewing

Experimental

Observational

Both

The timing of the observations

Cross-sectional study (i.e., the exposures, health conditions, and other factors are recorded at the same point in time using prevalence data without attempting to reconstruct the exposure history)

Longitudinal study (i.e., since diseases occur over time, we normally expect a longitudinal recording of exposures and diseases in the follow-up study and in the case control study)

Define the relevant etiologic time window

What is the available knowledge of the conditions under study?

What is the hypothesized effect of the exposure?

Research study base - describe the research study base used for the research paper you are reviewing

Population sampling - describe the sampling approach used in the research (e.g., randomized cohort, case/control)

Data type - describe the type of data collection used in the research paper

Primary data - referred to as ad hoc data, or actual collection of data by researcher from a primary source or person

Secondary data - referred to as antecedent data, is data collected primarily for other purposes and used in the study (e.g., data from medical files, registration records, and so on)

Both

Statistical data - describe the statistics that were used in the research study

Descriptive statistics - can be defined as those methods involving the collection, presentation, and characterization of a set of data in order to describe the various features of that set of data properly

Inferential statistics - can be defined as those methods that make possible the estimation of characteristics of a population or the making of a decision concerning a population based only on sample result

Conclusion - describe the conclusions that were made in the research and indicate whether you believe these conclusions were valid or not

Outline one or more study limitations and opportunity for further research

Use at least two additional references or other research papers that confirm whether these conclusions are valid