Primary Research

Primary research in a nutshell involves you coming up with a research question, designing a study, collecting data directly, analysing it and then discussing the findings. Here is a concise stepwise approach to this type of research.

1.Find a supervisor or research group. 

Email lecturers/supervisors, asking for research opportunities. Look out for MedSoc newsletters containing summer research opportunities or even opportunities available throughout the year. Apply to these and get involved. 

2.Decide on a research question and null hypothesis. 

If you are joining a project, then this is likely to have been decided by the research lead already. However, if you’re starting your own, then it’s important to come up with an objective research question. It will be sensible to use the PICO framework if suitable; PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome).  

3.Desgin a study method. 

Decide what type of study is best suited to answer your research question. Quantitative? Qualitative? Prospective? Retrospective? What outcomes/parameters/ variables are you going to measure? How? And who/what from? What are the confounding factors? How will you minimise bias? What statistical analysis will you run? Consider all these questions when designing your study and make sure it’s clear to follow. Again, a PICO type framework might be useful here if appropriate.

4.Get ethics approval. (If appropriate).

There are various national criteria that may require you to submit your research proposal to the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) or even to your university Research Ethics Committee (REC).

5.Recruit participants. (If appropriate).

You would’ve already decided on the number of participants (based on a power calculation) and set inclusion-exclusion criteria during the study design stage. Now it’s time to enforce this and recruit suitable subjects. Numerous ways to do this: online, paper, notice-board adverts, clinic recruitment etc. are all appropriate ways. 

6.Collect data. 

Following your study design, use validated measuring instruments to collect data on specified parameters. 

7.Statitically analyse data. 

Analyse your data using an appropriate statistical method. Calculate P-values and confidence intervals to determine if the observed data is statistically significant or due to chance.

8.Interpret data and reasonings. 

Try to reason why the data showed the observed pattern and discuss this. Use material from your literature review to determine if your results go against the grain or support previous findings. Suggest reasons for errors. Identify limitations and future directions.  

9.Carry out necessary repeats/ alterations. 

If any repeat measurements due to errors are needed, carry this out as you deem appropriate. However, be careful that you don’t compromise the fidelity and integrity of the study by chasing desired results. 

10.Write-up. 

Each “manuscript” (write-up of you research) should include:

a.Introduction: Define the importance of your research. Discuss current evidence based on a literature search. Introduce and define the research question, objective and aims. 

b.Method: Set out a detailed description of the method used. Including the sample population and their inclusion/ exclusion criteria. Tools used for data collection. What data collected. Etc.  

c.Results: Present the results of the study using tables, graphs etc. and statistically analyse data to find P-values etc to determine statistical significance.  

d.Discussion: Discuss the reasons for your results and findings. If they are expected and are in keeping with current research. If not, why not? Identify limitations.

e.Future directions: Suggest improvements and future research avenues.   

f.Conclusion: Summarise and bring it all together to answer the research question.