an article about research

Evaluating Information

• Understanding Primary and Secondary Sources
• Exploring and Evaluating Popular, Trade, and Scholarly Sources

Reading a Scholarly Article

Common components of original research articles, while you read, reading strategies, reading for citations, further reading, learning objectives.

This page was created to help you:

Identify the different parts of a scholarly article

Efficiently analyze and evaluate scholarly articles for usefulness

This page will focus on reading scholarly articles — published reports on original research in the social sciences, humanities, and STEM fields. Reading and understanding this type of article can be challenging. This guide will help you develop these skills, which can be learned and improved upon with practice.

We will go over:

There are many different types of articles that may be found in scholarly journals and other academic publications. For more, see:

• Types of Information Sources

Reading a scholarly article isn’t like reading a novel, website, or newspaper article. It’s likely you won’t read and absorb it from beginning to end, all at once.

Instead, think of scholarly reading as inquiry, i.e., asking a series of questions as you do your research or read for class. Your reading should be guided by your class topic or your own research question or thesis.

For example, as you read, you might ask yourself:

• What questions does it help to answer, or what topics does it address?
• Are these relevant or useful to me?
• Does the article offer a helpful framework for understanding my topic or question (theoretical framework)?
• Do the authors use interesting or innovative methods to conduct their research that might be relevant to me?
• Does the article contain references I might consult for further information?

In Practice

Scanning and skimming are essential when reading scholarly articles, especially at the beginning stages of your research or when you have a lot of material in front of you.

Many scholarly articles are organized to help you scan and skim efficiently. The next time you need to read an article, practice scanning the following sections (where available) and skim their contents:

• The abstract: This summary provides a birds’ eye view of the article contents.
• The introduction:  What is the topic(s) of the research article? What is its main idea or question?
• The list of keywords or descriptors
• Methods: How did the author(s) go about answering their question/collecting their data?
• Section headings:  Stop and skim those sections you may find relevant.
• Figures:  Offer lots of information in quick visual format.
• The conclusion:  What are the findings and/or conclusions of this article?

Mark Up Your Text

Read with purpose.

• Scanning and skimming with a pen in hand can help to focus your reading.
• Use color for quick reference. Try highlighters or some sticky notes. Use different colors to represent different topics.
• Write in the margins, putting down thoughts and questions about the content as you read.
• Use digital markup features available in eBook platforms or third-party solutions, like Adobe Reader or Hypothes.is.

Categorize Information

Create your own informal system of organization. It doesn’t have to be complicated — start basic, and be sure it works for you.

• Jot down a few of your own keywords for each article. These keywords may correspond with important topics being addressed in class or in your research paper.  
• Write keywords on print copies or use the built-in note taking features in reference management tools like Zotero and EndNote.  
• Your keywords and system of organization may grow more complex the deeper you get into your reading.

Highlight words, terms, phrases, acronyms, etc. that are unfamiliar to you. You can highlight on the text or make a list in a notetaking program.

• Decide if the term is essential to your understanding of the article or if you can look it up later and keep scanning.

You may scan an article and discover that it isn’t what you thought it was about. Before you close the tab or delete that PDF, consider scanning the article one more time, specifically to look for citations that might be more on-target for your topic.  

You don’t need to look at every citation in the bibliography — you can look to the literature review to identify the core references that relate to your topic. Literature reviews are typically organized by subtopic within a research question or thesis. Find the paragraph or two that are closely aligned with your topic, make note of the author names, then locate those citations in the bibliography or footnote.

See the Find Articles page for what to do next:

• Find Articles

See the Citation Searching page for more on following a citation trail:

• Citation Searching
• Taking notes effectively. [blog post] Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD
• How to read an academic paper. [video] UBCiSchool. 2013
• How to (seriously) read a scientific paper. (2016, March 21). Science | AAAS.
• How to read a paper. S. Keshav. 2007. SIGCOMM Comput. Commun. Rev. 37, 3 (July 2007), 83–84.

This guide was designed to help you:

• << Previous: Exploring and Evaluating Popular, Trade, and Scholarly Sources
• Last Updated: Feb 16, 2024 3:55 PM
• URL: https://libguides.brown.edu/evaluate

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Articles, Books and . . . ? Understanding the Many Types of Information Found in Libraries

• Reference Sources

Academic Journals

Magazines and trade journals, conference papers, technical reports, anthologies.

• Documents and Reports
• Non-Text Content
• Archival Materials

Because of their short length, articles often exclude background info and explanations, so they're usually the last stop in your research process, after you've narrowed down your topic and need to find very specific information.

The main thing to remember about articles is that they're almost always published in some larger work , like a journal, a newspaper, or an anthology. It's those "article containers" that define the types of articles, how you use them, and how you find them.

Articles are also the main reason we have so many databases . The Library Catalog lists everything we own, but only at the level of whole books and journals. It will tell you we have the New York Times, and for what dates, but it doesn't know what articles are in it. Search in UC Library Search using the "Articles, books, and more" scope will search all the databases we subscribe to and some we don't. If you find something we do not own, you can request it on Interlibrary Loan.

Physical Media

While newer journals and magazines are usually online, many older issues are still only available in paper. In addition, many of our online subscriptions explicitly don't include the latest material, specifically to encourage sales of print subscriptions. Older newspapers are usually transferred to microfilm.

Scholarly Sources

The terms academic or scholarly journal are usually synonymous with peer-reviewed , but check the journal's publishing policies to be sure. Trade journals, magazines, and newspapers are rarely peer-reviewed.

Primary or Secondary Sources

In the social sciences and humanities, articles are usually secondary sources; the exceptions are articles reporting original research findings from field studies. Primary source articles are more common in the physical and life sciences, where many articles are reporting primary research results from experiments, case studies, and clinical trials.

Clues that you're reading an academic article

• Footnotes or endnotes
• Bilbliography or list of references

Articles in academic (peer-reviewed) journals are the primary forum for scholarly communication, where scholars introduce and debate new ideas and research. They're usually not written for laymen, and assume familiarity with other recent work in the field. Journal articles also tend to be narrowly focused, concentrating on analysis of one or two creative works or studies, though they may also contain review articles or literature reviews which summarize recent published work in a field.

In addition to regular articles, academic journals often include book reviews (of scholarly books ) and letters from readers commenting on recent articles.

Clues that you're reading a non -academic article

• Decorative photos
• Advertisements

Unlike scholarly journals, magazines are written for a mainstream audience and are not peer-reviewed. A handful of academic journals (like Science and Nature ) blur the line between these two categories; they publish peer-reviewed articles, but combine them with news, opinions, and full-color photos in a magazine-style presentation.

Trade journals are targeted toward a specific profession or industry. Despite the name, they are usually not peer-reviewed. However, they sometimes represent a gray area between popular magazines and scholarly journals. When in doubt, ask your professor or TA whether a specific source is acceptable.

Newspapers as Primary Sources

Though usually written by journalists who were not direct witnesses to events, newspapers and news broadcasts may include quotes or interviews from people who were. In the absence of first-person accounts, contemporary news reports may be the closest thing to a primary source available.

Of all the content types listed here, newspapers are the fastest to publish. Use newspaper articles to find information about recent events and contemporary reports of/reactions to historic events.

• News by UCLA Library Last Updated Aug 6, 2024 8885 views this year

Reviews are a type of article that can appear in any of the categories above. The type of publication will usually determine the type of review. Newspapers and magazines review movies, plays, general interest books, and consumer products. Academic journals review scholarly books.

Note that a review is not the same as scholarly analysis and criticism! Book reviews, even in scholarly journals, are usually not peer-reviewed.

Conference papers aren't always published and can be tricky to find . Recent conference papers are often online, along with the PowerPoint files or other materials used in the actual presentation. However, access may be limited to conference participants and/or members of the academic organization which sponsored the conference.

In paper formats, all of the papers from a certain conference may be re-printed in the conference proceedings . Search for Proceedings of the [name of conference] to find what's available, or ask for help from a librarian. But be aware that published proceedings may only include abstracts or even just the name of the presenter and the title of the presentation. This is especially true of poster presentations , which really are large graphic posters (which don't translate well to either printed books or computer monitors).

As the name implies, most technical reports are about research in the physical sciences or engineering. However, there are also technical reports produced in the life and social sciences,

Like conference papers , some technical reports are eventually transformed into academic journal articles , but they may also be released after a journal article to provide supplementary data that didn't fit within the article. Also like conference papers, technical reports can be hard to find , especially older reports which may only be available in microfiche . Ask for help from a librarian!

Anthologies are a cross-over example. They're books that contain articles (chapters). Anthologies may be collections of articles by a single author, or collections of articles on a theme from different authors chosen by an editor. Many anthologies reprint articles already published elsewhere, but some contain original works.

Anthologies are rarely peer-reviewed, but they still may be considered scholarly works, depending on the reputation of the authors and editors. Use the same criteria listed for scholarly books .

Of course, reprints of articles originally published in peer-reviewed journals retain their "scholarly" status. (Note that most style manuals have special rules for citing reprinted works.)

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• Last Updated: May 16, 2024 10:30 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucla.edu/content-types

Finding Scholarly Articles: Home

What's a Scholarly Article?

Your professor has specified that you are to use scholarly (or primary research or peer-reviewed or refereed or academic) articles only in your paper. What does that mean?

Scholarly or primary research articles are peer-reviewed , which means that they have gone through the process of being read by reviewers or referees  before being accepted for publication. When a scholar submits an article to a scholarly journal, the manuscript is sent to experts in that field to read and decide if the research is valid and the article should be published. Typically the reviewers indicate to the journal editors whether they think the article should be accepted, sent back for revisions, or rejected.

To decide whether an article is a primary research article, look for the following:

• The author’s (or authors') credentials and academic affiliation(s) should be given;
• There should be an abstract summarizing the research;
• The methods and materials used should be given, often in a separate section;
• There are citations within the text or footnotes referencing sources used;
• Results of the research are given;
• There should be discussion   and  conclusion ;
• With a bibliography or list of references at the end.

Caution: even though a journal may be peer-reviewed, not all the items in it will be. For instance, there might be editorials, book reviews, news reports, etc. Check for the parts of the article to be sure.   

You can limit your search results to primary research, peer-reviewed or refereed articles in many databases. To search for scholarly articles in  HOLLIS , type your keywords in the box at the top, and select  Catalog&Articles  from the choices that appear next.   On the search results screen, look for the  Show Only section on the right and click on  Peer-reviewed articles . (Make sure to  login in with your HarvardKey to get full-text of the articles that Harvard has purchased.)

Many of the databases that Harvard offers have similar features to limit to peer-reviewed or scholarly articles.  For example in Academic Search Premier , click on the box for Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals  on the search screen.

Review articles are another great way to find scholarly primary research articles.   Review articles are not considered "primary research", but they pull together primary research articles on a topic, summarize and analyze them.  In Google Scholar , click on Review Articles  at the left of the search results screen. Ask your professor whether review articles can be cited for an assignment.

A note about Google searching.  A regular Google search turns up a broad variety of results, which can include scholarly articles but Google results also contain commercial and popular sources which may be misleading, outdated, etc.  Use Google Scholar  through the Harvard Library instead.

About Wikipedia .  W ikipedia is not considered scholarly, and should not be cited, but it frequently includes references to scholarly articles. Before using those references for an assignment, double check by finding them in Hollis or a more specific subject  database .

Still not sure about a source? Consult the course syllabus for guidance, contact your professor or teaching fellow, or use the Ask A Librarian service.

• Last Updated: Oct 3, 2023 3:37 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/FindingScholarlyArticles

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Making sense of research: A guide for critiquing a paper

Affiliation.

• 1 School of Nursing, Griffith University, Meadowbrook, Queensland.
• PMID: 16114192
• DOI: 10.5172/conu.14.1.38

Learning how to critique research articles is one of the fundamental skills of scholarship in any discipline. The range, quantity and quality of publications available today via print, electronic and Internet databases means it has become essential to equip students and practitioners with the prerequisites to judge the integrity and usefulness of published research. Finding, understanding and critiquing quality articles can be a difficult process. This article sets out some helpful indicators to assist the novice to make sense of research.

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• Critiquing research. Preston J. Preston J. Nurs Stand. 2015 Dec 2;30(14):61-2. doi: 10.7748/ns.30.14.61.s47. Nurs Stand. 2015. PMID: 26639295
• A guide to critiquing a research paper. Methodological appraisal of a paper on nurses in abortion care. Lipp A, Fothergill A. Lipp A, et al. Nurse Educ Today. 2015 Mar;35(3):e14-7. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2014.12.010. Epub 2015 Jan 24. Nurse Educ Today. 2015. PMID: 25638278 Review.
• Engaging nurses in research utilization. Wintersgill W, Wheeler EC. Wintersgill W, et al. J Nurses Staff Dev. 2012 Sep-Oct;28(5):E1-5. doi: 10.1097/NND.0b013e31826a008c. J Nurses Staff Dev. 2012. PMID: 22992644
• Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 2: Qualitative research. Ryan F, Coughlan M, Cronin P. Ryan F, et al. Br J Nurs. 2007 Jun 28-Jul 11;16(12):738-44. doi: 10.12968/bjon.2007.16.12.23726. Br J Nurs. 2007. PMID: 17851363 Review.

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Guide to Scholarly Articles

• What is a Scholarly Article?
• Scholarly vs. Popular vs. Trade Articles

Types of Scholarly Articles

Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods articles, why does this matter.

• Anatomy of Scholarly Articles
• Tips for Reading Scholarly Articles

Scholarly articles come in many different formats each with their own function in the scholarly conversation. The following are a few of the major types of scholarly articles you are likely to encounter as you become a part of the conversation. Identifying the different types of scholarly articles and knowing their function will help you become a better researcher.

Original/Empirical Studies

• Note: Empirical studies can be subdivided into qualitative studies, quantitative studies, or mixed methods studies. See below for more information  
• Usefulness for research:  Empirical studies are useful because they provide current original research on a topic which may contain a hypothesis or interpretation to advance or to disprove. 

Literature Reviews

• Distinguishing characteristic:  Literature reviews survey and analyze a clearly delaminated body of scholarly literature.  
• Usefulness for research: Literature reviews are useful as a way to quickly get up to date on a particular topic of research.

Theoretical Articles

• Distinguishing characteristic:  Theoretical articles draw on existing scholarship to improve upon or offer a new theoretical perspective on a given topic.
• Usefulness for research:  Theoretical articles are useful because they provide a theoretical framework you can apply to your own research.

Methodological Articles

• Distinguishing characteristic:  Methodological articles draw on existing scholarship to improve or offer new methodologies for exploring a given topic.
• Usefulness for research:  Methodological articles are useful because they provide a methodologies you can apply to your own research.

Case Studies

• Distinguishing characteristic:  Case studies focus on individual examples or instances of a phenomenon to illustrate a research problem or a a solution to a research problem.
• Usefulness for research:  Case studies are useful because they provide information about a research problem or data for analysis.

Book Reviews

• Distinguishing characteristic:  Book reviews provide summaries and evaluations of individual books.
• Usefulness for research:  Book reviews are useful because they provide summaries and evaluations of individual books relevant to your research.

Adapted from the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association : the official guide to APA style. (Sixth edition.). (2013). American Psychological Association.

Qualitative articles  ask "why" questions where as  quantitative  articles  ask "how many/how much?" questions. These approaches are are not mutually exclusive. In fact, many articles combine the two in a  mixed-methods  approach. 

We can think of these different kinds of scholarly articles as different tools designed for different tasks. What research task do you need to accomplish? Do you need to get up to date on a give topic? Find a literature review. Do you need to find a hypothesis to test or to extend? Find an empirical study. Do you need to explore methodologies? Find a methodological article.

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• Next: Anatomy of Scholarly Articles >>
• Last Updated: Aug 23, 2023 8:53 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/scholarly-articles

What is Research?: Parts of a Research Article

• The Truth about Research
• Research Steps
• Evaluating Sources
• Parts of a Research Article

While each article is different, here are some common pieces you'll see in many of them...

• The title of the article should give you some clues as to the topic it addresses.
• The abstract allows readers to quickly review the overall content of the article. It should give you an idea of the topic of the article, while also providing any key details--such as the questions address in the article and the general results of the studies conducted.
• The introduction introduces the general topic and provides some background information, eventually narrowing it down to the specific issues addressed in the article.
• The literature review describes past research on the topic and relates it to the specific topic covered by the article.  Not all articles will have a literature review.
• The methods section addresses the research design and methodology used by the author to come to the conclusions they have in this article.  This gives others the ability to replicate the study.  Not all articles will have this, since there will be many articles that don't involve an actual study.
• The results section presents the results of any studies or analysis that has been conducted.  Not all articles will have this, either.
• The discussion/conclusion addresses the implications or future of the field.  It may also address where future research is needed.
• The list references or bibliography is the alphabetized list of resources used for the article.  The format of the citations is often determined by what that field's preferred format is.  Common citations formats include APA, Chicago, and MLA.  This is a necessity in an article--and it helps you identify more possible resources for your own paper.
• Components of a Research Paper Useful site that goes more in depth on these sections.
• Parts of a Citation A really wonderful site by the Nash Community College Library.
• << Previous: Evaluating Sources
• Last Updated: Jul 20, 2017 9:23 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uno.edu/whatisresearch

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Evaluating Resources: Research Articles

Research articles.

A research article is a journal article in which the authors report on the research they did. Research articles are always primary sources. Whether or not a research article is peer reviewed depends on the journal that publishes it.

Published research articles follow a predictable pattern and will contain most, if not all, of the sections listed below. However, the names for these sections may vary.

• Title & Author(s)
• Introduction
• Methodology

To learn about the different parts of a research article, please view this tutorial:

Short video: How to Read Scholarly Articles

Learn some tips on how to efficiently read scholarly articles.

Video: How to Read a Scholarly Article

(4 min 16 sec) Recorded August 2019 Transcript 

More information

The Academic Skills Center and the Writing Center both have helpful resources on critical and academic reading that can further help you understand and evaluate research articles.

• Academic Skills Center Guide: Developing Your Reading Skills
• Academic Skills Center Webinar Archive: Savvy Strategies for Academic Reading
• Writing Center Podcast: WriteCast Episode 5: Five Strategies for Critical Reading

If you'd like to learn how to find research articles in the Library, you can view this Quick Answer.

• Quick Answer: How do I find research articles?
• Previous Page: Primary & Secondary Sources
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• v.53(4); 2010 Aug

Research questions, hypotheses and objectives

Patricia farrugia.

* Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, the

Bradley A. Petrisor

† Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and the

Forough Farrokhyar

‡ Departments of Surgery and

§ Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont

Mohit Bhandari

There is an increasing familiarity with the principles of evidence-based medicine in the surgical community. As surgeons become more aware of the hierarchy of evidence, grades of recommendations and the principles of critical appraisal, they develop an increasing familiarity with research design. Surgeons and clinicians are looking more and more to the literature and clinical trials to guide their practice; as such, it is becoming a responsibility of the clinical research community to attempt to answer questions that are not only well thought out but also clinically relevant. The development of the research question, including a supportive hypothesis and objectives, is a necessary key step in producing clinically relevant results to be used in evidence-based practice. A well-defined and specific research question is more likely to help guide us in making decisions about study design and population and subsequently what data will be collected and analyzed. 1

Objectives of this article

In this article, we discuss important considerations in the development of a research question and hypothesis and in defining objectives for research. By the end of this article, the reader will be able to appreciate the significance of constructing a good research question and developing hypotheses and research objectives for the successful design of a research study. The following article is divided into 3 sections: research question, research hypothesis and research objectives.

Research question

Interest in a particular topic usually begins the research process, but it is the familiarity with the subject that helps define an appropriate research question for a study. 1 Questions then arise out of a perceived knowledge deficit within a subject area or field of study. 2 Indeed, Haynes suggests that it is important to know “where the boundary between current knowledge and ignorance lies.” 1 The challenge in developing an appropriate research question is in determining which clinical uncertainties could or should be studied and also rationalizing the need for their investigation.

Increasing one’s knowledge about the subject of interest can be accomplished in many ways. Appropriate methods include systematically searching the literature, in-depth interviews and focus groups with patients (and proxies) and interviews with experts in the field. In addition, awareness of current trends and technological advances can assist with the development of research questions. 2 It is imperative to understand what has been studied about a topic to date in order to further the knowledge that has been previously gathered on a topic. Indeed, some granting institutions (e.g., Canadian Institute for Health Research) encourage applicants to conduct a systematic review of the available evidence if a recent review does not already exist and preferably a pilot or feasibility study before applying for a grant for a full trial.

In-depth knowledge about a subject may generate a number of questions. It then becomes necessary to ask whether these questions can be answered through one study or if more than one study needed. 1 Additional research questions can be developed, but several basic principles should be taken into consideration. 1 All questions, primary and secondary, should be developed at the beginning and planning stages of a study. Any additional questions should never compromise the primary question because it is the primary research question that forms the basis of the hypothesis and study objectives. It must be kept in mind that within the scope of one study, the presence of a number of research questions will affect and potentially increase the complexity of both the study design and subsequent statistical analyses, not to mention the actual feasibility of answering every question. 1 A sensible strategy is to establish a single primary research question around which to focus the study plan. 3 In a study, the primary research question should be clearly stated at the end of the introduction of the grant proposal, and it usually specifies the population to be studied, the intervention to be implemented and other circumstantial factors. 4

Hulley and colleagues 2 have suggested the use of the FINER criteria in the development of a good research question ( Box 1 ). The FINER criteria highlight useful points that may increase the chances of developing a successful research project. A good research question should specify the population of interest, be of interest to the scientific community and potentially to the public, have clinical relevance and further current knowledge in the field (and of course be compliant with the standards of ethical boards and national research standards).

FINER criteria for a good research question

Adapted with permission from Wolters Kluwer Health. 2

Whereas the FINER criteria outline the important aspects of the question in general, a useful format to use in the development of a specific research question is the PICO format — consider the population (P) of interest, the intervention (I) being studied, the comparison (C) group (or to what is the intervention being compared) and the outcome of interest (O). 3 , 5 , 6 Often timing (T) is added to PICO ( Box 2 ) — that is, “Over what time frame will the study take place?” 1 The PICOT approach helps generate a question that aids in constructing the framework of the study and subsequently in protocol development by alluding to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and identifying the groups of patients to be included. Knowing the specific population of interest, intervention (and comparator) and outcome of interest may also help the researcher identify an appropriate outcome measurement tool. 7 The more defined the population of interest, and thus the more stringent the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the greater the effect on the interpretation and subsequent applicability and generalizability of the research findings. 1 , 2 A restricted study population (and exclusion criteria) may limit bias and increase the internal validity of the study; however, this approach will limit external validity of the study and, thus, the generalizability of the findings to the practical clinical setting. Conversely, a broadly defined study population and inclusion criteria may be representative of practical clinical practice but may increase bias and reduce the internal validity of the study.

PICOT criteria 1

A poorly devised research question may affect the choice of study design, potentially lead to futile situations and, thus, hamper the chance of determining anything of clinical significance, which will then affect the potential for publication. Without devoting appropriate resources to developing the research question, the quality of the study and subsequent results may be compromised. During the initial stages of any research study, it is therefore imperative to formulate a research question that is both clinically relevant and answerable.

Research hypothesis

The primary research question should be driven by the hypothesis rather than the data. 1 , 2 That is, the research question and hypothesis should be developed before the start of the study. This sounds intuitive; however, if we take, for example, a database of information, it is potentially possible to perform multiple statistical comparisons of groups within the database to find a statistically significant association. This could then lead one to work backward from the data and develop the “question.” This is counterintuitive to the process because the question is asked specifically to then find the answer, thus collecting data along the way (i.e., in a prospective manner). Multiple statistical testing of associations from data previously collected could potentially lead to spuriously positive findings of association through chance alone. 2 Therefore, a good hypothesis must be based on a good research question at the start of a trial and, indeed, drive data collection for the study.

The research or clinical hypothesis is developed from the research question and then the main elements of the study — sampling strategy, intervention (if applicable), comparison and outcome variables — are summarized in a form that establishes the basis for testing, statistical and ultimately clinical significance. 3 For example, in a research study comparing computer-assisted acetabular component insertion versus freehand acetabular component placement in patients in need of total hip arthroplasty, the experimental group would be computer-assisted insertion and the control/conventional group would be free-hand placement. The investigative team would first state a research hypothesis. This could be expressed as a single outcome (e.g., computer-assisted acetabular component placement leads to improved functional outcome) or potentially as a complex/composite outcome; that is, more than one outcome (e.g., computer-assisted acetabular component placement leads to both improved radiographic cup placement and improved functional outcome).

However, when formally testing statistical significance, the hypothesis should be stated as a “null” hypothesis. 2 The purpose of hypothesis testing is to make an inference about the population of interest on the basis of a random sample taken from that population. The null hypothesis for the preceding research hypothesis then would be that there is no difference in mean functional outcome between the computer-assisted insertion and free-hand placement techniques. After forming the null hypothesis, the researchers would form an alternate hypothesis stating the nature of the difference, if it should appear. The alternate hypothesis would be that there is a difference in mean functional outcome between these techniques. At the end of the study, the null hypothesis is then tested statistically. If the findings of the study are not statistically significant (i.e., there is no difference in functional outcome between the groups in a statistical sense), we cannot reject the null hypothesis, whereas if the findings were significant, we can reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis (i.e., there is a difference in mean functional outcome between the study groups), errors in testing notwithstanding. In other words, hypothesis testing confirms or refutes the statement that the observed findings did not occur by chance alone but rather occurred because there was a true difference in outcomes between these surgical procedures. The concept of statistical hypothesis testing is complex, and the details are beyond the scope of this article.

Another important concept inherent in hypothesis testing is whether the hypotheses will be 1-sided or 2-sided. A 2-sided hypothesis states that there is a difference between the experimental group and the control group, but it does not specify in advance the expected direction of the difference. For example, we asked whether there is there an improvement in outcomes with computer-assisted surgery or whether the outcomes worse with computer-assisted surgery. We presented a 2-sided test in the above example because we did not specify the direction of the difference. A 1-sided hypothesis states a specific direction (e.g., there is an improvement in outcomes with computer-assisted surgery). A 2-sided hypothesis should be used unless there is a good justification for using a 1-sided hypothesis. As Bland and Atlman 8 stated, “One-sided hypothesis testing should never be used as a device to make a conventionally nonsignificant difference significant.”

The research hypothesis should be stated at the beginning of the study to guide the objectives for research. Whereas the investigators may state the hypothesis as being 1-sided (there is an improvement with treatment), the study and investigators must adhere to the concept of clinical equipoise. According to this principle, a clinical (or surgical) trial is ethical only if the expert community is uncertain about the relative therapeutic merits of the experimental and control groups being evaluated. 9 It means there must exist an honest and professional disagreement among expert clinicians about the preferred treatment. 9

Designing a research hypothesis is supported by a good research question and will influence the type of research design for the study. Acting on the principles of appropriate hypothesis development, the study can then confidently proceed to the development of the research objective.

Research objective

The primary objective should be coupled with the hypothesis of the study. Study objectives define the specific aims of the study and should be clearly stated in the introduction of the research protocol. 7 From our previous example and using the investigative hypothesis that there is a difference in functional outcomes between computer-assisted acetabular component placement and free-hand placement, the primary objective can be stated as follows: this study will compare the functional outcomes of computer-assisted acetabular component insertion versus free-hand placement in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. Note that the study objective is an active statement about how the study is going to answer the specific research question. Objectives can (and often do) state exactly which outcome measures are going to be used within their statements. They are important because they not only help guide the development of the protocol and design of study but also play a role in sample size calculations and determining the power of the study. 7 These concepts will be discussed in other articles in this series.

From the surgeon’s point of view, it is important for the study objectives to be focused on outcomes that are important to patients and clinically relevant. For example, the most methodologically sound randomized controlled trial comparing 2 techniques of distal radial fixation would have little or no clinical impact if the primary objective was to determine the effect of treatment A as compared to treatment B on intraoperative fluoroscopy time. However, if the objective was to determine the effect of treatment A as compared to treatment B on patient functional outcome at 1 year, this would have a much more significant impact on clinical decision-making. Second, more meaningful surgeon–patient discussions could ensue, incorporating patient values and preferences with the results from this study. 6 , 7 It is the precise objective and what the investigator is trying to measure that is of clinical relevance in the practical setting.

The following is an example from the literature about the relation between the research question, hypothesis and study objectives:

Study: Warden SJ, Metcalf BR, Kiss ZS, et al. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound for chronic patellar tendinopathy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Rheumatology 2008;47:467–71.

Research question: How does low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) compare with a placebo device in managing the symptoms of skeletally mature patients with patellar tendinopathy?

Research hypothesis: Pain levels are reduced in patients who receive daily active-LIPUS (treatment) for 12 weeks compared with individuals who receive inactive-LIPUS (placebo).

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of LIPUS in the management of patellar tendinopathy symptoms.

The development of the research question is the most important aspect of a research project. A research project can fail if the objectives and hypothesis are poorly focused and underdeveloped. Useful tips for surgical researchers are provided in Box 3 . Designing and developing an appropriate and relevant research question, hypothesis and objectives can be a difficult task. The critical appraisal of the research question used in a study is vital to the application of the findings to clinical practice. Focusing resources, time and dedication to these 3 very important tasks will help to guide a successful research project, influence interpretation of the results and affect future publication efforts.

Tips for developing research questions, hypotheses and objectives for research studies

• Perform a systematic literature review (if one has not been done) to increase knowledge and familiarity with the topic and to assist with research development.
• Learn about current trends and technological advances on the topic.
• Seek careful input from experts, mentors, colleagues and collaborators to refine your research question as this will aid in developing the research question and guide the research study.
• Use the FINER criteria in the development of the research question.
• Ensure that the research question follows PICOT format.
• Develop a research hypothesis from the research question.
• Develop clear and well-defined primary and secondary (if needed) objectives.
• Ensure that the research question and objectives are answerable, feasible and clinically relevant.

FINER = feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, relevant; PICOT = population (patients), intervention (for intervention studies only), comparison group, outcome of interest, time.

Competing interests: No funding was received in preparation of this paper. Dr. Bhandari was funded, in part, by a Canada Research Chair, McMaster University.

What is a Scholarly Article: What is a scholarly article

Determineif a source is scholarly, determine if a source is scholarly, what is a scholarly source.

Scholarly sources (also referred to as academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed sources) are written by experts in a particular field and serve to keep others interested in that field up to date on the most recent research, findings, and news. These resources will provide the most substantial information for your research and papers.

What is peer-review?

When a source has been peer-reviewed, it has undergone the review and scrutiny of a review board of colleagues in the author’s field. They evaluate this source as part of the body of research for a particular discipline and make recommendations regarding its publication in a journal, revisions prior to publication, or, in some cases, reject its publication.

Why use scholarly sources?

Scholarly sources’ authority and credibility improve the quality of your own paper or research project.

How can I tell if a source is scholarly?

The following characteristics can help you differentiate scholarly sources from those that are not. Be sure to look at the criteria in each category when making your determination, rather than basing your decision on only one piece of information.

• Are author names provided?
• Are the authors’ credentials provided?
• Are the credentials relevant to the information provided?
• Who is the publisher of the information?
• Is the publisher an academic institution, scholarly, or professional organization?
• Is their purpose for publishing this information evident?
• Who is the intended audience of this source?
• Is the language geared toward those with knowledge of a specific discipline rather than the general public?
• Why is the information being provided?
• Are sources cited?
• Are there charts, graphs, tables, and bibliographies included?
• Are research claims documented?
• Are conclusions based on evidence provided?
• How long is the source?

Currency/Timeliness

• Is the date of publication evident?

Additional Tips for Specific Scholarly Source Types

Each resource type below will also have unique criteria that can be applied to it to determine if it is scholarly.

• Books published by a University Press are likely to be scholarly.
• Professional organizations and the U.S. Government Printing Office can also be indicators that a book is scholarly.
• Book reviews can provide clues as to if a source is scholarly and highlight the intended audience. See our  Find Reviews  guide to locate reviews on titles of interest.
• Are the author’s professional affiliations provided?
• Who is the publisher?
• How frequently is the periodical published?
• How many and what kinds of advertisements are present? For example, is the advertising clearly geared towards readers in a specific discipline or occupation?
• For more information about different periodical types, see our  Selecting Sources  guide.
• What is the domain of the page (for example: .gov, .edu, etc.)?
• Who is publishing or sponsoring the page?
• Is contact information for the author/publisher provided?
• How recently was the page updated?
• Is the information biased? Scholarly materials published online should not have any evidence of bias.

Is My Source Scholarly? (Accessible View)

Step 1: Source

The article is most likely scholarly if:

• You found the article in a library database or Google Scholar
• The journal the article appears in is peer-reviewed

Move to Step 2: Authors

Step 2: Authors

The source is most likely scholarly if:

• The authors’ credentials are provided
• The authors are affiliated with a university or other research institute

Move to Step 3: Content

Step 3: Content

• The source is longer than 10 pages
• Has a works cited or bibliography
• It does not attempt to persuade or bias the reader
• It attempts to persuade or bias the reader, but treats the topic objectively, the information is well-supported, and it includes a works cited or bibliography

If the article meets the criteria in Steps 1-3 it is most likely scholarly.

Common Characteristics of a Scholarly Article

Common characteristics of scholarly (research) articles.

Articles in scholarly journals may also be called research journals, peer reviewed journals, or refereed journals. These types of articles share many common features, including:

• articles always provide the name of the author or multiple authors
• author(s) always have academic credentials (e.g. biologist, chemist, anthropologist, lawyer)
• articles often have a sober, serious look
• articles may contain many graphs and charts; few glossy pages or color pictures
• author(s) write in the language of the discipline (e.g. biology, chemistry, anthropology, law, etc.)
• authors write for other scholars, and emerging scholars
• authors always cite their sources in footnotes, bibliographies, notes, etc.
• often (but not always) associated with universities or professional organizations

Types of Scholarly Articles

Peer Review in 3 Minutes

North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries (3:15)

• What do peer reviewers do?  How are they similar to or different from editors?
• Who are the primary customers of scholarly journals?
• Do databases only include peer-reviewed articles?  How do you know?

Is my source scholarly

Is My Source Scholarly?: INFOGRAPHIC

This infographic is part of the Illinois Library's Determine if a source is scholarly.

"Is my source scholarly" by Illinois Library  https://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/scholarly/

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article: Interactive Tutorial

Typical Sections of a Peer-Reviewed Research Article

Typical sections of peer-reviewed research articles.

Research articles in many disciplines are organized into standard sections. Although these sections may vary by discipline, common sections include:

• Introduction
• Materials and Methods

It's not hard to spot these sections; just look for bold headings in the article, as shown in these illustrations:

• Last Updated: Oct 22, 2020 11:31 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mccd.edu/WhatisaScholarlyArticle

Different types of research articles

A guide for early career researchers.

In scholarly literature, there are many different kinds of articles published every year. Original research articles are often the first thing you think of when you hear the words ‘journal article’. In reality, research work often results in a whole mixture of different outputs and it’s not just the final research article that can be published.

Finding a home to publish supporting work in different formats can help you start publishing sooner, allowing you to build your publication record and research profile.

But before you do, it’s very important that you check the  instructions for authors  and the  aims and scope  of the journal(s) you’d like to submit to. These will tell you whether they accept the type of article you’re thinking of writing and what requirements they have around it.

Understanding the different kind of articles

There’s a huge variety of different types of articles – some unique to individual journals – so it’s important to explore your options carefully. While it would be impossible to cover every single article type here, below you’ll find a guide to the most common research articles and outputs you could consider submitting for publication.

Book review

Many academic journals publish book reviews, which aim to provide insight and opinion on recently published scholarly books. Writing book reviews is often a good way to begin academic writing. It can help you get your name known in your field and give you valuable experience of publishing before you write a full-length article.

If you’re keen to write a book review, a good place to start is looking for journals that publish or advertise the books they have available for review. Then it’s just a matter of putting yourself forward for one of them.

You can check whether a journal publishes book reviews by browsing previous issues or by seeing if a book review editor is listed on the editorial board. In addition, some journals publish other types of reviews, such as film, product, or exhibition reviews, so it’s worth bearing those in mind as options as well.

Get familiar with instructions for authors

Be prepared, speed up your submission, and make sure nothing is forgotten by understanding a journal’s individual requirements.

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Case report

A medical case report – also sometimes called a clinical case study – is an original short report that provides details of a single patient case.

Case reports include detailed information on the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. They remain one of the cornerstones of medical progress and provide many new ideas in medicine.

Depending on the journal, a case report doesn’t necessarily need to describe an especially novel or unusual case as there is benefit from collecting details of many standard cases.

Take a look at  F1000Research’s guidance on case reports , to understand more about what’s required in them. And don’t forget that for all studies involving human participants, informed written consent to take part in the research must be obtained from the participants –  find out more about consent to publish.

Clinical study

In medicine, a clinical study report is a type of article that provides in-depth detail on the methods and results of a clinical trial. They’re typically similar in length and format to original research articles.

Most journals now require that you register protocols for clinical trials you’re involved with in a publicly accessible registry. A list of eligible registries can be found on the  WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) . Trials can also be registered at  clinicaltrials.gov  or the  EU Clinical Trials Register . Once registered, your trial will be assigned a clinical trial number (CTN).

Before you submit a clinical study, you’ll need to include clinical trial numbers and registration dates in the manuscript, usually in the abstract and methods sections.

Commentaries and letters to editors

Letters to editors, as well as ‘replies’ and ‘discussions’, are usually brief comments on topical issues of public and political interest (related to the research field of the journal), anecdotal material, or readers’ reactions to material published in the journal.

Commentaries are similar, though they may be slightly more in-depth, responding to articles recently published in the journal. There may be a ‘target article’ which various commentators are invited to respond to.

You’ll need to look through previous issues of any journal you’re interested in writing for and review the instructions for authors to see which types of these articles (if any) they accept.

Conference materials

Many of our medical journals  accept conference material supplements. These are open access peer-reviewed, permanent, and citable publications within the journal. Conference material supplements record research around a common thread, as presented at a workshop, congress, or conference, for the scientific record. They can include the following types of articles:

Poster extracts

Conference abstracts

Presentation extracts

Find out more about submitting conference materials.

Data notes  are a short peer-reviewed article type that concisely describe research data stored in a repository. Publishing a data note can help you to maximize the impact of your data and gain appropriate credit for your research.

Data notes promote the potential reuse of research data and include details of why and how the data were created. They do not include any analysis but they can be linked to a research article incorporating analysis of the published dataset, as well as the results and conclusions.

F1000Research  enables you to publish your data note rapidly and openly via an author-centric platform. There is also a growing range of options for publishing data notes in Taylor & Francis journals, including in  All Life  and  Big Earth Data .

Read our guide to data notes to find out more.

Letters or short reports

Letters or short reports (sometimes known as brief communications or rapid communications) are brief reports of data from original research.

Editors publish these reports where they believe the data will be interesting to many researchers and could stimulate further research in the field. There are even entire journals dedicated to publishing letters.

As they’re relatively short, the format is useful for researchers with results that are time sensitive (for example, those in highly competitive or quickly-changing disciplines). This format often has strict length limits, so some experimental details may not be published until the authors write a full original research article.

Brief reports  (previously called Research Notes) are a type of short report published by  F1000Research  – part of the Taylor & Francis Group. To find out more about the requirements for a brief report, take a look at  F1000Research’s guidance .

Method article

A method article is a medium length peer-reviewed, research-focused article type that aims to answer a specific question. It also describes an advancement or development of current methodological approaches and research procedures (akin to a research article), following the standard layout for research articles. This includes new study methods, substantive modifications to existing methods, or innovative applications of existing methods to new models or scientific questions. These should include adequate and appropriate validation to be considered, and any datasets associated with the paper must publish all experimental controls and make full datasets available.  

Posters and slides

With F1000Research, you can publish scholarly posters and slides covering basic scientific, translational, and clinical research within the life sciences and medicine. You can find out more about how to publish posters and slides  on the F1000Research website .

Registered report

A  Registered Report  consists of two different kinds of articles: a study protocol and an original research article.

This is because the review process for Registered Reports is divided into two stages. In Stage 1, reviewers assess study protocols before data is collected. In Stage 2, reviewers consider the full published study as an original research article, including results and interpretation.

Taking this approach, you can get an in-principle acceptance of your research article before you start collecting data. We’ve got  further guidance on Registered Reports here , and you can also  read F1000Research’s guidance on preparing a Registered Report .

Research article

Original research articles are the most common type of journal article. They’re detailed studies reporting new work and are classified as primary literature.

You may find them referred to as original articles, research articles, research, or even just articles, depending on the journal.

Typically, especially in STEM subjects, these articles will include Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion sections. However, you should always check the instructions for authors of your chosen journal to see whether it specifies how your article should be structured. If you’re planning to write an original research article, take a look at our guidance on  writing a journal article .

Review article

Review articles provide critical and constructive analysis of existing published literature in a field. They’re usually structured to provide a summary of existing literature, analysis, and comparison. Often, they identify specific gaps or problems and provide recommendations for future research.

Unlike original research articles, review articles are considered as secondary literature. This means that they generally don’t present new data from the author’s experimental work, but instead provide analysis or interpretation of a body of primary research on a specific topic. Secondary literature is an important part of the academic ecosystem because it can help explain new or different positions and ideas about primary research, identify gaps in research around a topic, or spot important trends that one individual research article may not.

There are 3 main types of review article

Literature review

Presents the current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic.

Systematic review

Identifies, appraises and synthesizes all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question. Researchers conducting systematic reviews use explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view aimed at minimizing bias, to produce more reliable findings to inform decision making.

Meta-analysis

A quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design used to systematically assess the results of previous research to derive conclusions about that body of research. Typically, but not necessarily, a meta-analysis study is based on randomized, controlled clinical trials.

Take a look at our guide to  writing a review article  for more guidance on what’s required.

Software tool articles

A  software tool article  – published by  F1000Research  – describes the rationale for the development of a new software tool and details of the code used for its construction.

The article should provide examples of suitable input data sets and include an example of the output that can be expected from the tool and how this output should be interpreted. Software tool articles submitted to F1000Research should be written in open access programming languages. Take a look at  their guidance  for more details on what’s required of a software tool article.

Further resources

Ready to write your article, but not sure where to start?

For more guidance on how to prepare and write an article for a journal you can download the  Writing your paper eBook .

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• Knowledge Base

Methodology

• What Is a Research Design | Types, Guide & Examples

What Is a Research Design | Types, Guide & Examples

Published on June 7, 2021 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023 by Pritha Bhandari.

A research design is a strategy for answering your   research question  using empirical data. Creating a research design means making decisions about:

• Your overall research objectives and approach
• Whether you’ll rely on primary research or secondary research
• Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
• Your data collection methods
• The procedures you’ll follow to collect data
• Your data analysis methods

A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research objectives and that you use the right kind of analysis for your data.

Table of contents

Step 1: consider your aims and approach, step 2: choose a type of research design, step 3: identify your population and sampling method, step 4: choose your data collection methods, step 5: plan your data collection procedures, step 6: decide on your data analysis strategies, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about research design.

• Introduction

Before you can start designing your research, you should already have a clear idea of the research question you want to investigate.

There are many different ways you could go about answering this question. Your research design choices should be driven by your aims and priorities—start by thinking carefully about what you want to achieve.

The first choice you need to make is whether you’ll take a qualitative or quantitative approach.

Qualitative research designs tend to be more flexible and inductive , allowing you to adjust your approach based on what you find throughout the research process.

Quantitative research designs tend to be more fixed and deductive , with variables and hypotheses clearly defined in advance of data collection.

It’s also possible to use a mixed-methods design that integrates aspects of both approaches. By combining qualitative and quantitative insights, you can gain a more complete picture of the problem you’re studying and strengthen the credibility of your conclusions.

Practical and ethical considerations when designing research

As well as scientific considerations, you need to think practically when designing your research. If your research involves people or animals, you also need to consider research ethics .

• How much time do you have to collect data and write up the research?
• Will you be able to gain access to the data you need (e.g., by travelling to a specific location or contacting specific people)?
• Do you have the necessary research skills (e.g., statistical analysis or interview techniques)?
• Will you need ethical approval ?

At each stage of the research design process, make sure that your choices are practically feasible.

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Within both qualitative and quantitative approaches, there are several types of research design to choose from. Each type provides a framework for the overall shape of your research.

Types of quantitative research designs

Quantitative designs can be split into four main types.

• Experimental and   quasi-experimental designs allow you to test cause-and-effect relationships
• Descriptive and correlational designs allow you to measure variables and describe relationships between them.

With descriptive and correlational designs, you can get a clear picture of characteristics, trends and relationships as they exist in the real world. However, you can’t draw conclusions about cause and effect (because correlation doesn’t imply causation ).

Experiments are the strongest way to test cause-and-effect relationships without the risk of other variables influencing the results. However, their controlled conditions may not always reflect how things work in the real world. They’re often also more difficult and expensive to implement.

Types of qualitative research designs

Qualitative designs are less strictly defined. This approach is about gaining a rich, detailed understanding of a specific context or phenomenon, and you can often be more creative and flexible in designing your research.

The table below shows some common types of qualitative design. They often have similar approaches in terms of data collection, but focus on different aspects when analyzing the data.

Your research design should clearly define who or what your research will focus on, and how you’ll go about choosing your participants or subjects.

In research, a population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about, while a sample is the smaller group of individuals you’ll actually collect data from.

Defining the population

A population can be made up of anything you want to study—plants, animals, organizations, texts, countries, etc. In the social sciences, it most often refers to a group of people.

For example, will you focus on people from a specific demographic, region or background? Are you interested in people with a certain job or medical condition, or users of a particular product?

The more precisely you define your population, the easier it will be to gather a representative sample.

• Sampling methods

Even with a narrowly defined population, it’s rarely possible to collect data from every individual. Instead, you’ll collect data from a sample.

To select a sample, there are two main approaches: probability sampling and non-probability sampling . The sampling method you use affects how confidently you can generalize your results to the population as a whole.

Probability sampling is the most statistically valid option, but it’s often difficult to achieve unless you’re dealing with a very small and accessible population.

For practical reasons, many studies use non-probability sampling, but it’s important to be aware of the limitations and carefully consider potential biases. You should always make an effort to gather a sample that’s as representative as possible of the population.

Case selection in qualitative research

In some types of qualitative designs, sampling may not be relevant.

For example, in an ethnography or a case study , your aim is to deeply understand a specific context, not to generalize to a population. Instead of sampling, you may simply aim to collect as much data as possible about the context you are studying.

In these types of design, you still have to carefully consider your choice of case or community. You should have a clear rationale for why this particular case is suitable for answering your research question .

For example, you might choose a case study that reveals an unusual or neglected aspect of your research problem, or you might choose several very similar or very different cases in order to compare them.

Data collection methods are ways of directly measuring variables and gathering information. They allow you to gain first-hand knowledge and original insights into your research problem.

You can choose just one data collection method, or use several methods in the same study.

Survey methods

Surveys allow you to collect data about opinions, behaviors, experiences, and characteristics by asking people directly. There are two main survey methods to choose from: questionnaires and interviews .

Observation methods

Observational studies allow you to collect data unobtrusively, observing characteristics, behaviors or social interactions without relying on self-reporting.

Observations may be conducted in real time, taking notes as you observe, or you might make audiovisual recordings for later analysis. They can be qualitative or quantitative.

Other methods of data collection

There are many other ways you might collect data depending on your field and topic.

If you’re not sure which methods will work best for your research design, try reading some papers in your field to see what kinds of data collection methods they used.

Secondary data

If you don’t have the time or resources to collect data from the population you’re interested in, you can also choose to use secondary data that other researchers already collected—for example, datasets from government surveys or previous studies on your topic.

With this raw data, you can do your own analysis to answer new research questions that weren’t addressed by the original study.

Using secondary data can expand the scope of your research, as you may be able to access much larger and more varied samples than you could collect yourself.

However, it also means you don’t have any control over which variables to measure or how to measure them, so the conclusions you can draw may be limited.

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As well as deciding on your methods, you need to plan exactly how you’ll use these methods to collect data that’s consistent, accurate, and unbiased.

Planning systematic procedures is especially important in quantitative research, where you need to precisely define your variables and ensure your measurements are high in reliability and validity.

Operationalization

Some variables, like height or age, are easily measured. But often you’ll be dealing with more abstract concepts, like satisfaction, anxiety, or competence. Operationalization means turning these fuzzy ideas into measurable indicators.

If you’re using observations , which events or actions will you count?

If you’re using surveys , which questions will you ask and what range of responses will be offered?

You may also choose to use or adapt existing materials designed to measure the concept you’re interested in—for example, questionnaires or inventories whose reliability and validity has already been established.

Reliability and validity

Reliability means your results can be consistently reproduced, while validity means that you’re actually measuring the concept you’re interested in.

For valid and reliable results, your measurement materials should be thoroughly researched and carefully designed. Plan your procedures to make sure you carry out the same steps in the same way for each participant.

If you’re developing a new questionnaire or other instrument to measure a specific concept, running a pilot study allows you to check its validity and reliability in advance.

Sampling procedures

As well as choosing an appropriate sampling method , you need a concrete plan for how you’ll actually contact and recruit your selected sample.

That means making decisions about things like:

• How many participants do you need for an adequate sample size?
• What inclusion and exclusion criteria will you use to identify eligible participants?
• How will you contact your sample—by mail, online, by phone, or in person?

If you’re using a probability sampling method , it’s important that everyone who is randomly selected actually participates in the study. How will you ensure a high response rate?

If you’re using a non-probability method , how will you avoid research bias and ensure a representative sample?

Data management

It’s also important to create a data management plan for organizing and storing your data.

Will you need to transcribe interviews or perform data entry for observations? You should anonymize and safeguard any sensitive data, and make sure it’s backed up regularly.

Keeping your data well-organized will save time when it comes to analyzing it. It can also help other researchers validate and add to your findings (high replicability ).

On its own, raw data can’t answer your research question. The last step of designing your research is planning how you’ll analyze the data.

Quantitative data analysis

In quantitative research, you’ll most likely use some form of statistical analysis . With statistics, you can summarize your sample data, make estimates, and test hypotheses.

Using descriptive statistics , you can summarize your sample data in terms of:

• The distribution of the data (e.g., the frequency of each score on a test)
• The central tendency of the data (e.g., the mean to describe the average score)
• The variability of the data (e.g., the standard deviation to describe how spread out the scores are)

The specific calculations you can do depend on the level of measurement of your variables.

Using inferential statistics , you can:

• Make estimates about the population based on your sample data.
• Test hypotheses about a relationship between variables.

Regression and correlation tests look for associations between two or more variables, while comparison tests (such as t tests and ANOVAs ) look for differences in the outcomes of different groups.

Your choice of statistical test depends on various aspects of your research design, including the types of variables you’re dealing with and the distribution of your data.

Qualitative data analysis

In qualitative research, your data will usually be very dense with information and ideas. Instead of summing it up in numbers, you’ll need to comb through the data in detail, interpret its meanings, identify patterns, and extract the parts that are most relevant to your research question.

Two of the most common approaches to doing this are thematic analysis and discourse analysis .

There are many other ways of analyzing qualitative data depending on the aims of your research. To get a sense of potential approaches, try reading some qualitative research papers in your field.

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A research design is a strategy for answering your   research question . It defines your overall approach and determines how you will collect and analyze data.

A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research aims, that you collect high-quality data, and that you use the right kind of analysis to answer your questions, utilizing credible sources . This allows you to draw valid , trustworthy conclusions.

Quantitative research designs can be divided into two main categories:

• Correlational and descriptive designs are used to investigate characteristics, averages, trends, and associations between variables.
• Experimental and quasi-experimental designs are used to test causal relationships .

Qualitative research designs tend to be more flexible. Common types of qualitative design include case study , ethnography , and grounded theory designs.

The priorities of a research design can vary depending on the field, but you usually have to specify:

• Your research questions and/or hypotheses
• Your overall approach (e.g., qualitative or quantitative )
• The type of design you’re using (e.g., a survey , experiment , or case study )
• Your data collection methods (e.g., questionnaires , observations)
• Your data collection procedures (e.g., operationalization , timing and data management)
• Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical tests  or thematic analysis )

A sample is a subset of individuals from a larger population . Sampling means selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research. For example, if you are researching the opinions of students in your university, you could survey a sample of 100 students.

In statistics, sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population.

Operationalization means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations.

For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioral avoidance of crowded places, or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations.

Before collecting data , it’s important to consider how you will operationalize the variables that you want to measure.

A research project is an academic, scientific, or professional undertaking to answer a research question . Research projects can take many forms, such as qualitative or quantitative , descriptive , longitudinal , experimental , or correlational . What kind of research approach you choose will depend on your topic.

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Defining Article Types

Research articles.

"A research article reports the results of original research, assesses its contribution to the body of knowledge in a given area, and is published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal." - Pen & the Pad

The study design of research articles may vary, but in all cases some form of raw data have been collected and analyzed by the author(s).

• Example of a research article Development of a nanoparticle-assisted PCR assay for detection of bovine respiratory syncytial virus

Review Articles

"A review article, also called a literature review, is a survey of previously published research on a topic. It should give an overview of current thinking on the theme and, unlike an original research article, won’t present new experimental results." - Taylor & Francis Author Services

Review articles provide a comprehensive foundation on a topic, and, as such, they are particularly useful for helping student researchers get an overview of the existing literature on a topic. 

• Example of a review article Mannheimia haemolytica growth and leukotoxin production for vaccine manufacturing — A bioprocess review

Differences between Research and Review Articles

Anatomy of a Research Article

Title & abstract.

The title of an article is a brief descriptive overview of what was the focus of the study. The abstract is a mini-summary of the study.

Introduction

This section often included an overview of the existing literature on the topic and an explanation of why the author(s) conducted the study. It frequently contains references to previous work on the topic.

In this section, the authors explain what they did. For example, they may include how they collected or analyzed data.  Descriptions of statistical analysis are also included in this section.

This is where the authors describe the outcomes of their analysis. They don't include interpretation in their area, but instead just use a straightforward explanation of the data. This is the section that usually makes use of charts and graphs.

Authors use the discussion section to explain how they interpret their results and situate them in relationship to existing and future research.

References/Works Cited

This is a list of sources the authors drew upon to plan their study, understand their topic, and/or support their discussion.

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Early-Childhood Tablet Use and Outbursts of Anger

• 1 Department of Preschool and Elementary School Education, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
• 2 Department of Childhood Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
• 3 LiNC, Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
• 4 Département des Sciences de l’éducation, Université Sainte-Anne, Church Point, Canada
• 5 Department of Psychoeducation, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada

Question   Do higher levels of early-childhood tablet use undermine emotional regulation or is it the other way around?

Findings   In this study, child tablet use at age 3.5 years was associated with more expressions of anger and frustration by the age of 4.5 years. Child proneness to anger/frustration at age 4.5 years was then associated with more use of tablets by age 5.5 years.

Meaning   These results suggest that early-childhood tablet use may contribute to a cycle that is deleterious for emotional regulation.

Importance   Tablet use continues to increase in preschool-aged children. The use of mobile devices has been linked to child emotional dysregulation. However, few studies have been able to show a clear direction of association between child tablet use and the development of self-regulation skills. In addition, few studies have modeled within-person associations over time.

Objective   To estimate how child tablet use contributes to expressions of anger and frustration across the ages of 3.5 to 5.5 years at the within-person level. The study team also examined the extent to which associations are bidirectional to clarify the direction of the correlations.

Design, Setting, and participants   This prospective, community-based convenience sample of 315 parents of preschool-aged children from Nova Scotia, Canada, was studied repeatedly at the ages of 3.5 (2020), 4.5 (2021), and 5.5 years (2022) during the COVID-19 pandemic. All analyses were conducted between October 5, 2023, and December 15, 2023.

Exposure   Parent-reported tablet use at the ages of 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 years.

Main outcome and measures   Parents reported child expressions of anger/frustration at the ages of 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 years using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire.

Results   The sample was equally distributed across child sex (171 were identified by parents as being born boys [54%] and 144 as girls [46%]). Most reported being Canadian (287 [91.0%]) and married (258 [82.0%]). A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed that a 1-SD increase in tablet use at 3.5 years (corresponding to 1.15 hours per day) was associated with a 22% SD scale increase in anger/frustration at age 4.5 years (standardized coefficient = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.01-0.44). A 1 SD scale increase in anger and frustration at 4.5 years was associated with a 22% SD (corresponding to 0.28 hours per day) increase in tablet use at 5.5 years (standardized coefficient = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.01-0.43).

Conclusion and relevance   In this study, child tablet use at age 3.5 years was associated with more expressions of anger and frustration by the age of 4.5 years. Child proneness to anger/frustration at age 4.5 years was then associated with more use of tablets by age 5.5 years. These results suggest that early-childhood tablet use may contribute to a cycle that is deleterious for emotional regulation.

Read More About

Fitzpatrick C , Pan PM , Lemieux A , Harvey E , Rocha FDA , Garon-Carrier G. Early-Childhood Tablet Use and Outbursts of Anger. JAMA Pediatr. Published online August 12, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.2511

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Volume 30, Number 9—September 2024

Research Letter

Confirmed case of autochthonous human babesiosis, hungary.

Suggested citation for this article

We report a case of autochthonous human babesiosis in Hungary, confirmed by PCR and partial sequencing of the Babesia spp. 18S rRNA gene. Babesiosis should be considered during the differential diagnosis of febrile illnesses, and peripheral blood smears to detect Babesia spp. should be part of the routine clinical workup.

Since the first description of human babesiosis caused by Babesia divergens protozoa in 1956 in the former Yugoslavia, 2 other zoonotic species, B . venatorum and B . microti , have been isolated in Europe. Unlike in North America, where most identified human cases have been caused by B. microti , the predominent pathogen causing babesiosis in Europe is B. divergens ( 1 ). The rising number of identified human infections in Europe has drawn attention to this emerging tickborne zoonotic disease. In Europe, B. microti has been identified in 25 of 71 confirmed human babesiosis cases, of which 11 were autochthonous ( 1 ). Rodents and insectivores are reservoir hosts for Babesia spp. parasites, which are transmitted by widespread Ixodes ricinus ticks, well-known vectors of other zoonotic pathogens ( 2 ). We report a confirmed case of human babesiosis caused by B. microti infection in Hungary.

• Figure 1 . Peripheral blood smear from patient who had a confirmed case of autochthonous human babesiosis, Hungary. Smear shows erythrocytes infected with Babesia sp.; smear was stained with May-Grünwald Giemsa stain...

A 64-year-old man who lived in the countryside and worked as a farmer sought care at an emergency department on July 7, 2021, because of fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and a 10-kg weight loss during the past 2 months. His body temperature reached 38.9°C. He was unaware of having any chronic illnesses or tick infestations and did not have a blood transfusion or indicate a travel history outside of Hungary. Routine laboratory tests confirmed slightly elevated bilirubin (2.13 mg/dL), lactate dehydrogenase (760 U/L), alkaline phosphatase (170 U/L), gamma-glutamyl transferase (207 U/L), blood urea nitrogen (36.96 mg/dL), and creatinine (1.27 mg/dL) levels. He also had hyponatremia (120 mEq/L), prominent elevation of ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (218.8 mg/L), and new-onset diabetes, as well as slight anemia (hematocrit 37.9%) and an elevated procalcitonin level (1.94 ng/mL). A complete blood count examined by using an automated hematology analyzer (Sysmex, https://www.sysmex.com ) showed elevated monocyte levels (25%) and thrombocytopenia (78 × 10 9 platelets/L). We examined peripheral blood smears by using automated and light microscopy, which confirmed intraerythrocytic ring forms with central vacuoles, some intraerythrocytic tetrades, and extraerythrocytic forms, suggesting babesiosis rather than malaria ( Figure 1 ). Parasites infected 4.5% of erythrocytes. Because of microscopic findings and laboratory results, hospital staff tested blood haptoglobin level, which was 0.0 mg/dL, confirming suspected hemolysis. Other symptoms appeared during hospitalization, including left subcostal pain, decreased exercise tolerance, constipation, shivering, and new-onset torpidity; blurred vison occurred a few days after admission. Although malaria is not endemic in Hungary, we performed serologic tests for Plasmodium spp., which had negative results.

Figure 2 . Phylogenetic analysis of Babesia spp. in confirmed case of autochthonous human babesiosis, Hungary. Asterisk indicates B. microti isolated from the patient in this case study. Phylogenetic tree...

We performed PCR with primers BJ1 and BN2 to amplify a 459-bp fragment of the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia sp ( 3 ). at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest; the fragment was sequenced at the University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary. We deposited the sequence in GenBank (accession no. OP143843.1). Nucleotide BLAST ( https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ) analysis of the sequence showed 100% homology to B. microti detected in I. ricinus ticks and human blood ( 4 ). Although the sequence likely represents B. microti , further sequencing was not possible, and another closely related Babesia species cannot be excluded. We constructed a phylogenetic tree to compare the sequence with other Babesia spp. sequences found in GenBank ( Figure 2 ).

Because of the advanced age of the patient and the clinical picture, we administered atovaquone/proguanil and azithromycin for 2 weeks (atovaquone is available in Hungary as an antimalaria drug). The patient became afebrile, and his condition improved. During follow-up examinations, fatigue and blurred vision gradually disappeared, and laboratory results improved. On the eighth day after treatment ended, we were unable to see any parasites through microscopic examination of blood. By the ninth week after treatment, lactate dehydrogenase, haptoglobin, and hemoglobin levels had normalized, and the patient fully recovered.

Although most human babesiosis cases have been imported in Europe, an increasing number of autochthonous Babesia spp. infections have been reported, possibly from a greater chance of tick contact because of human behavior changes (e.g., seeking outdoor activities) and a surge in vector population because of climate change. Furthermore, the number of immunocompromised hosts who have a more severe disease course and seek medical care is increasing as well.

In conclusion, although the 2 zoonotic species B. divergens and B. microti and their I. ricinus tick vector can be found in Hungary ( 8 ), imported or autochthonous human babesiosis cases had not been reported in this country. Babesiosis is not an endemic disease in Hungary; thus, clinicians rarely suspect this disease, despite the typical symptoms. Seroepidemiologic findings confirm the possibility of Babesia spp. transmission to humans in Europe. The increasing number of reported cases indicates that babesiosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients manifesting fever in Europe. Furthermore, peripheral blood smears to detect this parasite should be a routine part of the workup for febrile illnesses, especially when disease-typical laboratory findings are present.

Dr. Sipos is a medical doctor specializing in infectious diseases. His academic interests focus on infections of immunocompromised hosts and differential diagnosis of fever.

• Hildebrandt  A , Zintl  A , Montero  E , Hunfeld  KP , Gray  J . Human babesiosis in Europe. Pathogens . 2021 ; 10 : 1165 . DOI PubMed Google Scholar
• Yabsley  MJ , Shock  BC . Natural history of Zoonotic Babesia : Role of wildlife reservoirs. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl . 2012 ; 2 : 18 – 31 . DOI PubMed Google Scholar
• Casati  S , Sager  H , Gern  L , Piffaretti  JC . Presence of potentially pathogenic Babesia sp. for human in Ixodes ricinus in Switzerland. Ann Agric Environ Med . 2006 ; 13 : 65 – 70 . PubMed Google Scholar
• Moniuszko-Malinowska  A , Swiecicka  I , Dunaj  J , Zajkowska  J , Czupryna  P , Zambrowski  G , et al. Infection with Babesia microti in humans with non-specific symptoms in North East Poland. Infect Dis (Lond) . 2016 ; 48 : 537 – 43 . DOI PubMed Google Scholar
• Xu  S , Li  L , Luo  X , Chen  M , Tang  W , Zhan  L , et al. Ggtree : A serialized data object for visualization of a phylogenetic tree and annotation data. iMeta . 2022 ; 1 : e56 . DOI PubMed Google Scholar
• Katoh  K , Standley  DM . MAFFT multiple sequence alignment software version 7: improvements in performance and usability. Mol Biol Evol . 2013 ; 30 : 772 – 80 . DOI PubMed Google Scholar
• Schliep  K , Potts  AJ , Morrison  DA , Grimm  GW . Intertwining phylogenetic trees and networks. Methods Ecol Evol . 2017 ; 8 : 1212 – 20 . DOI Google Scholar
• Sréter  T , Kálmán  D , Sréterné Lancz  Z , Széll  Z , Egyed  L . [ Babesia microti and Anaplasma phagocytophilum : two emerging zoonotic pathogens in Europe and Hungary] . Orv Hetil . 2005 ; 146 : 595 – 600 . PubMed Google Scholar
• Figure 2 . Phylogenetic analysis of Babesia spp. in confirmed case of autochthonous human babesiosis, Hungary. Asterisk indicates B. microti isolated from the patient in this case study. Phylogenetic tree was constructed...

Suggested citation for this article : Sipos D, Kappéter Á, Réger B, Kiss G, Takács N, Farkas R, et al. Confirmed case of autochthonous human babesiosis, Hungary. Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Sep [ date cited ]. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3009.2 40525

DOI: 10.3201/eid3009.240525

Original Publication Date: August 09, 2024

Table of Contents – Volume 30, Number 9—September 2024

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

Dávid Sipos, University of Pécs, Rákóczi út 2, 7623 Pécs, Hungary

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• 06 August 2024

Our local research project put us on the global stage — here’s how you can do it, too

• Seyoon Lee 0 ,
• Hanjae Lee 1 ,
• Juhyun Kim 2 &
• Jong-Il Kim 3

Seyoon Lee is a PhD candidate at the Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, and in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul, South Korea.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Hanjae Lee is a PhD candidate at the Genomic Medicine Institute, Department of Translational Medicine, and in the Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

Juhyun Kim is a PhD candidate at the Genomic Medicine Institute and in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul, South Korea.

Jong-Il Kim is director of the Genomic Medicine Institute, chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul, South Korea, and head principal investigator of the SCAID project.

You have full access to this article via your institution.

People travel from across South Korea to receive medical treatment in Seoul. Credit: Will & Deni McIntyre/Getty

Later this year, South Korea is expected to sign up to the European Union’s research-funding programme, Horizon Europe . It’s a good time to reflect on the nature of large collaborative projects — and, in particular, when cross-border collaboration is most beneficial and when a deeper dive into local issues can be more rewarding.

Large international collaborations have unquestionably produced great breakthroughs. Sequencing the human genome , for example, took 13 years of work by 20 institutions in 6 countries 1 . But large consortia such as these are almost always established in the same few countries: the United States, the United Kingdom and others in Europe. For scientists working elsewhere, setting up a large international project can seem unachievable, given the billion-dollar price tags and the networks of contacts required.

And, sometimes, it is not the best solution. Global projects spearheaded in a few countries can have biases — for example, people of Asian descent are often under-represented in international genetic studies initiated in the West. National laws on acquiring data can differ, meaning that researchers need to conduct experiments differently in different regions, introducing biases. And the logistical complexity of coordinating a project across multiple countries in different time zones and with different work cultures can be problematic when rapid data collection and analysis are crucial 2 .

There is an alternative — set up a large local consortium in one nation.

Cancer research needs a better map

We’ve done just that in Seoul. Our single-cell atlas of immune diseases (SCAID) consortium is a multi-institutional effort led by one of us (J.-I.K.), alongside 23 others. Running since April 2022, the project now involves 120 South Korean clinicians, immunologists, geneticists and bioinformaticians (including S.L., H.L. and J.K., who work in J.-I.K’s group).

We aim to map gene expression in millions of individual cells from people who have immune-related diseases , including (but not limited to) rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, interstitial lung disease and alopecia areata. Systemic immune diseases are thought to affect at least 1 in 20 people 3 . They are often incurable and cause debilitating symptoms, from chronic skin rashes to skeletomuscular changes. They can be fatal if they are not managed appropriately. We hope that our research will reveal similarities between 16 diverse diseases that manifest across the body, and help to uncover ways to use treatments more effectively.

Our experiences have shown us that a regional consortium can be an efficient way to ask crucial research questions. Here, we share two broad lessons that we hope will help others to build effective regional consortia.

Find a niche

To compete in international circles, local consortia need to focus on addressing research questions that they are in a unique position to answer. This might be because of the particular mix of expertise of local researchers. It might be the regulatory environment in a country. Or it might be specific to the geography of the place where the research is done.

In our case, we were inspired to set up SCAID by an international consortium called the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) . Since 2016, it has been trying to map every single cell type in the human body using state-of-the art genomic technology. The next logical step is to create similar atlases for diseased cells. But this involves bringing in specialized clinicians for each disease and obtaining proper consent from a large number of people.

This can be hard to achieve in a global consortium, in which each country has distinct legislative frameworks, ethics committees and medical systems 4 . For instance, the International HapMap Project — a genome-sequencing project launched in 2002 with researchers from six countries — needed to spend months in community consultation in Nigeria before it was able to obtain ethics approvals 5 . It also faced concerns raised by community advisory groups in Japan and China around depositing biological samples in overseas repositories. Overcoming these obstacles took 18 months 6 .

For these reasons, most single-cell studies of disease data sets have focused on single diseases in single tissues, for simplicity. By contrast, restricting our study to a single country with one legislative framework has made it easier for us to gain ethics and individual approval, allowing us to study multiple diseases across multiple tissues.

Seoul National University Hospital is one of 56 general hospitals in the South Korean capital. Credit: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty

Seoul also has other benefits for such a project. First, it’s easy to enlist a diverse range of participants in the city. South Korea has a universal medical-insurance system that is mandatory for all residents 7 . This avoids biases that can arise when participants are part of a private health-insurance system. And people from across the country and all socio-economic classes travel to Seoul for treatment — the city’s cluster of 56 general hospitals can be reached from anywhere in South Korea in half a day.

The concentration of hospitals also makes it easy to transfer samples quickly from donors to our central laboratory for analysis — it is no more than two hours’ drive from any hospital. Such proximity is a great advantage in single-cell genomics, because RNA — which is analysed to ascertain gene expression — degrades within hours once a sample is collected. A US National Institutes of Health large-scale genetics project called the Genotype–Tissue Expression project, for instance, found variability in the quality of RNA in its samples, depending on the time between collection and processing. This variability could skew interpretations of gene-expression data, and the researchers had to develop ways to account for it in their analyses 8 .

Having a centralized hub prevents the problem of batch effects — undesired differences between samples — that can arise if samples are processed or analysed differently by different centres 9 , 10 . Handling batch effects is a big task for international consortia. The HCA, for instance, has a dedicated team of researchers to check for and minimize such effects 11 .

Exploiting this niche is already proving fruitful for us. So far, we’ve collected more than 500 samples from 334 donors. We have analysed more than two million cells — equivalent to the second-largest data set collected in the HCA project so far. Our early analysis hints at common features between diseases: although symptoms arise in different organs, we are identifying distinct immune profiles that group the diseases into a few major categories.

Unblock research bottlenecks with non-profit start-ups

Still, being small and nimble comes with challenges. Local consortia need to be aware that they might lack some expertise , and they need to be prepared to seek help. Our consortium faced obstacles in obtaining ethics approvals, because each hospital review board had different requirements and concerns. Getting approval from each board was arduous, and required persistence when asking for opinions of the boards themselves, along with those of the Korea National Institute for Bioethics Policy and Korean Bioinformation Center. Nonetheless, it was easier than grappling with multiple international rules around ethics and data collection.

To make this process smoother for others, it would help for institutions in a country to standardize their ethical-review processes and data-sharing agreements, ensuring that both comply with national regulations. Furthermore, institutions should establish collaborative networks to share best practices and discuss common challenges. These steps could ease the administrative burden on local consortia considerably, and accelerate their progress.

Not all countries will have the strong technical skills of the South Korean workforce, nor the established biobanking repositories for genetic and clinical data, which are essential in projects such as ours. For scientists in countries without this infrastructure, international consortia can be a valuable source of guidance. For instance, the HCA’s Equity Working Group specifically aims to engage diverse geographical and ethnic groups in its projects 12 . By participating in such initiatives, countries can gain access to expertise, resources and best practices, helping them to overcome technical challenges and build their capabilities.

Build in local benefits

Regional projects should reflect the needs of the local community, both for ethical reasons and to attract funding. Funders are more likely to invest in big projects that can benefit citizens. Researchers must make those benefits clear.

This might mean championing a field to governments and other funders. In South Korea, most research funding comes from the government — scientists propose broad topics that need funding, and the government selects those that align with its own goals and puts out funding calls, for which all researchers can apply. So genomicists, immunologists and bioinformaticians — not all of whom are members of the SCAID consortium — requested that the South Korean government fund a large-scale disease single-cell atlas. These scientists spelled out how the data could ultimately help researchers and clinicians to improve understanding of the disease predispositions that are unique to South Koreans. This will hopefully speed up the development of precision medicines tailored to the country’s own population.

South Korean scientists’ outcry over planned R&D budget cuts

In countries that do not have official channels for petitioning the government, raising the profile of a field might involve using networks of contacts to meet with funders, or publishing papers that outline a field’s potential. Persistence is key — scientists must keep voicing their needs and perspectives.

Researchers must also give careful thought to how their project will benefit local science. SCAID was designed to maximize the long-term benefits for the South Korean researchers and clinicians involved.

To develop researchers’ careers, we hold regular seminars and workshops focused on learning skills and network building. Cross-disciplinary collaborations are one focus. For example, bioinformaticians are working with clinicians on a strategy pinpointing the specialized data that should be collected for each disease — such as acquiring information on immune receptors for specific disorders. Bioinformaticians are also exploiting the expertise of clinicians to help interpret their analyses. This includes the identification of abnormal cell states, which can be hard to distinguish from artefacts in the data without a deep knowledge of disease. These networks of contacts will be useful for many projects long after SCAID is completed.

Once established, local consortia need not exist in isolation. They can complement existing global projects by adding diverse data, and can act as stepping stones for future global consortia. For instance, many scientists have approached us, intrigued by the scale and potential of our work, and enquired about possible collaborations.

We are keen for other regional groups to generate international databases from separate efforts led by those who understand their own local needs and niches best. We encourage them to start by seeking funding for a consortium to address the needs of their fellow citizens, and to eventually pool their knowledge.

Whatever the field, if a consortium is run well, it can cultivate a dynamic cluster of competent researchers, laying the groundwork for international recognition and collaboration.

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