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Introduction to Clinical and Translational Research

Katie Reindl, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

North Dakota State University

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Conflicts of interest

None

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“This conference is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U54GM128729. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.”

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Outline

What are the characteristics of a good research question?

How do you develop a good research question?

How is a research question different from a hypothesis?

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What is a research question?

Definition: A question that a study aims to answer

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What are the characteristics of a good research question?

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What makes a good research question?

You don’t know the answer to
You could find the answer to
Someone with money wants to know the answer to

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Good research questions are: FUNNELS

Feasible
Unbiased
Novel
Not too broad, not too narrow
Ethically justified
Lead to advancements/improvements
Supported by prior research

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A question that is feasible to answer

Able to design robust experiments
Access to equipment/resources
Adequate number of subjects
Adequate technical expertise
Affordable in time and money
Based on strong scientific rationale or existing data
Manageable in scope

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A question that leads to improvements/advancements

Enhances scientific knowledge
Develops new technologies or methods
Improves patient care and outcomes
Opens new research directions

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What makes a good research question?

You don’t know the answer to (unbiased, novel)
You could find the answer to (feasible, ethically justified, supported by prior research, not too broad/not too narrow)
Someone with money wants to know the answer to (leads to improvements)

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How do you develop �a good research question?

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How to develop a good research question

Identify the significant problem, need, or gap in the field

Learn everything you can about the topic

Generate a novel solution for the problem

Be creative, take time to think

Ask colleagues for feedback

Welcome constructive criticism

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How is a research question different from a hypothesis?

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Research question vs. hypothesis

Research question: A question that a study aims to answer.

Research hypothesis: Proposed explanation for an observation, tentative answer to a research question

Predicts how one variable (independent) will affect another (dependent)