Proposal writing

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Proposal writing
By Dr. Hamda Qotba, B.Med.Sc, M.D, ABCM
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What are the main components?

• Title
• Introduction
• Rationale
• Aim
• Objectives
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Recommendations

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Stages of research process

• Selecting a problem
• Formulate hypothesis
• Reviewing the literature
• Constructing research design
• Analysis of data
• Generating conclusions
• Writing proposal

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Basic guidelines

• Priority health problems
• Simple, low cost, yield practical results
• Influence policy, improve services, improvement
  of community health

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How and what to select?

• Relevance
• Avoidance of duplication
• Feasibility
• Political acceptability
• Applicability
• Interest
• Theoretical and practical value
• Time frame

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Title

• Subject of study
• Where?
• When?

Title
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Introduction

• Define the nature of the problem
• Demographic background
• Geographic sitting
• Community size
• Related health services
• Information related to the study (literature
  review)
• Rationale (purpose to carry out the study)
• Aim (General)
• Objectives
• SMART

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Methodology

• Detailed like cook book
• Achieve the objective
• Follow Islamic teaching and moral ethics

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Methodology contents

• Character of sample population
• Study type
• Sample size determination
• Sampling technique
• Case definition
• Selection and exclusion criteria

• Tools and source of data collection
• Validity and reliability
• Statistical methods
• Package and tests
• Pilot study
• When, where, and how?
• Limitations

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study question
study design
study sample
study variables
pilot study
data collection
data analysis
results and conclusion
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Research question (FINER)

• Feasible
• Adequate number of subject, money
• Interesting
• Novel
• To confirm or refute
  findings
• Ethical
• Relevant
• To clinical or health policy, future research

• Comparison
• Risk factor
• Association

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Study design

• Case series
• Define a problem
• Survey
• Describe a population
• Case- Control
• Compare cases to controls
• Cohort
• Follow exposed subject
• Randomized Clinical trial
• Expose and follow

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Subjects

• Population of interest
• Study sample
• Inclusion criteria
• Main characteristics of the population
• Exclusion criteria
• Individuals that complicate the study

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Sampling strategies

• Random sampling
• Every individual has the same chance of being
  chosen
• Systematic sampling
• Every Nth individual is chosen
• Stratified sampling
• Population divided into subgroups (strata) and
  each subgroup randomly sampled

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Sampling strategies

• Cluster sampling
• Population divided into subgroups and some of
  subgroup randomly selected then sampled
• Convenience sampling
• You take what you can get

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How to select appropriate statistical test

• Type of variables
• Quantitative (blood pres.)
• Qualitative (gender)
• Type of research question
• Association
• Comparison
• Risk factor
• Data structure
• Independent
• Paired
• matched

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• Types of variables
• Quantitative
• Continuous (age, blood pres.)
• Discrete( number of brothers, years)
• Qualitative
• Categorical ( blood groups, gender)
• Ordinal (educational level, stage of disease)

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Body of research question Association of 2
variable(dep, indep)
Spearman Correlation linear Regression
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Comparing (difference) variables
Variable
Number of independent variable 2
groups paired data gt2groups
ANOVA
Paired T test
T test
Quantitative Ordinal Categorical
Kruskal wallis
Mann-Whitney
Wilcoxon
McNemar
chi-square
chi-square
When 1 of the cells have lt5 in expected
fischer exact When 1 of the cells have lt5 in
observed yats correction
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Looking for Risk Factor
Types of variables Dependent several indepen.
Test
Multiple log. Regression
categorical
categorical
quantitative
categorical
ANOVA
Linear, log regression
quantitative
quantitative