Research Methods in Dentistry

This classroom-tested textbook will assist dental students with their academic research activities and help them to be competitive in today’s fast-growing research environment. It is designed as a core text for dental school classes such as Research Methodology and Scientific and Technical Writing, as well as Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, but will also be a valuable resource for students and researchers in related fields, such as the medical sciences and biomedical engineering. The authors start the book by explaining key concepts and common approaches in dental research, both in basic science and clinical dentistry. They then familiarize readers with evidence-based research in dentistry and how to write a systematic review, explain the process of designing and presenting a proposal, discuss reporting results both in scientific and clinical research, and cover ethics in research, highlighting the significance of adherence to ethics both in animal as well as human studies. Preface List of Abbreviations Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to Dental Research 1.1 What Is Research? 1.2 Types of Dental Research 1.2.1 Based on the Time 1.2.2 Based on the Location 1.2.3 Based on the Type of Data 1.2.4 Based on the Application 1.2.4.1 Fundamental or Basic Research 1.2.4.2 Applied Research 1.2.4.3 Developmental Research 1.2.5 Based on the Main Question or Objective 1.2.5.1 Exploratory Research 1.2.5.2 Descriptive Research 1.2.5.3 Analytical or Explanatory Research 1.3 Selecting the Research Topic 1.3.1 How to Find the Field or Area of Interest? 1.3.1.1 By Accident or Personal Curiosity 1.3.1.2 Previous Studies 1.3.1.3 Research Priorities of Research Centers or Funding Centers 1.3.2 How to Determine the Research Topic? 1.3.2.1 Observing 1.3.2.2 Thinking 1.4 Handling Large Volume of Literatures as New Challenge in Performing Research 1.4.1 What Resources? 1.4.2 How to Read? References Chapter 2: Design Cycle of Research 2.1 What Is the Design Cycle? 2.2 Investigation (Formulating the Hypothesis) 2.2.1 Analysis of the Collected Information 2.2.2 Formulating the Research Question 2.2.3 Decision-Making About the Different Solutions for the Research Question 2.2.4 Formulating the Hypothesis 2.3 Designing a Plan (Writing the Proposal) 2.4 Performing the Research (Hypothesis Testing) 2.5 Evaluation (Data Interpretation) References Chapter 3: Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Research in Dentistry 3.1 What Is the Purpose and the Process? 3.2 Formulating Review Questions 3.3 Determining the Search Strategy (Documenting the Methodology) 3.3.1 Choosing the Keywords 3.3.2 Selecting Databases 3.3.3 Boolean Searching and Selection Criteria 3.4 Performing the Review and Searching Studies by Using MeSH 3.5 Quality Assessment 3.6 Extracting Data from Studies (Descriptive Analysis) 3.7 Data Synthesis and Evaluation References Chapter 4: Writing a Research Proposal 4.1 What are the Requirements? 4.2 Title 4.3 Statement of the Problem/Significance 4.4 Specific Aims 4.5 Literature Review (Justification and Feasibility) 4.6 Research Design 4.6.1 Type of Research 4.6.2 Subjects, Sampling Method, Sample Size 4.6.3 Data Collection 4.6.4 Data Analysis 4.6.5 Potential Pitfalls and Alternate Approaches 4.7 Timetable 4.8 Budget and Personnel 4.9 Core Review Criteria References Additional Resources Chapter 5: Scientific/Clinical Research Report 5.1 When Should You Start? 5.2 Title 5.3 Abstract 5.4 Introduction 5.5 Materials and Methods 5.6 Results 5.7 Discussion and Conclusion 5.8 Acknowledgment/Conflict of Interest 5.9 References 5.10 Submission of a Manuscript References Chapter 6: Reference Management in Scientific Writing 6.1 When and How Should You Cite a Reference in Your Text? 6.2 The Digital Style (Numbered Method) 6.3 Author-Date Style (Annotated Method) 6.4 EndNote Software 6.5 Mendeley Software References Additional Resources Chapter 7: Ethics in Dental Research 7.1 Why Do We Need Ethics in Research? 7.2 Ethics in Human Studies 7.3 Ethics in Animal Studies 7.4 Ethics in Manuscript Writing References Additional Resources Index