Cross Sectional Study
Case Reports and Series
Animal Research
Lowest
EVIDENCE
In Vitro Research
Opinion of Experts
Figure 2. Pyramid of Evidence.
the mentor has enough time to deal and consult
the mentee. A good mentor should always be
accessible and available to read every document/
draft submitted within a rather short time (better
days than months) and return feedback with
detailed comments. It would be beneficial for the
mentee, if the mentor could provide guidelines,
instructions for use and templates. On the other
side the mentee cannot expect from the mentor
that he/she would do the work. All he/she can do
is to consult, open doors and provide connections.
As a mentor I like it very much, when the mentee
comes up with his/her own idea for a project.
2. Structure of a scientific paper
A scientific paper always has the same structure: 2
After the title with the authors and their affiliations
and contributions usually the paper should start
with an “Abstract”. The body of the paper is opened
with an “Introduction”, followed by “Materials &
Methods”. Then a chapter “Results” should be
followed by a “Discussion” and “Conclusions”.
Finally a “Literature” list should complete the
paper. This basic framework can be modified
depending on the type of publication. In a thesis
the introduction serves more than introducing the
reader into the topic. The other purpose is that
the author must demonstrate his/her competence
in the field. Therefore the “Introduction” includes
usually an extensive literature review, that may
be structured as a subchapter. Also “Materials &
Methods” is usually more detailed than in a paper
published in a scientific journal. If a thesis deals with
multiple experiments it is highly recommended to
treat every experiment like a single publication and
use a general “Introduction” at the beginning and
an allover “Discussion” with conclusions at the end
as a big clasp to keep the whole project together.
Finally Industrial Reports have slightly dif ferent
objectives. Usually the manufacturer wants an
answer to a specific question, such as the in vitro
wear rate of a material and/or the failure rate
92
and reasons after a specific clinical service time.
The “Introduction” of an Industrial Report can be
very brief, because one must be assured that the
financing partner has done its homework before
agreeing to spend money on a study. On the other
hand, the chapter “Materials & Methods” cannot
be detailed enough. This is important to realize,
because if poor results occur it is important to know
exactly what has been done. This is the only way to
improve the material or the procedure.
3. Creative phase
The creative phase is usually the most thrilling part
but usually the most difficult as well. It starts with
an idea, which most of the time is quite vague.
Therefore the first step is to write it down as precisely
and clearly as possible. “An idea that cannot be put
on paper is not a good idea”. 1
The next step is to collect information about this
idea. See if someone else had exactly that idea
or a similar idea. Determine what is really new
with the idea and where from the idea can be
developed further. The answers to these questions
lie somewhere in the world literature. Therefore
a literature search is unavoidable. The literature
found should flow into the personal data bank of
the researcher. Modern computer programs like
Endnote are very helpful, because they allow easy
insertion of literature quotes into a manuscript.
Usually such a search starts on the internet and
may yield much more papers that one can read.
Therefore the search strategy may be refined, which
usually parallels refinement of the idea. Once an
overseeable number of papers has been found, the
articles must be checked whether they are within the
scope of the idea, which is usually done by reading
the abstracts. The ones that were positively selected
should be read. Most information can be extracted
from the chapters “Materials & Methods” as well
as from the “Result” section. However reading
the “Introduction” may reveal more information
about the topic of interest and the “Discussion”
Stoma Edu J. 2017;4(2): 90-101
http://www.stomaeduj.com
Fact (sales) amalgam is
substituted by composites
Case Control Study
Question: composites better than amalgam?
Wear, handling
recurrent caries
Cohort Study
Random
Controlled Trial
question should be the logical consequence of
the content of the text above. A very common
error is that the research tool used is part of the
objective. This may never be the case. First there
is the question/problem. Only in the next thought
a solution is looked for, which is then described in
“Materials & Methods”. In experimental papers the
formulation of the objective should be followed by
a null hypothesis, which later on can be rejected or
accepted. An example for a null hypothesis would
be: "All tested composites showed equal wear
rate".
Writing an introduction means scientific writing
which is full of traps, pitfalls and difficulties,
especially for a less experienced writer. What is
most important is the clarity of the content. Scientific
language does not mean complicated language,
the contrary is true. The simpler the formulation,
the better the understanding. A handicap for most
authors of scientific papers is that usually they must
be written in English which usually is not their mother
tongue. The nomenclature of technical terms must
be correct and metric units should be employed 14
(Tab. 1 a-d). Furthermore abbreviations should be
explained the first time they are introduced and
synonyms should never be used for the same
thing. The impersonal form is preferred (“it was
done” rather than “I did”) and the use of tempora
is clearly defined. Everything that was in the past
(results from other researchers, things the authors
Meta
Analysis
Systematic Review
may contain helpful thoughts to refine the own
question. If the search has found review papers it is
a very good start. The next step is a manual search
by scanning through the literature lists at the end
of the read papers. This may reveal more useful
sources. Some of them may not be available on the
internet, which requires the physical presence of
the researcher in a good scientific library.
The above mentioned search of the literature has
two functions: one to acquire information and two,
to trigger the brain to think more about the original
idea. This is the moment to start with writing the
Introduction of the planned scientific study. A good
way to organize the thinking process is to generate
a “mind map” which is a graphical display with
textboxes, key words or symbols with lines and
arrows that symbolize connections (Fig. 3).
This mind map should be the backbone or skeleton
of the Introduction since it helps to fulfill the task
of informing the reader that never has the idea of
the planned study been approached before, about
what it is. Beginning very wide and narrowing it
down towards more and more specific contents is
focusing more and more towards the own project.
By definition the last sentence of the Introduction
should start with the words: “The objective of
the present study is….”. Once the researcher has
reached that point usually the originally vague
idea has become crystal clear and even more has
morphed into a precise scientific question. This
Highest
EVIDENCE
HOW TO SET UP, CONDUCT AND REPORT A SCIENTIFIC STUDY
HOW TO SET UP, CONDUCT AND REPORT A SCIENTIFIC STUDY
But!
Longevity?
!
{
Clinical controlled
prospective randomized
studies do NOT
represent clinical reality
Systematic review
Add world wide survey
Look also for data from
practice based research
and clinicians
Figure 3. Mind Map. The present format is only for better readability set in the computer. Mind maps are dynamic and should be done
by hand on a note pad or a black board. The content of this mindmap is hypothetical, its purpose is to show the principle only.
Stomatology Edu Journal
93