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FACULTY OF PSYCHIATRY NATIONAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL COLLEGE NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT ABSTRACT, LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS. Abstract: The abstract is a brief comprehensive summary of the contents of the article. For journal articles, it may be the only portion that some read. For the Part II Dissertation, assessors and examiners first read this portion and it may attract or put them off NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT This should be a section to provide informative balanced summary of what was done and what was found. Editorial policies differ. Many journals use the structured type of abstract NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Background. What thought drove the study? What was the research question? Objective: What was the aim of the whole exercise/ Design: What design was used? Setting: What was the context? NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Patients/Subjects: Specify pertinent characteristics such as number, type, age, sex etc. Measurements: Also include the instruments. Results: Limitations: Conclusions: Should include the implications and applications. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Only a summary of key details is needed. Only information provided in the main article should be presented. STROBE advises that key results be presented in a numerical form that includes numbers of participants, estimates of associations and appropriate measures of variability and uncertainty (e.g. ORs with 95% C.Is) NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT It is considered insufficient to simply state that an exposure is or is not significantly associated with an outcome. The National Postgraduate College does not require a structured summary. However, these pieces of information should be reflected all the same in the summary. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Qualities of a good abstract: 1 Accurate 2. Self-contained. Spell out names of tests and drugs. Define all abbreviations and acronyms. Define unique terms. Paraphrase rather than quote. 3. Concise and specific. Each statement, especially the opening statement, must be maximally informative. Brief.. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Most journal articles specify less than 250 words, but the advice is that one should not ideally exceed 150 words. How ever, for the purposes of the Part II Dissertation, the College has not provided guidance as to maximum length of the abstract; looks like one has to use good judgment NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT 4. Non evaluative Report rather than evaluate. Do not add to or comment on what is in the body the paper. 5. Coherent and readable. Write in clear and vigorous prose. Use verbs rather than the noun equivalents and the active rather than the passive. Use present tense to describe results that have continuing applicability or conclusions drawn. Use the past tense to describe specific variables manipulated or tests applied. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT (READ SOME EXAMPLES FROM JOURNALS AND DISSERTATIONS) NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT LIMITATIONS. Every work has limitations. These are the weaknesses of the study. Some weaknesses can be avoided at the design stage and others can not. Put another way, what would have been the ideal way to go about the study, why was it not possible to have done that and what efforts were made to reduce these weaknesses? Consider for example the issue of bias. Sacket mentions 35 different types of bias; however, bias can be broadly divided into two NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Recruitment or selection bias includes sampling bias (non representative identification/recruitment of subjects; response bias (unrepresentative participation by subjects). Measurement or information or observation bias include interviewer bias (differential data recording in subjects groups by researchers), recall bias (historical data is selectively filtered by subjects). The sources of bias and confounding that could have affected the results must be identified NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Discuss the relative importance of different biases, including the likely direction and magnitude of any potential bias. Identify and discuss any imprecision of the results. Imprecision may arise in connection with several aspects of a study, including the study size, measurement of exposures, confounders and outcomes. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT At this section, it will be good to compare the study being discussed with other studies in the literature in terms of validity, generalizability and precision. In this approach, each study can be viewed as a contribution to the literature not as a stand- alone basis for inference and action. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT When weaknesses are identified, one should also recognize the strengths of the study and not discard the material entirely; it may still have some utility because of all the cautions taken. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Irrelevant and frivolous issues should not be part of limitations. For example what is the yield of schizophrenia in population based community studies? If in a population study of smoking, patients with schizophrenia were omitted, would this constitute a weakness for the study? NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT This question is important because smoking rate is very high among patients who have schizophrenia such that omission of people with schizophrenia will tend to suggest that any smoking rate is underestimated. But the real issue is, what is the rate of schizophrenia in population based community studies? Do not include money as a limitation; this is superfluous. Do not dwell compulsively on every (trivial) flaw. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT (READ SOME EXAMPLES FROM A JOURNAL ARTICLE). NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT CONCLUSION. This should briefly summarize the answers to the questions posed at the beginning of the paper. It should go beyond the particulars of the study to address a broader significance of the research. You should ask yourself these four questions NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT 1.Were my hypotheses confirmed? If so why? If not, why not? 2.What generalizations can be drawn from the findings? 3.What, if any, are the policy implications of the study? 4.What questions remain unanswered? NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT Recommendations : This section is a part of the Conclusions. Any work should merely contribute to knowledge. Therefore, recommendation must be modest. Avoid unwarranted bogus recommendations on the basis of a limited investigation. Example : All patients coming to the psychiatric clinic must undergo a 3-D Echo ; lipid profile estimation must be routinely done etc. NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA ABSTRACT (READ SOME EXAMPLES FROM A JOURNAL ARTICLE). NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY AWKA