By J. Rufus. University of Akron. 2018.
EXAMPLE 5: GILLIAN Nobody told me the importance of keeping careful re- cords of my background research purchase ofloxacin 200 mg without prescription. I just thought it was something you did and then that was it order 400 mg ofloxacin with amex, you got on with 44 / PRACTICAL RESEARCH METHODS your own research and forgot about what you’d done purchase ofloxacin 200mg with visa. Of course then I had to write my report and in the ‘background’ section I wanted to include loads of things I’d read when I first started the work purchase 400 mg ofloxacin. Even then I still forgot to write down the name and location of the publisher, so I had to go back to them again. My advice would be to look at how bibliographies are structured and imprint that in your brain so you don’t forget anything. Keeping records When you begin your background research, keep accurate records of what data was gathered from which source as this will save you plenty of time and frustration later, especially when you come to write your research proposal, or final report. A useful way to organise your background research is to have two files – one for primary research and one for secondary research. Each file can be divided into topics with the relevant notes slotted into each. Primary research For the primary research file, notes from each contact can be separated by a contact sheet which gives the name of the person, the date and time you met and a contact num- ber or address. Secondary research In the secondary research file, each page of notes can be headed by details of the publication in the same format that will be used in the bibliography – author and initials; date of publication; title of publication; place of publica- HOW TO CONDUCT BACKGROUND RESEARCH / 45 tion and publisher. If it is a journal article, remember to include the name of the journal; the page numbers of the article and the volume and number of the journal. It is also useful to include the location of this publication so that it can be found easily if needed again (website or li- brary shelf location). TABLE 2: SOURCES OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION PRIMARY SECONDARY Relevant people Research books Researcher observation Research reports Researcher experience Journal articles Historical records/texts Articles reproduced online Company/organisation records Scientific debates Personal documents (diaries, etc) Critiques of literary works Statistical data Critiques of art Works of literature Analyses of historical events Works of art Film/video Laboratory experiments SUMMARY X There are two types of background research – primary and secondary research. X Primary research involves the study of a subject through firsthand observation and investigation. X Secondary research involves the collection of informa- tion from studies that other researchers have made of a subject. X Any information obtained from secondary sources must be carefully assessed for its relevance and accu- racy. X Notes from primary and secondary sources should be carefully filed and labelled so that the source can be found again, if required. X When noting details for books, reports or articles which may appear in the final report, include all the details which would be needed for the bibliography. By now you should have decided what type of peo- ple you need to contact. For some research projects, there will be only a small number of people within your research population, in which case it might be possible to contact everyone. However, for most pro- jects, unless you have a huge budget, limitless timescale and large team of interviewers, it will be difficult to speak to every person within your research population. SAMPLING Researchers overcome this problem by choosing a smaller, more manageable number of people to take part in their research. In quantitative research, it is believed that if this sample is chosen carefully using the correct procedure, it is then possible to generalise the re- sults to the whole of the research population. For many qualitative researchers however, the ability to generalise their work to the whole research population is not the goal. Instead, they might seek to describe or explain what is hap- pening within a smaller group of people. This, they believe, might provide insights into the behaviour of the wider re- search population, but they accept that everyone is different 47 48 / PRACTICAL RESEARCH METHODS and that if the research were to be conducted with another group of people the results might not be the same. Market research- ers use them to find out what the general population think about a new product or new advertisement. When they re- port that 87% of the population like the smell of a new brand of washing powder, they haven’t spoken to the whole population, but instead have contacted only a sam- ple of people which they believe are able to represent the whole population.
Albee felt strongly he demonstrated his bone-grafting techniques that discount ofloxacin 200mg, since one could not duplicate in the human with his motor-driven saw generic 200 mg ofloxacin fast delivery. In 1914 generic ofloxacin 400 mg with mastercard, 4 months knee the normal gliding mechanism of the 6 Who’s Who in Orthopedics articular bone surfaces purchase ofloxacin 200 mg with mastercard, a wedge type of arthro- plasty that provided both mobility and stability was to be preferred. As an interposing membrane in arthroplasties, he always used the facial fat graft advocated by Murphy. Winnett Orr, in Lincoln, NE, Albee became very much interested in osteomyelitis. He was convinced that the reason for the success of the closed plaster method of Orr in the infected com- pound fracture and the old osteomyelitic case was the spontaneous development within the host of a substance that thrived on virulent pathogenic bacteria and completely destroyed them. This substance, in 1921, had been called a “bacteriophage” by D’Herelle, of Yale. Albee was able to show a phage appearing in 94% of 100 cases of acute and chronic osteomyelitis. His Lewis ANDERSON treatment was to clean the infected material out of the wound completely and then inject a bacteri- 1930–1997 ophage solution into osteomyelitic wounds. In 1933 Albee described a rather ingenious Lewis Anderson was born in Greensboro, arthroplasty of the elbow in which, after he had Alabama, on October 13, 1930. He attended reconstructed the joint, he lengthened the olecra- Emory University in Atlanta from 1947 through non with its triceps attached—in some ways a 1949 and received his MD degree from the Uni- comparable operation with his kinesiology lever versity of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1953. Anderson served In 1934 he became greatly interested in low- as an intern at the Hospital of the University of back pain. Myofascitis, he said, was the principal Pennsylvania in 1953 and 1954 and then began a cause. This he described as a low-grade inflam- residency in general surgery at the same institu- matory change in the muscles and the fascia, with tion. His training was interrupted by 2 years of the fascial insertions of the muscle to bone active duty in the United States Naval Medical becoming hypersensitive because of toxic inflam- Corps, during which he served as the senior matory or metabolic changes. His treat- subsequently completed his residency at the ment for this condition was, first, the removal Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He emphasized colonic received his orthopedic training at the Campbell irrigation and the introduction of Bacillus aci- Clinic in Memphis from 1957 through 1960. Truly, he was an out- ate professor, and, from 1971 to 1977, as Profes- standing personality in the most progressive era sor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of orthopedic surgery of all time. He once wrote, of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences in “I have never liked looking back. Although the bones did not heal faster with these techniques, he noted that immobility of adjacent joints, joint stiffness, malreduction, and nonunion—all well-known complications of 7 Who’s Who in Orthopedics closed treatment of fractures—often were American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the avoided and that the overall rate of morbidity and American Orthopedic Association, the American complications was greatly reduced with early Medical Association, the Southern Medical Asso- motion, which could be used in conjunction with ciation, Alpha Omega Alpha, and numerous other rigid internal fixation. Anderson was an American– author of more than 60 articles that were pub- Canadian Exchange Traveling Fellow, along with lished in medical journals and of more than 20 Dr. III, demonstrated tremendous energy and good reported on his pioneering work in a paper enti- nature. He became a leader early in his career and tled “Compression-Plate Fixation in Acute was the model of a true “southern gentleman. Not only did this MD, died at the age of 67 in Mobile, Alabama, change in technology have a dramatic effect on after a brief illness. Anderson was asked to review all three editions of the Manual of Inter- nal Fixation, by the AO Group, for The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery; the reviews appeared in 1971, 1980 and 1992. Anderson became the first Profes- sor and Chairman of the Department of Orthope- dic Surgery at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. In 1989, he was named the Louise Lenoir Locke Distinguished Professor of Ortho- pedics. He served as President of the Board of Directors of the University of South Alabama Health Sciences Foundation from 1979 through 1982 and again in 1985, as Secretary–Treasurer of the Medical Staff of the University of South Alabama Medical Center in 1979, and as Presi- dent of the Professional Medical Staff of the University of South Alabama from 1980 through 1982. In 1986, he was appointed Interim Dean of the University of South Alabama College of Med- Nicolas ANDRY icine. He was named Vice President for Medical Affairs at that institution in 1987 and retained that 1658–1742 position until 1992.
Everything described in Brad’s Eight Step notebook pointed clearly to Reiter’s syndrome 200 mg ofloxacin mastercard. This condition is most common among young men and has been linked to the HLA-B27 gene (probably inherited from his father) as a potential genetic predisposing factor ofloxacin 200mg fast delivery. While some patients report painful arthritis affecting the knees discount 200 mg ofloxacin fast delivery, ankles buy 200mg ofloxacin free shipping, and feet as part of this condition, low back pain is also common, particularly if there is evidence of sacroiliitis. Although it seemed muscular in origin, Brad’s back pain was due to inflammation of one of his sacroiliac joints. The sudden onset after his tennis game on that Sunday many months before was simply coincidental. In Brad’s case, the arthritic inflammation of his sacroiliac joint occurred as a reaction to his urinary tract infection, which had also triggered his eye infection. In many men, the infection begins in the genitourinary tract (bladder or urethra) just as it did with Brad. In women, it can be an inflammation of the cervix, fal- lopian tubes, or vulva. Joint symptoms, eye involvement, and mouth ulcers or other rashes can be observed with this ailment. He was genetically predisposed to develop this syndrome from his father. Although it’s just speculation, evi- dence points to the fact that Lydia’s gynecological issues caused Brad’s gen- itourinary infection, which in turn triggered the inflammation of his eyes (conjunctivitis) many weeks later. Brad, like most patients, thought his back pain was the result of an injury from his tennis game. Although there is no cure for Reiter’s syndrome, when Brad’s condition was treated with prolonged use of anti-inflammatory medications, antibiotics, and a supervised strength- ening exercise routine, he improved greatly. But without working through his Eight Step notebook, diagnosing this syndrome would have continued to be extremely difficult. The following case study describes another mystery malady that took an enormous toll on the patient and her family and confused even the best doc- tors. Since it involved chest pain, it did not seem to be musculoskeletal in origin. Yet it just took some basic detective work, using the Eight Steps, to determine that it was not cardiac in nature. Case Study: Anna Anna, a married mother of three, suffered from severe chest pain and feared she might have a heart problem. Several months earlier when the pain first started, she thought it was gas because she was always eating out at the fast- food places her kids enjoyed. But she hadn’t received any relief from antacids or other over-the-counter preparations. She ended up in the emergency department where an electrocardiogram (EKG), arterial blood gases, and a chest x-ray were taken. When the doctors there were unable to find the cause of her pain, she was admitted to the main hospital for observation and eval- uation. She subsequently received a stress test, an echocardiogram, and ulti- mately a cardiac catheterization. When those tests turned out to be normal, her physicians brought in an attending gastroenterologist to evaluate her for a possible abnormality in her stomach, gallbladder, or esophagus. After the 170 Diagnosing Your Mystery Malady gastroenterologist tried certain strong antacids and ulcer medications, he administered nitroglycerin. When these medications failed to relieve her pain, she was placed on narcotics. Her doctors sent her home and suggested to her husband, Tim, that she should see a psychiatrist.