TEXT BOOK OF

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
AND
MEDICAL STATISTICS
(As per New CCIM BAMS syllabus)

Dr. (Prof.) Vasant C. Patil

M.D. (Ayu.) (Jamnagar)
Professor, Department of PG Studies in Panchakarma
S.S.R. Ayurveda Medical College & Hospital, Inchal (Karnataka), India
Director, Atreya Ayurveda Foundation

Executive Editor, Journal of Ayurveda and Holistic Medicine (JAHM)

Consultant Ayurvedic Physician, Atreya Ayurveda Hospital

Published by
Choukhambha Sanskrit Pratishtana
New Delhi
 Contents
PART A: Research Methodology

Chapter No. Chapter Name Page no.

1 Introduction and history of research
2 Etymology, definitions, synonyms of the word Research
3 Need, Scope, importance and utility of research

4 Types of Research (familiarization of the terms)

5 Research process

6 Role of the pramanas as research tools

7 The concept and importance of ethics in research

8 Concept of Evidenvce Based Medicine and Scientific Writing

9 Importance of IT in data mining

Part B: Medical Statistics

Chapter No. Chapter Name Page no.

1 Definition, scope and importance of the Medical statistics
2 Common statistical terms and notations
3 Collection and Presentation of data

4 Measures of location

5 Variability and its measurement

6 Introduction to probability and test of significance

7 Parametric and non parametric tests

8 Introduction to commonly used statistical soft-wares.

 Features
1. brief and precise information, easy to understand, both
ayurveda and modern references
2. Illustrations and tables – for easy understanding
3. Summary at end of each chapter for quick reminding
4. Questions at end of each chapter
 Sample contents
Chapter 4
TYPES OF RESEARCH
Research can be classified in many different ways on the basis of the methodology of research, the
knowledge it creates, the user group, the research problem it investigates etc,.
 STUDIES
Research Design Research

Descriptive Analytical

Observational Experimental
Correlational

Qualitative Study Randomized

Cohort
Interview Clinical Trial

Case Studies/Reports Non-Randomized

Case-Control
Clinical Trial

Cross Sectional Community Trial

PURE RESEARCH OR FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH OR THEORETICAL RESEARCH

Definition: Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is scientific research
aimed to improve scientific theories for improved understanding or prediction of natural or other
phenomena ("What is basic research?" . National Science Foundation. Retrieved).
Fundamental research advances fundamental knowledge about the human world. It focuses
on refuting or supporting theories that explain how this world operates, what makes things happen, why
social relations are a certain way, and why society changes. Fundamental research is the source of most
new scientific ideas and ways of thinking about the world.
Fundamental research generates new ideas, principles and theories, which may not be
immediately utilized; though are the foundations of modern progress and development in different
fields.
Recent developments in life sciences have created exciting possibilities for fundamental research as
well as clinical applications. Knowledge about the genome of humans and model organisms, and
techniques to manipulate genes and their expression.

Application of fundamental principles treatment of diseases

In case of Kshaya of Dosha, Dhatu and Mala, according to Samanya Siddhanta, the drugs which is
having similar properties as that of Dosha, Dhatu and Mala are given.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Basic research
Basic research is a conventional research activity or also
known as academic research. This is done for sake of
knowledge gathering or to contribute in body of
knowledge. For example some researcher is trying to find
the reasons of values deterioration among youth. It may
lead to further investigations and more research findings.
The main motivation is to expand man's knowledge
Done for the intellectual pleasure of learning
Mainly concerned with generalizations and with the
formulation of a theory
No commercial value attached to the discoveries that result
from basic research.
Analytic
Exploration curious rather than mundane events
Applied Research
Applied Research on the other hand will be an extension
to basic research. It is executed to find solutions to certain
problem faced by any individual or by any organization, or
society. The purpose behind this research activity is to
discover and eliminate causes of the problem.
Designed to solve root causes of practical problems of the
modern world
Done to test theories in the field to achieve better validity.
Aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem
facing a society
There is commercial value, e.g. research to improve
agricultural crop production
Synthetic
Entirely a pursuit of social concerns
Application of fundamental principles treatment of diseases
In case of Kshaya of Dosha, Dhatu and Mala, according to Samanya Siddhanta, the drugs which is
having similar properties as that of Dosha, Dhatu and Mala are given.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Basic research Applied Research

Basic research is a conventional research activity or also
known as academic research. This is done for sake of
knowledge gathering or to contribute in body of
knowledge. For example some researcher is trying to find
the reasons of values deterioration among youth. It may
lead to further investigations and more research findings.
Applied Research on the other hand will be an extension
to basic research. It is executed to find solutions to certain
problem faced by any individual or by any organization, or
society. The purpose behind this research activity is to
discover and eliminate causes of the problem.

The main motivation is to expand man's knowledge Designed to solve root causes of practical problems of the
modern world

Done for the intellectual pleasure of learning Done to test theories in the field to achieve better validity.

Mainly concerned with generalizations and with the Aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem
formulation of a theory facing a society

No commercial value attached to the discoveries that result There is commercial value, e.g. research to improve
from basic research. agricultural crop production

Analytic Synthetic

Exploration curious rather than mundane events Entirely a pursuit of social concerns

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Aim

• An intention or aspiration; what you hope to achieve.

• Aims are statements of intent, written in broad terms.
• Aims set out what you hope to achieve at the end of the project.
Objective

• A goal or a step on the way to meeting the aim; how you will achieve it.
• Objectives use specific statements which define measurable outcomes. For example: what steps
will you take to achieve the desired outcome?

Aims describe what you want to achieve. Objectives describe how you are going to achieve those
aims.

Objectives should be S.M.A.R.T.:

• Specific – be precise about what you are going to do

• Measureable –you will know when you have reached your goal
• Achievable – Don’t attempt too much. A less ambitious but completed objective is better than
an over-ambitious one that you cannot possible achieve.
• Realistic – do you have the necessary resources to achieve the objective? For example: time,
money, skills, etc?
• Time constrained – determine when each stage needs to be completed. Is there time in your
schedule to allow for unexpected delays?

Specific objectives are statements of the research questions. Objectives should be simple (not complex),
specific (not vague), and stated in advance (not after the research is done). After statement of the primary
objective, secondary objectives may be mentioned.
QUESTIONS- At the end of each chapter
5 marks
1. Describe briefly the steps involved in research process
2. How to select the problem?
3. Describe the Methods of searching literature
4. Formulation of hypothesis
5. Materials and methods in ayurveda
6. Methods of research in Ayurveda
2 marks
1. PubMed
2. Literature search using search engine
3. Null hypothesis
4. Alternative hypothesis
5. Materials used for Research
6. Methods of research in Ayurveda
7. Method of Observation
8. Results
9. Methods of communication

Part B
Medical Statistics
General Guidelines for presenting data
• Use tables to display data details which would be lost in graphs or charts.
• Use a line graph to demonstrate how something has changed over a period of time.
• Opt for a bar graph to compare data, and keep it in two dimensions as three-dimensional bar
graphs are difficult to read.
• Consider a pie chart to show how percentages relate to each other within a whole
• Show a map to illustrate differences in rates between and among counties, states or countries.
• Try a flow chart to illustrate a series of steps in a procedure, decision, or other
"stepwise"process.
• Put an appropriate amount of information and data on each chart or graph. Too much data
can overwhelm the audience and be difficult to remember.

SUMMARY - at the end of each chapter

• Numerical data: These data have meaning as a measurement, such as a person’s height, weight, IQ, or
blood pressure.
• Categorical data: Categorical data represent characteristics such as a person’s gender, marital status,
hometown,
• Nominal Data: if there is no natural order between the categories (eg eye colour), or
Ordinal Data: if an ordering exists (eg exam results, socio-economic status)
• Primary data: Data collected by the investigator himself/ herself for a specific purpose.
 • Secondary data: Data collected by someone else for some other purpose (but being utilized by the
investigator for another purpose).
• Presentation of data-The purpose of data presentation is to summarize data and present them in a
form which is more precise, but still gives an accurate view of the raw data.
• Tabular presentation- A table is an arrangement of data in rows and columns, or possibly in a
more complex structure. Tables are widely used in communication, research, and data analysis.
• A frequency table is constructed by arranging collected data values in ascending order of
magnitude with their corresponding frequencies.
• Pie chart is used for presenting qualitative data. Here, a circle is divided into sectors whose areas, and
hence angles are proportional to the frequencies in the different categories.
• Picture Diagram- These are similar to bar charts, except that the bars are replaced by sketches of the
things being described.
• A histogram is used to show the differences in frequencies or percentages among categories of an
interval-ratio variable.
• Frequency polygons are a graphical device for understanding the shapes of distributions. They serve
the same purpose as histograms, but are especially helpful for comparing sets of data.
• Frequency curve- A smooth curve which corresponds to the limiting case of a histogram computed for
a frequency distribution of a continuous distribution as the number of data points becomes very large.
• Scatter plots are used to show the relationship between pairs of quantitative measurements made for
the same object or individual.
• Statistical maps are a way to display the geographic distribution of data.

QUESTIONS
5 marks
1. Describe in brief the methods of Presentation of Data?
2. Describe Bar Diagram and Histogram
3. General Guidelines for presenting data
4. Describe Pie chart and Pictogram
5. Describe Scatter plots and statistical maps

6. Describe Frequency curve

7. Types of Data Presentation
2 marks
1. Types of Data
2. What is Primary data?
3. Methods of data collection
4. What is Complex table?
 5. What is frequency table?
6. Numerical data
7. Categorical data
8. Primary data
9. Secondary data
10. Presentation of data
11. Ordinal Data

Chapter 7
PARAMETRIC AND NON PARAMETRIC TESTS

Parametric and Non-Parametric Tests

In the literal meaning of the terms, a parametric statistical test is one that makes assumptions about
the parameters (defining properties) of the population distributions from which one's data are drawn,
while a non-parametric test is one that makes no such assumptions. In strict sense, "non-parametric"
is essentially a null category, since virtually all statistical tests assume one thing or another about the
properties of the source population.
For practical purposes, you can think of "parametric" as referring to tests, such as t-tests and the
analysis of variance, that assume the underlying source population(s) to be normally distributed; they
generally also assume that one's measures derive from an equal-interval scale.
Parametric Tests
1. Student t- test (Independent Sample t-test)
2. Paired samples t test
3. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
4. One way repeated measures Analysis of Variance
Non-parametric tests include
1. Chi-square tests
2. Fisher Exact Probability test
3. Mann-Whitney Test
4. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test
5. Kruskal-Wallis Test
6. Friedman Test
To make a choice between parametric and the nonparametric test is not easy for a researcher
conducting statistical analysis. For performing hypothesis, if the information about the population is
completely known, by way of parameters, then the test is said to be parametric test whereas, if there is
no knowledge about population and it is needed to test the hypothesis on population, then the test
conducted is considered as the nonparametric test.

BASIS FOR
PARAMETRIC TEST NONPARAMETRIC TEST
COMPARISON

Meaning A statistical test, in which specific A statistical test used in the case of
assumptions are made about the non-metric independent variables,
population parameter is known as is called non-parametric test.
parametric test.

Basis of test Distribution Arbitrary

statistic

Measurement Interval or ratio Nominal or ordinal

level

Measure of Mean Median

central tendency

Information Completely known Unavailable

about population

Applicability Variables Variables and Attributes

Correlation test Pearson Spearman