DEVELOPING AN

IDEA: How to start

academic writing
Budi Utomo

Faculty of Public Health UI, 2024

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 OUTLINE

• Understanding research
• Developing an idea
• Questions journal ask
• Example of assessing research feasibility

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 RESEARCH

Systematic process of thinking and steps – iterative between theory

and evidence - to produce new evidence
 Diagnose the priority problem (Formative)
and/ or
 Predict strategic solutions (Analytic)

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 Source: Ellis and Levy, 2008
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Schedule Time to Write

• Block out a regular time to write

• Set yourself deadlines

• Work section by section

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 IDEA: FINDING A TOPIC
First step, the most critical but the most difficult

 Should be actively probe, not coming in by itself – Review of literature, field observation,
discussions/ brainstorming with colleagues

Brainstorming idea – split to sub-ideas

Stimulated by fact from the field… not from the theory – explore the problem and its rooted causes

Scoping the problem – broad enough, deep enough (when, who, what, why)

 Begin with a preliminary question …further elaborated …look for context…revised, revised…a
research question ~ should be logically explained through a theory
Identify the theory and “keywords”

 Develop design and method – ethical consideration

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INTERESTING TOPIC – RESEARCH QUESTION

 Priority issue, up to date, meet the field of interest

 Novel
 Broad enough, deep enough
 Clarity of the theory
 Availability of relevant, accurate data
 Controllable – limited time, resources
 Benefit, policy and/ or knowledge implications

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TOPIC ARTICULATION

 What question to be answered?

 What approach to be used?

 What claim to be made?

 What proof to be gathered?

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 DEVELOPING AN IDEA
 Importance of the research/ analysis STEPS to complete the idea
question 1. Identify and scope the problem to address –
including the rooted causes/ determinants
 Novel (issue, methods)
2. Build research objective, questions, and
 Timely hypotheses
 Ethical 3. Develop theory of change (Causes to
 Feasible effects) of the research question
4. Develop appropriate strategies/ methods to
 Organizational support
answer the research questions/ to test the
hypotheses
 Appropriate approach to the 5. Conduct data collection, analysis, and
writing the manuscript for publication
research/ analysis question
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PYRAMID OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Establish a pyramid of questions – one research questions supported by

two or more sub-research questions – intermediating to answer the
research question

• Contains two variables and the relevant contexts – should address a

priority problem and one or more strategic solutions with specified
contexts, i.e. scope, site, and time
• Priority problem – the subject, the prevalence, the implications
• Strategic solutions – potentially solve the problem (effective) but practical in
implementation

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 CRITERIA OF NOT THE
RESEARCH
RESEARCH QUESTIONS QUESTIONS

• Has knowledge and/or policy implications

• No answer or not yet satisfactorily answer The question is
(in the literature) impossible to be
• Require research to answer answered
• The variables can be empirically measured The question can be
• For the doctoral students – the answer can answered without
be obtained through less than 24 month research
research work

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Research questions: overview
Research questions
What types of questions do primary research studies ask?

Questions Products Purpose

What is this/ are Descriptions To:
these? • Generate
How similar/ Comparisons • Explore
different? • Test
How much/ many? Measurements
An argument or theory
How salient? Values
Important?
How do they Relationships
connect?
CONTOH:

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 How to develop a research question

• Research questions need to be well-defined

PICO approach is
• Useful way of focusing a research question is to use the PICO approach: relevant for
• People, patients, or population: who are you asking the question experimental
about? studies and can be
applied to studies
• Intervention: what intervention are you interested in?
of causation,
• Control or comparison: what are you comparing the intervention diagnostic tests, or
to? prediction
• Outcome: what outcome are you interested in measuring?

Research question criteria

• Feasible?
o Data are available to answer the research question, including: an adequate sample, adequate
technical expertise, resources (time and money), manageable scope
• Ethical?
o Institutional review board approval
• Relevant?
o Research question is relevant to scientific knowledge, to clinical and health policy, to future
research implication
 QUESTION & HYPOTHESIS

 Compose of at least two variables – One outcome (problem) variable

and one or more factor or solution variables
 Strategic solution – potential effective while doable in the context of limited
setting (time, resources, socio-culture, ethics)

 Hypothesis: temporary/ working answer to the question - to be

verified/ tested

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Hypotheses
• Hypothesis: a prediction about the relationship among two or more variables or groups based on a
theory or previous research (Pittenger, 2003)
• Hypotheses are assumptions or theories that a researcher makes and tests and guides the analysis

• Importance
• Directs our observations
• Identifies the variables examined and data to be collected
• Describes a relationship among variables
• Can state that as one variable increases, the other will decrease; as one variables increases, the other will increase, and so
on.
• Refers to populations
• Hypotheses help researchers infer that results of a sample will translate to a population

• Examples
• Research question: Is the distance a barrier to reaching the health facility?
• Hypothesis: Independent of other barriers, longer distance to health facilities reduces the number of health facility
16
visits.
 THEORY OF CHANGE
• Through review of related theories, develops a theory of the research question –
how the factor/s (the cause/s or solution/s) to proceed through what
mechanisms or intermediary factors to influence the the problem/outcome/s

Example: Your home work

 Research question?
 Theory of the research question?

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 Planning the study

• Identify the problem

• Formulate the hypothesis
• Think about the design of the study

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Design of the study

• Involve a statistician
• Study type
• Sample size
• Interventions
• Outcomes
• Ethics

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 DESCRIBING THE METHOD
PICO STRUCTURE

P – Population – We have to define clearly for the sampling procedure and generalize the study
results

I – Intervention (Independent variable) – It is the factor being researched – as the gate for potential
strategic solution

C – Comparator/Confounder – It is the factor/s should be considered/ controlled in analyzing the

extent of the intervention to affect the outcomes (Refer to the theory of change)

O – Outcomes – as dependent variable/s - it is the problem measure to be changed/ improved

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 SAMPLING

SHOULD BE RANDOM

• Simple random sampling

• Stratified random sampling
• Cluster random sampling
• Systematic sampling
• Multi-stage combined random sampling

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CONTROLLING THE CONFOUNDERS

• By design/ experiment
• By randomization/ matching
• By statistical techniques/ multivariate analysis

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Seek Comment

• Show your draft to colleagues who will be candid and helpful – and
who are not specialists in your field
 Questions journals ask

• Is the research question important? ~ Benefit, policy and/or

knowledge implications
• Is it interesting to our readers? ~ attractive, novel
• Is it valid? A scientifically sound study. ~ relevant, accurate data;
sound, appropriate method

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CRITERIA FOR PUBLICATION

 Sound science
 Reasonable conclusion
 Adds to knowledge
 Level of interest
 Appropriate topic

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 WHAT BEING EVALUATED

• Idea – add new knowledge and/ or policy implications

• Adequate relevant theory and evidence

• Clear structure of analysis and academic writing/ communication

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CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING CONCEPT NOTES -
MANUSCRIPT
The research
The usefulness The method
question
• Is it sufficiently well documented
• Is it sufficiently rigorous?
• Does the study have o Is the research design appropriate for
• Is clearly stated? the potential to provide the research question?
• Is relevant to the new knowledge?
o Does the data available permit the
program? • What knowledge gap
appropriate measurement of key
will be filled (at least
• Is scientifically partially)? variables?
important? o Is the sampling/recruitment of study
subjects sufficiently rigorous?
o Are the proposed methods of analysis
appropriate?
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EAXMPLE

• Research topic: Physical activity and cardiovascular disease

• Research problem: Is there a link between lack of physical
activity and hypertension?
• Research question: Will 30 minutes of moderate activity daily
reduce hypertension in office workers?
• Hypothesis: Thirty minutes of moderate activity daily in
sedentary Queensland Health workers will reduce the median
systolic blood pressure by 10mm mercury.

Source: Queensland Government. Factsheet, Central Public Health Unit Network-

Zonal Health Information Committee, 2004
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Formulating the research question in a
research planning process (Queensland
Government, 2004)

• Step A. Decide on the research

• Examine the existing data and literature.
• Define study objectives.
• Is hypothesis imaginative and testable? If not reconsider
the research.

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• Step B. Define variables to be measured
• Are they measurable? If not reconsider study objectives,
hypothesis and variables.

• Step B. Decide target population

• Is the ideal population accessible? If not reconsider study
objectives, hypothesis and variables.
• Is the accessible population representative? If not
reconsider study objectives, hypothesis and variables.

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• Step D. Select appropriate research strategy
• Define timeframe.
• Define sampling or selection timeframe.
• Is the research strategy feasible? If not reconsider steps A-C.
• Is the feasible sample or selection strategy adequate? If not
reconsider sampling or selection strategy.
• Calculate sample size.
• Consider resources to cope with this. You may need to
reconsider previous steps if there are inadequate resources.

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• Step E. Decide on data collection and analysis method
• Consider quantitative, qualitative methods or both.
• Consider resources to cope with this. You may need to reconsider previous
steps if there are inadequate resources.

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• Step F
• Are pilot studies required? If yes, define objectives for
pilot; conduct pilot study.
• Are there data problems? If yes, reconsider study
objectives, variables, research strategy, data collection and
analysis method.
• Are there operational problems? If yes, reconsider steps B-
E.

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• Step G. Implement Study
• Monitor progress. If problems arise reconsider all steps.

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 CONCEPT NOTE & ABSTRACT
• Concept Note – a short summary of proposed research/study prepared to get
approval and funding - should be clear and concise - usually not exceeding two
pages
• It is the first step before a full proposal, but are sometimes enough to gain
approval/funding
• Abstract – two possibilities:
• A short summary of research prepared for presentation at a scientific
conference
• A short summary of a study report in a peer reviewed journal
• Approved good Concept Notes and Abstracts will lead to a good research article
being published
The main challenges - for writing Concept Note
or Abstract

• Convincing someone to say yes/approve :

• It’s all about marketing – you are trying to sell on the merits of a study – its
importance and scientific soundness

• BREVITY – you have a limited number of pages/words with which to

convince the governing body as to the scientific merits/importance of
the study
Concept note for writing a manuscript – research
article

In summary and brevity

 Present your research question,
and then explain and argue why it matters;
 Describe how you conducted your research
Population and samples? Factor/s being investigated? Covariates/comparators? Outcome
measures (problem) – How did you analyse?
 Explain what you found out and what it means; and.
 Conclude with a summary of your main points.

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THANK YOU

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