QMedCONNECT FEB 2018: Explore Sengupta's Research Academy's Online Courses. Read an article about 6 Virtues to Guide Researchers

QMedCONNECT Newsletter: February 2018

Dear friends

In the last few years, it has been interesting to see the gradual development of more and more learning opportunities in the area of medical research and research in other areas. The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences for instance, made Research Methodology workshops compulsory for all PG students and faculty. The National Board of Examinations also did the same, and I am sure many other Universities have either done it for long or started sometime a bit more recently. UG students have also had more chances to learn something about research, through conferences. While all this is certainly not enough to push up the research culture, I think a start has happened. And more will happen.

In this issue we would like to highlight an effort by one doctor - an Ophthalmologist in Mumbai who started online courses through the "Sengupta Research Academy". Whether people have attended contact workshops in research methodology or not, this online medium should surely prove helpful to more learning.

Another highlight in India is the "Campbell Collaboration". The Campbell Collaboration is a world-wide network of people who produce synthesis of research in the field of Social Sciences. India now has an office of the CC and workshops to train people to learn how to work in this field. Social Sciences includes Public Health, and several areas in Health Care, including Health Economics and more. It is good to see the evolution of more research related areas and the increasing opportunities of specialized research careers.

Vasumathi Sriganesh

Did You Know

"Sengupta’s Research Academy" is a web based portal dedicated to different aspects of medical research. It includes online lectures on topics such as such as - choosing a research topic, literature review, research communication, data management and archiving, basics of statistics, basics of manuscript writing and reference management tools.

Most health professionals and students in India, have increasingly felt the need for training and support in medical research and research techniques. In developed countries these techniques are taught at early stages in health sciences courses. The lack of such training in India is a fairly big barrier in publishing quality research papers.

Dr. Sabyasachi Sengupta - an Ophthalmologist in Mumbai - has been involved with clinical research since 2005. Sensing this lacuna, he on this portal to help health sciences students and researchers with a good learning experience.

In addition to these lecture the Academy also offers assistance in creating Research Proposals, Study Designs, Biostatistics, and Manuscript Content Editing & Review.

Click here to visit Sengupta’s Research Academy

Interesting Reading

Finding Our Way Through Shades of Gray: 6 Virtues to Guide Researchers in Planning, Conducting, and Writing Up Research. O’Brien BC, Balmer DF, Maggio LA. J Grad Med Educ. 2017 Oct;9(5):555-559.

An article in a previous blog post offered a checklist of recommended practices that can help researchers to avoid the consequences associated with the ‘‘7 deadly sins’’ in medical research. However, authors of this article felt that decisions in research are not always straightforward and also require consideration for uncertainty, complexity, circumstances, competing priorities, and values. Hence, they offer a set of six guiding principles to complement the recommendations on ‘‘7 deadly sins.’’ These principles are:

1.Thoughtfully convening a research team

2. Prudently setting the scope and timeline of the research project

3. Carefully considering all data and interpretations

4. Mindfully checking assumptions

5. Cautiously chunking data to tell a story

6. Cohesively telling a story

From QMed's Calendar

Talks on Literature Search / Referencing & Citing at

• Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital & Research Center, 4 February, 2018

• Campbell Collaboration - at University of Hyderabad, 5 February, 2018

• Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, 28 February, 2018

• KEM Hospital - Lecture at an RMWS workshop, 28 February , 2018

QMed Participates

Ms. Vasumathi Sriganesh and Ms. Parvati Iyer attended a workshop on Systematic Reviews, organized by the Campbell Collaboration, on Feb 5-7, 2018. The Campbell Collaboration - a world wide network encourages authoring of systematic reviews and evidence gap maps. This workshop gave a detailed overview of both types of publications. QMed is working with the India office of the Campbell Collaboration to see how we can help with search strategies and training related to the same. The workshop conducted by two "Evidence Synthesis Specialists" - Dr. Denny John and Dr. Ashrita Saran was a wonderful learning experience!

From our Picture Gallery

VS attending the Campbell Collaboration workshop with Ms Parvati Iyer

Lecture @ Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune

Participants at Kokilaben Hospital, Mumbai

Participants at KEM Hospital, Mumbai