57. Research articles PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH IN USE FOR MEDICINE

PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH IN USE FOR MEDICINE

57. Research articles

A	The structure of research article Research articles are typically divided into four main sections √ Introduction √ Results √ Methods √ Discussion This is sometimes called the IMRaD structure of articles. The Introduction contains background information: in other words, it reminds the reader what is already known about the subject. It includes information about previous studies, and explains what has not been investigated previously. Finally, there is usually a statement of the objective, or purpose of the research (why they did it). In the case of clinical research, the Methods section gives details of the people who were studied – the participants in the research. The method section also contains information about any intervention carried out, for example medication, advice, operations. It gives details of the steps taken in the study, how the participants were chosen, and includes the main things measured, such as blood levels. Finally, there is information about statistical analysis. The Results section tells what was found, the findings of the study. The Discussion section contains explanations, and claims for the importance of the study. It may also list limitations, or parts of the study which were unsatisfactory, and suggest what research needs to be done in the future. There is usually a Conclusion, which is sometimes a separate section. At the end of most articles, there is a short section called Acknowledgements. In this the authors thank people who have helped them in their research. Finally, there is a list of References – the books and articles which the authors have used.
B	Objectives Statements about objectives often contain the following verbs: assess We assessed whether … determine The aim of our study was to determine whether … investigate We investigated the … evaluate This study evaluated the …
C	Main findings The Discussion section usually begins with a summary of the main findings. This is related to the objective of the study. Typical verbs include: show We have shown that … confirm Our study confirmed that …. provide evidence These findings provide strong evidence that …. If the results are less certain: suggest These results suggest that ….. and with negative results: fail to This study failed to show that ….

EXERCISES

57.1	Read the eight extracts from an article in the British Medical Journal entitled ‘Paternal age and schizophrenia: a population based cohort study’. Decide which section of the article each extract comes from. There are two extracts from each of the four sections. Look at unit 46 again if you need more help. 1 People with older fathers were more likely to lose their parents before they reached the age of 18 years. 2 Using a large Swedish record linkage database, we investigated the association between paternal age and schizophrenia in offspring.
57.2	Look at the research questions (1-4) and write a statement of the objective of each study, using an appropriate form of the verb in brackets. Look at B above to help you. 1 Can calcium and vitamin D supplementation reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women? (assess) 2 Does the way doctors dress influence patients’ confidence and trust in them? (determine)
57.3	Now write a sentence about the main finding in each of the studies in 57.2 above, assuming a result as shown in brackets below. Look at C opposite to help you. 1 no 2 yes 3 yes 4 uncertain

Answer key