
The answers to these types of questions are often provided in the form of a correlation coefficient. Other examples of this type might include examining the relationship between levels of community-reported infectious diseases and rate of neural tube defects or assessing the relationship between the use of antipseudomonal drugs and the development of a resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As an example, we might pose the question, “What is the relationship between occupational burnout and suicide ideation among medical residents in the Northeast United States?” To answer this question, we would likely gather burnout and suicide ideation scores from the population of interest and then calculate a correlation coefficient to quantify this relationship. Questions of relationship ask how phenomena are related to one another. Results to descriptive questions are often reported as proportions, percentages, frequency counts, measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), measures of variability (standard deviation, range), or various charts, graphs, and tables. Other examples might include questions comparing characteristics and outcomes of patients with community-acquired pneumonia who were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with those patients managed on the ward or characterizing hip joint pain referral patterns. For example, we might formulate the research question, “What is the incidence rate for seasonal influenza among the elderly population in Belgium for the year 2009?” The answer to this question might be expressed in terms of a percentage.

Incidence and prevalence research are descriptive. These questions describe what is going on or what exists. Questions of description are common to RCRs. Such questions generally fall into one of three categories: questions of description, questions of relationship, or questions of comparison. The framework presented here is a typology of research questions. Though not mentioned elsewhere in this manuscript, we recommend Morgan and Harmon to the reader as an additional reference in properly framing research questions. We have selected one framework for the design and articulation of research questions to present here which we have found to be particularly useful. There is no shortage of published advice on developing and refining research questions. It is important to spend adequate time carefully scripting and revising the research questions for the study. Research questions form the initial structure of the RCR and guide the study design and data analysis. Research questions should be logical, flowing from that which is known or believed to be true to that which is unknown and requires validation.
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The first step when planning a RCR is to formulate a series of research questions that are to be answered based on results of the study. Failure to create well-defined, clearly-articulated research questions to structure this paper while incorporating additional considerations which we deem to be important.ġ. When formulating the ideas presented herein, we used the standards provided by Gilbert et al. , Worster and Haines, and Findley and Daum –all of which provide valuable information to consider when planning an RCR. The following methodological points stem from personal consultation experience as well as from the works of Gilbert et al. Since poor methodology is a principal reason for peer-reviewed journal rejections, the aim of this article is to discuss common methodological mistakes and omissions made when conducting RCRs. Predictably, they found that the majority of studies lacked sound methodological standards. also examined methodological rigor in reporting practices from the RCRs in their sample. ), and valuable information may be gathered from study results to direct subsequent prospective studies.Īttesting to the popularity of this technique, a review of three emergency medicine journals revealed that nearly one-quarter of all research published within the study’s timeframe used RCR methodology.
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RCR is a popular methodology widely applied in many healthcare-based disciplines such as epidemiology, quality assessment, professional education and residency training, inpatient care, and clinical research (cf.

The data used in such reviews exist in many forms: electronic databases, results from diagnostic tests, and notes from health service providers to mention a few. The retrospective chart review (RCR), also known as a medical record review, is a type of research design in which pre-recorded, patient-centered data are used to answer one or more research questions.
