Course Content
Module 1: Foundations of Research and Thesis Development
Upon completion of this module, residents will be able to: • Understand the thesis requirements and academic standards in basic and paraclinical sciences. • Identify feasible research topics aligned with departmental resources and expertise. • Formulate clear, testable research questions using established frameworks.
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Research Methodology and Biostatistics for Postgraduate Residents in Basic Sciences and Paraclinical Sciences

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  1. Define and explain the concept of a research gap
  2. Use literature mapping and critical reading to identify gaps in existing evidence
  3. Apply the FINER criteria to evaluate the quality of a research question
  4. Construct well-formed, focused, and researchable research questions from identified gaps
  5. Distinguish weak research questions from strong ones using specific examples

Content:

  • Understanding what a “research gap” means
  • Techniques to identify gaps (e.g. literature mapping, limitations of previous studies, conflicting findings etc.)
  • Translating gaps into answerable research questions applying FINER criteria: Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant
  • Characteristics of a strong research question (e.g. clear, focused, researchable, aligned with available methods etc.)
  • Examples of weak vs. strong research questions