Case Study Research Program
Case Study Research Methods
RSCH 101
Course Syllabus
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In this course the student will prepare a written clinical case study. The selection of an appropriate clinical case, a thorough review of the elements of a case study report, how to review the appropriate literature for the reference section, and the systematic construction of the report will be covered in a combination lecture and self study format. It is expected that the paper will meet the technical requirements for consideration to publish in a peer reviewed research journal.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
The case study research methods course is intended to give the student hands-on experience writing a case study report coupled with an appreciation of the importance, necessity and benefits of case study reporting to their professional experience. The importance of research, critical evaluation and scholarly writing to the chiropractic profession will also be emphasized.
INSTRUCTORS: Lead Instructor: Matthew McCoy DC, MPH
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact the instructors via e-mail: Dr. McCoy: drmatthewmccoy@gmail.com
CREDITS: 12 credit hours of On line Education
PREQUISITES: None
REQUIRED TEXT/REFERENCE MATERIAL
McCoy M. The Case Study Report: The Individual’s Experience.
RECOMMENDED TEXT:
-How to Write and Publish Papers in the Medical Sciences. Edward J. Huth
-Vertebral Subluxation in Chiropractic Practice, Council on Chiropractic Practice
-Recommended Clinical Protocols and Guidelines for the Practice of Chiropractic, International Chiropractic Association.
-How to Write and Publish Papers in the Medical Sciences. Edward J. Huth
-The Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals
ON-LINE ACCESS: Information for this course and all of its content is available online once enrolled.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To give students the experience of writing a clinical case study that meets the technical requirements of a peer reviewed research journal
2. To impress upon the student an understanding of the societal obligation the chiropractic profession has to produce research
3. To impress upon the student the importance of research in education, clinical practice and to the growth of the profession.
4. To give students the experience of evaluating new and current knowledge
5. To give students the experience of incorporating models of vertebral subluxation into clinical situations
6. To give students the experience of relating models of subluxation to technique systems and the clinical management of the patient
GRADING POLICY: In order to pass the class: You must complete the 12 hours of on line education.
COURSE OUTLINE
Module 1: Introduction to the Case Study Research Report. This module provides a general overview and serves as an introduction to the elements of a case study research report. In addition it reviews the importance of and the relative merits of case study reporting as well as research hierarchy and a comparison of the various types of research.
Module 2: Review of a Case Study Research Report. The systematic construction of each section of a case study report is covered utilizing an actual paper from the peer reviewed literature. The student is instructed in the necessary content for each section in detail. Focused time is spent reviewing the intervention and outcomes sections especially as it is related to reporting and describing technique specific methods and the discussion of models of subluxation as applied to the case. How to handle ancillary procedures, the outcomes section (both subjective and objective) is covered. Details regarding how to describe mechanisms of action in relation to the chiropractic interventions and outcomes are discussed.
Module 3: Literature Searching & Databases. This module reviews the basics of literature searching and gathering related to research. The various applications and services available such as the Index to Chiropractic Literature, MANTIS, Galileo, SCOPUS, CINAHL, PubMed and others are covered. Basic instruction in how to conduct a literature search is provided. How to gather articles once found, how to construct your reference lists, the Uniform Requirements, and the peer reviewed chiropractic journals are reviewed and discussed.
Module 4: Getting Published. A thorough review of the submission and peer review process is undertaken in an effort to improve the likelihood that a submitted paper will go on to be published and to give the student an general understanding of the process involved from pre-submission to submission through publication. Topics include: instructions for authors, picking a journal to submit to, the theory and practice of peer review, the peer review process, stages of the peer review process, how to handle rejection, scientific misconduct issues, authorship issues, editorial autonomy, copyright assignment, informed consent and indexing related issues.
Module 5: The Importance of Research to the Chiropractic Profession. This module will focus on the profession’s ethical and moral responsibility to conduct research. The lecture will also cover: The importance of research related to health policy, worldviews and their relationship to research, the general nature and structure of the research enterprise, cultural issues related to research and the chiropractic profession, research funding issues, epidemiological issues related to vertebral subluxation, the clinical meaningfulness of vertebral subluxation, politics, practice and research in chiropractic, examples of research successes in chiropractic.
OBJECTIVES
Module 1
At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:
- Be able to discuss the requirements contained in the syllabus.
- Be able to discuss the technical requirements
- Be able to list the components of a Case Study Report
- Know what a peer reviewed research journal is
- Know what the Uniform Requirements are and understand how to pick a suitable case.
Module 2
- At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:
- Understand how to construct each section of the case study report
- Know how to construct an Abstract
- Know how to construct the Introduction section
- Know how to construct the Case Report section
- Know how to develop the intervention and outcomes components of the case report
- Know how to construct the Discussion section
- Know how to construct the Conclusion section
Module 3
At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:
- Understand how to do a literature search
- Know how to access databases
- Know how to access Index Medicus, Pubmed, ICL, CINAHL, MANTIS and others
- Know how to access the chiropractic peer reviewed literature
- Know how to gather literature
- Know how to construct a properly formatted reference
Module 4
At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:
- Understand the submission process
- Understand peer review process and theory
- Have a general working knowledge of the chiropractic peer reviewed journals
- Understand their responsibilities during the peer review process
- Know how to choose a journal for submission of their work
- Know how to deal with rejection and revision issues
- Understand the importance of ethics in the conduct of research
- Understand the informed consent process
- Understand copyright assignment
Module 5
At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:
- Understand the importance of research in chiropractic education, clinical practice and to the growth of the profession.
- Understand the profession’s ethical and moral responsibility to conduct research.
- Understand the importance of research related to health policy
- Understand the general nature and structure of the research enterprise
- Understand the cultural issues related to research and the chiropractic profession
- Understand research funding issues in chiropractic
- Understand epidemiological issues related to vertebral subluxation
- Understand the issues related to the clinical meaningfulness of vertebral subluxation
- Be able to discuss examples of research successes in chiropractic.
