Research Tools

Here are resources that will assist you in preparing your research paper for publication.

Research Educational Snippets

• Common Errors or Mistakes in Submitting to the IRB
• Common Rule - How it Applies to your Research
• Conflicts of Interest
• HIPAA Overview
• How to Fill Out an IRB Application
• How to Write an Informed Consent
• How to Write a Protocol Summary
• IRB Submission Guidelines
• Modification and Renewals
• Reporting Problems and Adverse Events

Getting Started

Here are the essential and initial steps needed in order to participate and conduct research through the department of Graduate Medical Education at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

1. Organizing a Research Paper (http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide)
2. Study Designs (http://himmelfarb.gwu.edu/tutorials/studydesign101/)

Evaluating your Sources

These links provide tips on how to determine if a source is reputable.

1. Purdue OWL Evaluation of Sources (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/01/)
2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (https://library.unc.edu/support/tutorials/)

Citing Sources

When determining which format to use when citing sources, check with your advisor or department to see if there is a preferred method. If your department does not have a preferred format, look at the format used by the journals you are considering to have publish your paper.

1. AMA Citation (https://www.lib.jmu.edu/)
2. Purdue OWL APA & MLA Citations (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/)
3. Manage articles/literature review with these free applications. These apps automatically save documents in one location and builds your reference page and fills in in-text citations as you complete your paper.
   1. Zotero (https://www.zotero.org/)
   2. Mendeley (https://www.mendeley.com/?interaction_required=true)

Information about your Library

Take advantage of the print and electronic resources available through ARMC Library. Residents have online access to library resources at all times (24/7). To log in, go to any computer and use your ARMC personal login, click on ARMC IntraNet, then Library. Remote access is also available via the Citrix ARMC portal.

1. Library Hours
   • Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
   • Public: Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
   • Closed Weekends & Holidays
   • After Hours Access is available
2. Major Medical Literature Databases — some have electronic books (eBooks)
   • PubMed@ARMC (eBooks)
   • ClinicalKey (eBooks)
   • UpToDate
   • ProQuest Databases — Hospital Collection; Health Management; Nursing
   • NeoFax Online
   • Medline@ProQuest
   • LexiComp Drug Database
   • The Cochrane Library
   • Mosby’s Nursing Skills
   • Psychiatry Online (eBooks)
3. Electronic Journal Collections – full-text access linked to PubMed@ARMC
   • Ebsco – ARMC Journals AtoZ
   • Ovid Lippincott-Williams & Wilkins
   • Elsevier ClinicalKey
   • ProQuest Health Research Premium Collection
   • PubMed Central & Free Access Journals (HighWire)
   • Wiley Blackwell/Nursing
   • American Medical Association (AMA)

Need help extracting data for your research?

The Office of Research and Grants provides assistance to researchers in obtaining de-identified medical data necessary for completing research at ARMC. Please complete the following medical record request form if you require assistance obtaining data for your research.

Please send completed requests to Reza Hajjafar at HajjafarR@armc.sbcounty.gov along with a copy of IRB approval for your research.

Helpful Hints

1. Research Forum - Forum for tips/hints/a way for students to communicate with each other about their research.
2. Review your study design and how you will run analysis of your data AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE AND BEFORE you start collecting data. Contact your research coordinator to set up an appointment
3. When submitting application for IRB approval, submit at least two weeks prior to the committee meeting.
4. Be aware that it takes several months to obtain IRB approval (approximately 3 months on average). Take this into consideration when planning out your study and determining when to start data collection.

Getting A Paper Published

The information provided here is meant to aid you in the publishing process. Keep in mind that the requirements will vary between different journals.

1. Preparing Your Manuscript For Submission:

   Now that you have completed the writing stage of your paper, and you are ready to submit your manuscript for publication in the journal of your choice, it is highly recommended to first EDIT and REVISE your manuscript. This extra step and attention to detail will help you become a successful writer and will give you the extra edge that can get your manuscripts published rather than rejected. You will want to find several people; your mentor, Attending’s, Co-Authors, various colleagues (look for those who are experienced in journal publishing), statisticians, research staff, and ask them to read your manuscript and provide critical reviews. Provide a double-spaced copy of the manuscript for comments and a copy for the peer review form to each person for review.

   When you ask colleagues to review the manuscript indicate:
   • Where and when you are planning to submit your article and when you are hoping to get the peer review back (allow at least two-three weeks, they are doing you a favor)
   • Ask them to mark sections they find difficult to understand.
   • Summarize in the margins their reactions to the paper.
   Things to remember:
   • Remember that critical feedback is necessary for anyone who wants to be a distinguished writer and do not take it as a personal attack rather as a critique to help you improve your research writing skills. Address your colleagues concerns and edit your paper if necessary.
   • Make sure you are thanking the editors in the acknowledgments. Also it is recommended to give a copy of your acknowledgments to everyone you thank so that you can make sure they are happy with what you put in regards to their job title, degrees and contribution to the paper.
     • Form for Mentors / Peers to edit your research manuscript (will send attachment)
     • Ohio State University, Writing & Publishing in Research Journals (link coming soon)
2. What is Peer Review?

   Peer review is a process in which articles are examined by people with credentials in the article’s field of study before it is published. Articles are reviewed by experts who are not part of a journal’s editorial staff.

Are you a medical student rotating at ARMC and Interested in research or a researcher looking for a research assistant? This page contains tools and software that will allow you to organize and analyze your research data.

1. Application for students who want to do research.