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How to begin
  1. Choose an area of interest
    • Think about courses you have enjoyed.
    • What questions or problems in your field do you find interesting?
    • Talk to faculty about their research and scholarly activities.
    • Meet with a librarian and explore research already conducted.
  2. Determine funding
  3. Develop research questions
    • These questions guide and centre your research. Your question should be clear, well-defined and focused.
  4. Literature review
How to conduct your scoping review
  1. Identify your research question
    • Search strategy
    • Inclusion/exclusion criteria
    • List of databases in search
    • Piloting search
    • Revise question/strategy
    • Create data abstraction form
  2. Identify relevant studies
    • Initial search results annotated bibliography
    • Abstract-approved articles annotated bibliography
    • Full-text approved articles annotated bibliography
  3. Study selection
    • Use data abstraction form and full-text approved articles annotated bibliography
    • Decide on the articles to include in your paper
  4. Collate, summarize, analyze and write
    • Analyze the data and write your scoping paper
How to find articles on CINAHL
  1. Go to the CINAHL database of the saskpolytech.libguides.com/libraryservices.
  2. Above the search box there is a Suggest Subject Terms box that will list subjects to choose from. You can explore these terms or select a major concept.
  3. Search for terms separately and then refine your results with limiters. For example, you may want 'full text' articles from the last 5 years and articles from only 'academic journals.'
  4. If you have an EBSCOhost account, you can save searches in your history.
How to hire your research assistant
  1. Choose your research assistant. Ensure the research assistant is a student in good standing. If hiring Sask Polytech students, check with their program.
  2. Get their name and email address
  3. Provide the information to the CHRIS office via email to lisa.thompsontkachuck@saskpolytech.ca
  4. The research assistant's information will be provided to HR.
  5. HR will prepare a link for your research assistant to apply for the position.
  6. Have your research assistant apply and inform HR when complete.
  7. HR will send your research assistant an offer letter and documentation for completion and return.
  8. Once returned, HR will process so your research assistant can complete time sheets.
How to write your article
  1. Introduction
    Provide the rationale and background to the study. What is the research question and why is it important?
    • State why the problem you address is important
    • State what is lacking in the current body of knowledge
    • State the objectives of your study or the research question
  2. Methods
    This section should be specific, concrete, technical and detailed. Describe the study setting, sampling strategy used, instruments, data collection methods and analysis strategies. Qualitative research studies should explain which research tradition the study used and link the choice of methological strategies with the research goals.
    • Describe the context and setting of the study
    • Specify the study design
    • Describe the population (patients, doctors, hospitals, etc.)
    • Describe the sampling strategy
    • Describe the intervention (if applicable)
    • Identify the main study variables
    • Describe data collection instruments and procedures
    • Outline analysis methods
  3. Results
    This section is straightforward and factual. All results that relate to the research question should be given in detail, including simple counts and percentages.
    • Report on data collection and recruitment (responses, rates, etc.)
    • Describe participants (demographic, clinical condition, etc.)
    • Present key findings with respect to the central research question
    • Present secondary findings (secondary outcomes, subgroup analyses, etc.)
  4. Discussion
    • State the main findings of the study
    • Discuss the main results with references to previous research
    • Discuss policy and practice implications of the results
    • Analyze the strengths and limitations of the study
    • Offer perspectives for future work
  5. References
    Key assertions should be referenced, as well as the methods and instruments used.
How to publish your article
  1. Familiarize yourself with potential publications
    • Consider the research is already published in your field.
    • Read academic journals related to your field.
    • Consider how other research papers are written.
  2. Choose the publication best suited to your research paper
    • Know your audience.
    • Consider if the publication is technical or geared towards a broader audience.
  3. Prepare your manuscript
    • Review the author guidelines for your selected publication. This is usually found on their website.
    • Format your paper to conform to those guidelines.
    • Make your paper clear, engaging and easy to follow.
  4. Ask a colleague (or two) to review your paper
    • Edit for grammar, spelling errors, typos, clarity and conciseness.
  5. Revise your paper
    • Be prepared to revise your paper four or five times.
  6. Submit your article
    • Review submission requirements on the publication's author guidelines.
    • Ensure your paper meets those requirements.
    • Submit the paper.
  7. Keep trying
    • Publications may ask you to revise and resubmit.
    • Remain flexible and rework the paper taking into account the feedback received.
    • If you are rejected by your first choice, submit to other publications.

Ethics

Learn more about research ethics instructions, protocol and forms.

Contact us

If you have questions, please contact CHRIS@saskpolytech.ca.