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Project planning and management

4 scenarios in comparison

Dr. Birgit Greiner

Senior Lecturer

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Learning objectives

• Obtain overview of scientific, management and organizational tasks involved in research and research planning

• Appreciate different research project scenarios based on one general research question

• Understand implications for scientific, management and organizational tasks involved

• Appreciate the strengths and limitations of each scenario with regard to scientific and practical considerations

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Research question, aims and objectives

Study design

Sample, sampling method

Data collection methods

Data to be collected (exposure, outcome, confounders)

Analysis strategy

Study Planning

Reso

urces

Tim

e

Publication

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Project management

Scientific

Costs

Organization

Time

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Project management: scientific and organizational tasks

Scientific OrganizationalBackground: Specify aims and objectives, conduct literature searches

Set up research infra structure, team building, networking, hire personnel

Sampling: Specify sampling frame and method, recruit participants

Establish contacts, prepare information, ethical approval, seek consent, public relations

Data collection preparation: Choose/ design data collection instruments, pretest, revise, design of quality control strategy, standard operating procedures

Print data collection instruments, training of data collectors, scheduling of data collection

Data collection: Administration of questionnaires, medical exams, laboratory analyses, quality control

Mail questionnaires, travel to participants, retrieve archival data, follow-up of non-responders, study participant roster, thank-you letters, storage and handling of specimen

Data handling and analyses: data coding, cleaning and analyses

Data safety, data handling, back-ups, storage of documentation

Publication and dessemination of results, report writing

Wrap-up project

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Gantt charts (also referred to as project timelines) are bar graphs that help plan and monitor project

development or resource allocation on a horizontal time scale.

GANTT CHARTS: A project development tool

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Research scenario

Your local Health Board asked you to scientifically evaluate whether services for

home births should be increased.

4 scenarios

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4 different specific objectives4 different studies

• Objective 1: Demand for home birth services. Regional differences?

• Objective 2: Attitudes of pregnant women and midwives towards home birth

• Objective 3: Are home births as safe as hospital births?

• Objective 4: Comparing experiences of women with hospital and home deliveries before, during and after birth

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Scenario 1: The “Demand” StudyScientific plan

• Research questions: What is the demand for home birth services? Local differences?

• Study design: Cross-sectional study• Sample: Representative sample of 30 GP surgeries, 30

pregnant women from each surgeries (cluster sampling)• Data collection method: questionnaires • Variables: birth choice (home versus hospital), reasons

for choice, sociodemographics, medical history• Analyses: Estimate of a rate (rates) with confidence

intervals

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Literature review, aims and objec tives

Design questionnaire

Pretest, revision

write standard operating proc edures

sample GPs and partic ipants, visits andletters

training of data c ollec tors

data c ollec tion

follow-up of non-responders

thank-y ou letters to partic ipants

data c oding and entry

data c leaning

data analy ses

report writing, public ation

Project Developm ent Schedule

year 1 year 2

PROJECT STEPSmonths

1 - 3months

4 - 6months

7 - 9months

10 12months

1 -3months

4 - 6months

7 - 9months10 -12

low or medium resourc es required high resourc es required

Dem and Study

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Scenario 2: The “Attitude” StudyScientific plan

• Research questions: Attitudes of pregnant women and midwifes towards home births

• Study design: Qualitative cross-sectional and in-depth case studies

• Sample: 100 pregnant women attending antenatal classes, pregnant women recruited through the Irish Homebirth Assoc. (convenience sample), 6 women for in-depth case studies, 20 midwifes

• Data collection methods: Focus groups and interviews with pregnant women, expert interviews with midwifes

• Data to be collected: Pregnant women: reasons for choice, attitudes, medical history, sociodemographics. Midwifes: experiences with home births, attitudes.

• Analyses: Qualitative analysis of transcribed interviews, in-depth case study

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Literature review, aims and objec tives

Foc us groups

Develop interview protoc ol

Pretest, revise interview protovc ol

Sample 100 women

Interview 100 women

In-depth c ase studies

Interviews with midwives

Transc ription of interviews

D es ign c ategory s ys tem , pretes t and revis e

Quality c ontrol

Analy ze interviews

Report writing, public ation

Project Developm ent Schedule

year 1 year 2

PROJECT STEPSmonths

1 - 3months

4 - 6months

7 - 9months10 - 12

months1 -3

months4 - 6

months7 - 9

months10 -12

lo w to me d ium re s o u rce s h igh re s o u rce s re qu ire d

"Attitude" Study

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Scenario 3: The Safety StudyScientific plan

• Research question: Are home births associated with less interventions? Are they as safe as hospital births?

• Study design: Cross-sectional• Sample: All births within one year within the health

board region• Data collection method: Analysis of hospital birth

records, Irish still birth register, interviews with midwifes• Variables to be collected: mortality, use of analgesia,

augmented labour, C-sections, transport during labour into hospital etc.

• Analyses: Comparison of interventions and complications between hospital and (intended) home births, estimation of rate of transports to hospital during labour for intended home births

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? ?

Project Developm ent Schedule

year 1 year 2

PROJECT STEPSmonths

1 - 3months

4 - 6months

7 - 9months10 - 12

months1 -3

months4 - 6

months7 - 9

months10 -12

lo w to me d ium re s o urce s h igh re s o u rce s re qu ire d

"Safety" study

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Scenario 4:The “Follow-up” StudyScientific plan

• Research question: Satisfaction of mothers with birth experience and service delivery, recovery of mother and child

• Research design: Cohort study• Sample: samples of women who deliver at home (50)

and at hospital (100) recruited from GPs and hospitals• Data collection methods: questionnaires before birth, 2

days after birth, 3 months after birth• Data to be collected: reasons for choice, satisfaction

services before and after birth and with birth experience, experience of labour pain, health indicators of mother and child, complications and interventions during birth

• Analyses: Comparisons between the 2 groups

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? ?

Project Developm ent Schedule

year 1 year 2

PROJECT STEPSmonths

1 - 3months

4 - 6months

7 - 9months10 - 12

months1 -3

months4 - 6

months7 - 9

months10 -12

lo w to me d ium re s o urce s h igh re s o u rce s re qu ire d

Follow -up Study

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Weighing strengths and limitations of each scenario

• Internal validity

• External validity

• Feasability

• Resources needed (time, personnel)

• Clinical/public health usefulness of results