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01_The Argument Matrix — Transcript

by NPTEL-NOC IITM · 1,946 words · 370 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00hello everyone
0:02i am dr manikam i work as a scientist at
0:04the national institute of epidemiology
0:06i welcome you to this course on
0:08scientific
0:09writing in health research
0:11as a first session we are going to see
0:14what is meant by an argument matrix
0:16which is a framework to organize the
0:19ideas within the structure of a
0:20manuscript the objectives of this
0:22session are to articulate the contents
0:25of a manuscript by its sections in terms
0:28of introduction methods results and
0:31discussion
0:32and also
0:33by ideas that you want to convey
0:36we would like to introduce through this
0:39session
0:41organization of these ideas by each
0:43section through a template called
0:45argument matrix
0:47usually the starting points for a
0:49manuscript
0:50are as follows one
0:53you have products of the analysis which
0:54could be phi tables and figures and you
0:57have key points and recommendations
1:00spelt out
1:01maybe in an abstract that was written
1:03immediately after the work was completed
1:07for a conference or a presentation among
1:09faculty members
1:11you have a slide set or you have a
1:13poster wherein lies an outline of the
1:15argument that you want to convey
1:18and you may have
1:20few ideas that you want to wrap around
1:22for developing the manuscript there are
1:24common roadblocks in writing or
1:26preparing the manuscript
1:28the first set of roadblocks are related
1:30to the structure there are issues
1:32relating to respecting the structure of
1:35a manuscript
1:36this could include misplacing the
1:38elements
1:39for example
1:40you write results in the discussion
1:42section or interpret the facts in the
1:45results section
1:46there could be another set of issues
1:48relating to ideas
1:51you are not writing in a sequential
1:53manner or you are missing the links
1:55while developing and
1:57conveying an idea therefore we would
1:59like to present an argument matrix
2:02which is a framework that respects the
2:04structure of the sections
2:06and also make sure you develop the ideas
2:09preferably few of them
2:10logically and sequentially so that your
2:13roadblocks are overcome and you have a
2:15neat
2:17framework that prepares you to make sure
2:20you outline the manuscript the structure
2:22is usually referred to as imrad
2:24structure and that stands for
2:26introduction
2:27methods results and discussion it also
2:30includes key appendices in terms of an
2:32abstract phi tables and or figures which
2:36is the maximum allowed in majority of
2:38the journals and references
2:40the imrod structure respects what is
2:43known as bradford hills questions
2:46for any research
2:48introduction section addresses why did
2:50you start this study at all and method
2:52section addresses what did you do and
2:54results section
2:55explains what did you find
2:57and discussion section
3:00spells out what does it all mean to the
3:02reader and and therefore what do you
3:04make of it
3:06let us quickly look at the parts of this
3:09sections one by one
3:11introduction
3:13zooms in from a very broad general
3:16information related to the topic to
3:19specifically on the knowledge gap that
3:21needs to be addressed as part of the
3:23study
3:24it provides information that justifies
3:27why this study needs to be done
3:30and it usually ends with the statement
3:32of objectives
3:34the second section is in terms of
3:36methods
3:37it actually a blueprint of what was done
3:40in this study
3:41in simple terms
3:43therefore it provides key information on
3:46the type of study the definitions
3:48employed the sampling strategy used the
3:50sample size that was calculated data
3:52collection methodology and the analysis
3:54plan and also ethics
3:56in terms of respecting human
3:58participants you may use for a
4:00diagrammatic
4:02illustration to summarize this
4:04information as well as part of method
4:06section which is recommended as part of
4:08some of the guidelines to report
4:10scientific work
4:12the results section is usually in terms
4:14of describing
4:16findings in simple terms
4:18it's all about
4:20data it's all about facts and figures as
4:22they are
4:23you need to describe the information in
4:26tables and figures as captions
4:28you do not interpret whatsoever in this
4:30section
4:31therefore
4:32it is all about explaining or describing
4:35main trends and exceptions as appears in
4:38your tables and figures
4:40from the manuscript discussion section
4:44usually has a structure
4:46which is something we need to respect
4:49it has four parts the first part our
4:52first paragraph is all about summarizing
4:54the finding without repeating or without
4:57bringing in quantified results again
5:00therefore this section addresses what
5:02was found
5:04without numericals attached to it
5:07the second section is about what can be
5:09said so therefore you need to convey
5:11your ideas one by one in a first
5:14paragraph or a second paragraph and
5:16maybe a third paragraph in terms of what
5:18can be said about these findings in the
5:20context of what is already known in the
5:22literature
5:23the third section is in terms of what
5:25cannot be said usually things that
5:27prevent you from saying so
5:30the fourth section on the basis of the
5:32concluding and recommending in terms of
5:34what do you make of the findings
5:36thereof discussion section bridges the
5:39evidence
5:40in terms of the next steps that are
5:42required in taking action
5:44as such the results only provide
5:47facts numbers estimates and parameters
5:50these need to be integrated with each
5:52other
5:53and with the external information
5:55sources basically from the literature in
5:57terms of references
5:58to yield a conclusion that leads to
6:01recommendations therefore
6:03the discussion section serves as a
6:05bridge that builds the main argument of
6:07the paper between the results and the
6:10conclusion thereof
6:11this bridge is the interpretation or
6:14interpretations of the evidence in the
6:16light of what is already known in the
6:18literature and outlines what remains to
6:20be known
6:21this process will be replicated for the
6:23two or three key ideas from the study
6:26finally let us look at the life cycle of
6:29an investigation and see how the imnate
6:31structure
6:33can be used while reporting the findings
6:36introduction
6:38includes identifying data needs spelling
6:40out research question
6:41formulating study objectives
6:43and the next
6:45section of methods takes care of how you
6:48plan the analysis and what
6:51data collection instruments
6:52you used in making sure the data is
6:54collected as per the plan the results
6:56section reports what was analyzed as per
6:58the data that was collected and
7:01discussion section reports conclusions
7:03and recommendations and also how we need
7:06to take this research forward in terms
7:08of involving stakeholders and if any new
7:10research question that was identified
7:11that is also flagged at the end of the
7:13discussion section
7:15now let us look at the ideas that needs
7:18to progress
7:19in these various sections
7:23linear construction is what we recommend
7:25to follow one idea throughout the
7:27manuscript the idea has to progress
7:30between all the sections that's the plan
7:34for example
7:36it's a it's a linear construction in
7:37terms of taking
7:39what was known before
7:41and what is the local context in the
7:43introduction section to what methods
7:44were used to generate findings
7:47to know what was unknown
7:48and then you report the figures and
7:51facts in terms of what was found and
7:53then make sure
7:54you integrate all these facts and
7:56figures and making a case for what you
7:58think needs to be said
8:00in terms of conclusion and also in terms
8:03of action
8:04through a recommendation
8:06therefore the idea has to flow
8:08throughout the manuscript cutting across
8:10all the sections
8:12here is an example of how
8:15one of the ideas
8:17follow linear construction throughout
8:18the manuscript
8:20you can see
8:22that the introduction section spells out
8:25why boosters are important for
8:27long term diphtheria production and
8:29therefore the method section spells out
8:31what was done to collect information on
8:34to what extent the boosted doses were
8:36working
8:38against diphtheria
8:39and also to what extent the booster
8:42doses were given in that particular
8:43community the results are reported in
8:45terms of what is the productive efficacy
8:47of the boosted dose and also the
8:49coverage for the booster tools in that
8:51area
8:52discussion section argues how
8:54booster coverage is related to the rates
8:57of diphtheria that are reported in that
8:59setting therefore reiterating the
9:01importance of increasing the booster
9:02coverage
9:04the conclusion
9:05makes a case why boosters are important
9:09for those who are
9:11not protected
9:13and recommend supplemental activities to
9:15make sure we reach the unreached in
9:18terms of increasing the booster coverage
9:20so there is an idea that flows
9:22throughout the manuscript
9:24in a linear fashion we are now going to
9:27present a matrix
9:29that respects the structure and also
9:31helps us in conveying the ideas in a
9:33linear fashion within the manuscript
9:36this is the argument matrix template
9:38that we propose that can be used to
9:39articulate the ideas on the left hand
9:41side you see the ideas on top you see
9:44sections so the rows represent each of
9:46those ideas and the columns represent
9:50each of the sections starting from
9:51introduction to recommendation section
9:53of the discussion
9:55so you can see in the template
9:59the
10:00row respects
10:02that the direction that was used to
10:04construct the ideas developed as a
10:07logical linear construction
10:10for example idea number one flows
10:12through introduction methods results and
10:15then points that are made in the
10:16discussion section limitations
10:18conclusion recommendations so
10:21so also the rest of the ideas so this is
10:24the direction that we use to construct
10:26the ideas make sure the linear
10:28construction is followed
10:30however when the paper is read by the
10:32reader the reader will
10:35see how they proceed from introduction
10:38to methods results
10:40the points that are being made in the
10:41first part of the discussion limitation
10:44conclusions and recommendation
10:46therefore making sure the reader
10:48captures the ideas that are being
10:50conveyed in each of the sections and
10:53then
10:54make sure the reader understands and
10:56finally makes effective
11:00use of the paper
11:02conveying those ideas
11:04until
11:05the recommendation is made
11:08the argument matrix can be used
11:10in two ways
11:12it can be used
11:13for a primary purpose of
11:16developing a manuscript afresh
11:18therefore it can be
11:20started at the start point itself it can
11:22be also used to rehash or reorganize a
11:25draft that needs to be rescued because
11:28the ideas are misplaced or sections are
11:30not respected
11:31the primary preparation is in terms of
11:34organizing your ideas before drafting
11:36the manuscript
11:37you make sure in consultation with your
11:40co-authors and maybe a mentor or the
11:43the hod or professor make sure
11:47you you are in agreement with the ideas
11:49that are going to be conveyed in the
11:50manuscript
11:52those ideas are
11:53the points
11:55are laid out in the argument matrix so
11:57that it respects both sections and the
12:00ideas flow through logically and
12:02sequential
12:03the secondary purpose for which the
12:05argument matrix can be used is in terms
12:07of
12:08reorganizing the ideas in a manuscript
12:11that is not in a good shape
12:14it has the ideas that are
12:16not clearly spelt out it has misplaced
12:19elements therefore we need to rescue
12:22this manuscript so the argument matrix
12:25is effectively used to make sure we
12:27spell out the ideas prepare a matrix and
12:30then
12:31make sure within the manuscript we
12:33highlight the identified elements that
12:35belong to these key ideas that we have
12:38spelt out and make sure each ideas are
12:41belonging to the elements that are
12:43necessary for each of the sections and
12:45then make sure we rearrange
12:48the manuscript and make sure the holes
12:51are fixed in the matrix
12:53therefore we use the matrix and then
12:55rewrite or
12:57redraft the manuscript
12:59argument matrix therefore
13:02provides a two way understanding of the
13:04articulation of the ideas in a
13:05manuscript
13:06it is very useful
13:08from the very beginning of drafting a
13:09manuscript or you may use it to rescue
13:13or recover ideas from a disorganized
13:17manuscript thank you very much

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