Research Case Study Course Mission:

Research Case Study Course Mission: The ICPA has teamed up with Dr. Matthew McCoy to offer you a Case Study Research Program (RSCH 101). The purpose of this program is to teach you how to write up a case study and submit it for publication to a peer reviewed research journal.

The goal at the end of this course is completion of a case study research paper on one of your patients. At a minimum, the paper must meet the technical requirements of a peer reviewed research journal as outlined in the class notes and lecture materials. This paper will then be posted on the ICPA Diplomate Research Writing Forum. Registration for the ICPA Diplomate Research Writing Forum is required and then submission of your paper to the Diplomate Research Writing Forum for peer review from the Academy moderators.

Case Study Research Program Description: This course applies towards Part Two of the ICPA's Diplomate Program and accounts for 48 hours of the required 180 hours. The course content is broken up into 5 Modules totaling 12 hours of instruction. The remainder of the hours are completed by actually writing your case study and are awarded upon completion of it. This course offers the Diplomate candidate the step by step instructions to write a case study. The credit hours are 12 credit hours of On line Education and 36 hours practical spent researching, writing and revising your case study research report. Registration for the course is through the ICPA. Read more here.

In this course you will prepare a written clinical case study. You will be taught 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.

Research Case Study Course Registration:

 

The entire course consists of 12 hours of online presentations in the form of Modules. There are a total of 5 Modules. Each Module is followed by an examination. Below you will find the Step by Step Process to complete this requirement:

Here is a step by step process of how to get started:
1. Choose a Diplomate Payment Program: Diplomate Pay in Full Option or Diplomate Auto-Payment Option. For more details please visit here the Diplomate Payment Plan

2. Your enrollment to this course will include a textbook, case study online form, one line course, e-mail support and one-on-one coaching. REQUIRED TEXT/REFERENCE MATERIAL McCoy M. The Case Study Report: The Individual’s Experience.  (provided with course)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

3. Course Contains 5 Modules, the 5 Module titles are:
Module 1: Introduction to the Case Study Research Report
Module 2: Review of a Case Study Research Report
Module 3: Literature Searching & Databases
Module 4: Getting Published
Module 5: The Importance of Research to the Chiropractic Profession

3. ICPA postgraduate department will register you for the course and send you an e-mail course registration receipt and the details and steps to get started in Module 1.


Research Case Study Course Outline and Objectives:


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 a case study research paper on one of your patients. At a minimum, the paper must meet the technical requirements of a peer reviewed research journal as outlined in the class notes and lecture materials.

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.               

Module 1

At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:

1. Be able to discuss the requirements contained in the syllabus.
2. Be able to discuss the technical requirements
3. Be able to list the components of a Case Study Report
4. Know what a peer reviewed research journal is
5. 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:

1. Understand how to construct each section of the case study report

2. Know how to construct an Abstract

3. Know how to construct the Introduction section

4. Know how to construct the Case Report section

5. Know how to develop the intervention and outcomes components of the case report

6. Know how to construct the Discussion section

7. Know how to construct the Conclusion section

Module 3

At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:

1. Understand how to do a literature search
2. Know how to access databases
3. Know how to access Index Medicus, Pubmed, ICL, CINAHL, MANTIS and others
4. Know how to access the chiropractic peer reviewed literature

5. Know how to gather literature

6. Know how to construct a properly formatted reference

Module 4

At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:

1. Understand the submission process

2. Understand peer review process and theory
3. Have a general working knowledge of the chiropractic peer reviewed journals 
4. Understand their responsibilities during the peer review process

5. Know how to choose a journal for submission of their work

6. Know how to deal with rejection and revision issues

7. Understand the importance of ethics in the conduct of research

8. Understand the informed consent process

9. Understand copyright assignment 

 

Module 5

At the end of this period of instruction, the student should:

1. Understand the importance of research in chiropractic education, clinical practice and to the growth of the profession.

2. Understand the profession’s ethical and moral responsibility to conduct research.

3. Understand the importance of research related to health policy

4. Understand the general nature and structure of the research enterprise

5. Understand the cultural issues related to research and the chiropractic profession

6. Understand research funding issues in chiropractic

7. Understand epidemiological issues related to vertebral subluxation

8. Understand the issues related to the clinical meaningfulness of vertebral subluxation

9. Be able to discuss examples of research successes in chiropractic.              


Research Case Study Course Technical Requirements for Case Study Paper

 

Your paper and submission must contain and adhere to each of the following minimum requirements.

 

GENERAL

1. Double-space all parts of manuscript including the reference section 
2. Begin each section or component on a new page
3. Number each page beginning with the title page in the upper or lower right hand corner
4. Submit two (2) paper copies and staple each in the upper left hand corner (no folders or binders)
5. Manuscript must be typed (word processor/computer) and on white paper, 216 x 279 mm (8-1/2 x 11 in, with margins of at least 25 mm (1 in). FONT: Times New Roman - Size 12.
6. In addition to sending by e-mail, you must provide a copy of the manuscript on a CD with the CD clearly labeled and containing the title of the article and the author's name. Do not submit on a floppy disc.
7. Electronic copies must be in Word for Windows
8. The sequence is as follows:

  • Title page
  • Abstract and Key Words
  • Text
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Tables
  • Figures & legends
  • Cover letter

9. Illustrations and prints (except x-rays) should be no larger than 203 x 254 mm (8 x 10 in).

10. Include permission to reproduce previously published material or to use illustrations that may identify human subjects.
11. You must include a Cover letter (see below)
12. Your paper must be based on an actual patient.

 

TITLE PAGE

13. Title of the article
14. Name of the author with your highest academic degree
15. Institutional affiliation if applicable

16. Corresponding author’s name, address, e-mail, & phone number 

ABSTRACT

17. This must be a structured abstract of 150-250 words.
18. The structured abstract must consist of the following headings: 

       -Objective 
       -Clinical Features 
       -Intervention and Outcomes 
       -Conclusions

19. Following the abstract you must provide, and identify as such 3 - 10 key words

BODY OF THE PAPER

20. Your paper must include the following headings or categories at a minimum:

     Abstract (As Above)
     Introduction
     Case Report
     Discussion
     Conclusion
     References

You may include other headings/subheadings as needed to construct and relay your case. It is strongly suggested that you provide subheadings in your case report section such as History, Examination etc.

 

21. As discussed in the presentations and text, when writing the intervention and outcome in the Case Report section you must review in DETAIL your interventions (technique related, ancillary procedures etc) and the outcome of the case. If you have any questions regarding how to report your interventions and outcomes that you do not feel were answered during the lectures make sure you ask me about it.

 

REFERENCES

22. References must be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text.
23. Your reference numbers must be superscripted
24. The titles of journals must be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus and/or The Index to Chiropractic Literature 
25. You must follow all rules of proper referencing as outlined in the Uniform Requirements

 

COVER LETTER

26. You must submit a signed cover letter with your paper that states that it is an original work and has not been published previously nor is it in consideration by a publication
__________________________________________________________________

INSTRUCTOR:   Matthew McCoy, DC, MPH  

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Contact the instructor via e-mail:

matthewmccoy@comcast.net

CREDITS: 48 credit hours


ON-LINE ACCESS: Information for this course and all of its content is available online at http://chirolearninginstitute.com