[...]... of zinc in preventing prostate cancer or the causes of metal allergy in patients with metallic dental restorations In other words, any intellectual undertaking that involves asking, and answering, questions that require the questioner to acquire new knowledge or organizing existing knowledge to answer questions is, by definition, research FINDING A RESEARCH PROJECT Research in the academic setting is... knowledge but in order to assure success in a research project, there has to be an underlying interest in the subject on the part of the researcher The researcher must find a field or area of interest and then decide upon a specific question or problem that has to be answered or explained Even if one’s research activity involves simply helping a senior researcher in his or her work or doing rote experiments... (from Dentburs Inc.) appears to show a progressive decrease in cutting performance with increased cutting time In contrast, Bur B (from United Burs Inc.) initially showed good performance, identical to that of Bur A, for up to 4 minutes but then there was a dramatic drop in performance from 4 to 5 minutes Thereafter, the cutting rate continued to drop to an unacceptable level at 8 minutes INITIAL ANALYSIS... after a few minutes, the dentist will find it more economical to switch to a new bur than to continue working with a poorly performing bur Therefore, extended duration cutting studies might be unrealistic for certain types of cutting instrument c In a study like the present case, cutting could be evaluated in 30second increments with each evaluation being performed until a predetermined end point is reached,... completed, the researcher can then undertake research aimed at explaining the behavior or properties of the material in question, that is, to formulate a working hypothesis Similar considerations apply in a wide variety of projects; that is, the researcher performs a few initial or exploratory 9 10 Organizing, Writing, and Performing Dental Research Field of interest Specific topic Review the literature... predoctoral students who are attempting to gain admittance into graduate programs Without some form of research credentialing, graduate program directors may pass over viable candidates in favor of a person who has gone that extra yard during predoctoral training In other words, it is very beneficial to one’s career prospects to be able to demonstrate intellectual curiosity through some sort of research. .. demonstrations of time well spent in acquiring new knowledge and that really is what research is all about The approach adopted in the following chapters has been to identify an issue that needs to be resolved and show how this can lead to a series of 3 4 Organizing, Writing, and Performing Dental Research research projects Then, the suggested research projects will be outlined to indicate how the projects... for reading and commenting upon various chapters Their advice, comments, and suggestions have been invaluable On a personal note, I like to express my appreciation to my wife Susan for her patience, support, and generous TLC during the writing of this book J Anthony von Fraunhofer ix Part I Organizing, Writing, and Performing Dental Research 1 Introduction Academics commonly are required to do research. .. which has little likelihood of generating new knowledge, then the research project might be ill-advised PLANNING THE RESEARCH PROJECT There is no set approach to any problem Individuals will tackle tasks in completely different ways, and this includes such common activities as driving or painting a house as well as more complex undertakings such as research planning and experimentation Consequently,... demonstrated If the intention is to obtain a higher degree, writing the thesis can then become simply collating the research reports and papers into a unified appraisal of the overall study RESEARCH EQUIPMENT The materials and methods involved in the research project must be standardized as far as possible Measuring gauges, balances, and analytical techniques should be regularly checked against standards . ORGANIZING, WRITING, AND PERFORMING DENTAL RESEARCH 1 Introduction 3 2 What Is Research? 5 3 Research Planning 9 4 Performing Research 13 5 How to Design a Research. Count= 4 Organizing, Writing, and Performing Dental Research research projects. Then, the suggested research projects will be outlined to indicate how the