Abstract

MIRANDA MOLES, Aloysio; MOREDO BARBA, Magela  and  MIRANDA MOLES, Zulma. Some elements of the methodological design in the articles published in the Cuban Journal of General Medicine. Rev Cubana Med Gen Integr [online]. 2012, vol.28, n.3, pp. 235-245. ISSN 0864-2125.

Objectives: To describe the frequency of research paradigms used in the Cuban Journal of Comprehensive General Medicine, identify whether it has changed over time, the frequency with which explanatory investigations are conducted, and determine which statistical techniques were the most widely used. Methods: We performed a descriptive bibliometric study that examined all original articles which were published in the Cuban Journal of Comprehensive General Medicine in the periods from 1995 to 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. We proceeded to classify them according to: type of study, research classification, branch of statistics used, and types of statistical techniques used. Results: The vast majority of articles published in both periods are quantitative types (198 vs. 7 qualitative types). They are classified as descriptive 118 (59 %). Comparing these two periods, as to types of studies, the difference is only 1 %. Only 37 (18.5 %) of the articles are analytical observational or experimental. Out of the latter, (5/7) 71 % articles were published between 2008 and 2010. Moreover, 117 (58.5 %) used the branch of descriptive statistics and 83 (41.5 %) the inferential branch. In both periods, descriptive statistics techniques are present in 60 (53.1 %) and 64 (58.2 %) of the articles respectively. Within inferential techniques, Chi Square statistical test was most widely used, in both periods, as 56 (25.1 %), followed by Odd Ratio calculation in 12 (5.4 %) and the Student t test in 7 (3.1 %) articles. Conclusions: Despite the quantitative paradigm is the most often used in researches published in the Cuban Journal of Comprehensive General Medicine at the last reporting period, the quality studies increased. Descriptive studies still are the most published but they may be laying the groundwork for increasing experimental investigations. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, the Odd Ratio and Student's t test are the most used in the Cuban Journal of Comprehensive General Medicine.

Keywords : statistical methods; statistical techniques; study design; types of studies.

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