Defining research and research-associated activities

The importance of research in pharmacy is at the heart of the RPS Science & Research Team’s work; however, we know that there are significant barriers to pursuing research while working in clinical practice. Research-related activities, such as audits or Quality Improvement (QI) studies, were highlighted at the beginning of the workshop as a fantastic opportunity to develop research skills and translate clinical problems into projects.

The findings from these projects can also be published and shared to support profession-wide learning and allow you to network and identify others in the profession who are conducting research in similar fields.

Image taken from NHS Lothian webpage - "What is Quality Improvement"

Why is knowledge mobilisation important?

Professor Ashiru-Oredope explored the importance of knowledge mobilisation in supporting the expansion of profession-wide understanding on a topic. It can…

• Optimise the use of knowledge from research
• Connect academic research with non-academic decision makers
• Generate impact through research-informed decision-making
• Focus actions to ensure they benefit individuals and the broader population
• Bring different communities together to share knowledge to catalyse change​

Research findings can have a substantial impact, regardless of how large or small the research project is. Findings can be published in academic journals to increase the profession’s evidence base, or published as a report to influence public understanding, policymakers, or clinical decision-makers

What are the different types of knowledge mobilisation activities?

Research & Writing Key Tips

Professor Ashiru-Oredope shared some key tips for writing research manuscripts and reports:

• You are building on the foundation of others, so learn from them – existing evidence, style, and format of writing
• Always start with a review, even if basic
• Read what is published in one or two target journals
• Use referencing tools to cite work appropriately  – ensure you don’t plagiarise
• Writing is a complicated process - brainstorming, organising, reading, challenges, and frustration are all part of this process
• Have writing teams you can divide actions between. Make sure you hold each other accountable
• Data visualisations and figures are powerful (and reduce word count)

When it comes to journal publications, Professor Ashiru-Oredope encouraged attendees not to be afraid of rejection, to aim high, and to make sure the motivation behind submission is to share findings for the benefit of the profession.

Professor Ashiru-Oredope also encouraged the audience to have an awareness of ICMJE authorship criteria, and to ensure they are reviewing manuscript drafts and listed as authors on research publications they’ve worked on. She noted that in the past, pharmacists had not been included as authors, despite their significant efforts on the project. Recognition and representation are important, and pharmacy researchers deserve to be acknowledged for their expertise.

Conference Abstracts

Professor Ashiru-Oredope provided a brief overview of the common structure of conference abstracts, as shown below.

While this is the most common structure, the word count and formatting guidance for abstracts can vary, so it’s important to check each conference’s specific guidance.

Professor Ashiru-Oredope also shared that tools and structures, such as the “Nature summary paragraph”, can also be useful when approaching writing a conference abstract.

Conference Posters

A conference poster is a great way to share your research. Not everyone will conduct pioneering studies which will be published in a high-impact journal. Still, the dissemination and communication of smaller studies, incremental improvements in care, or early data, is just as valuable.

Ms Ross shared the benefits and importance of disseminating research using poster abstracts, sharing that presenting poster abstracts can be a great opportunity as:

• It is a less intimidating way for early-career researchers to share new findings and ongoing research projects
• It provides an ideal opportunity for professionals to network
• Feedback and experience gained can help you progress

Ms Ross expanded on the importance of ensuring your poster has visual impact. The layout should be designed so that the audience can easily understand the sequence of information presented.

Posters that received awards after judging at the 2024 RPS Annual Conference

Ms Ross went on to share the #BetterPoster design, which is another possible way to design conference posters. Developed by Mike Morrison, a psychology PhD student, in 2019, the #BetterPoster style was created to make poster sessions more efficient.

• Posters should maximise the amount of insight for people attending a poster session
• Detailed information should still be present, but not the core of the poster.
• These design goals should be easy to achieve and accessible to new and old scientists

Although a great opportunity to share their research, many early-career pharmacists struggle to develop conference abstracts and posters. Ms Ross ran through some common pitfalls which are commonly seen in RPS Conference submissions, to help attendees understand what to look out for when submitting their abstracts and developing their posters:

1. Not following the conference-specific guidance
2. Illegible figures and text
3. Complex structure and/or jargon that makes your poster difficult to follow
4. Not enough methodological detail, meaning readers can’t assess study validity
5. Formatting inconsistencies
6. Referencing errors

Oral abstracts

Some conferences also allow abstract presenters the opportunity to present an oral abstract. Ms Ross explained that oral abstracts are short, formal presentations based on the submitted abstract delivered to conference delegates, typically during a plenary session.

Although both are fantastic research dissemination opportunities, presentations differ from posters (and papers) in a number of ways:

1. They have a more clearly defined audience and a specific objective
2. They normally include interaction in the form of questions and answers
3. More information can be presented than on a poster; however, you are restricted by time

Ms Ross explained the typical structure of oral abstracts, stressing that listeners only retain a very small percentage of what they hear.  As such, it is important to make sure you keep your presentation concise and your slides easy to follow by only including key messages.

Ms Ross shared some top tips for presenting oral abstracts at conferences, based on learnings from the 2024 RSP Annual Conference:

1. Research your audience so you know you are pitching to the right level
2. Practice your presentation as much as you can to get comfortable with the content
3. Make sure you can cover all your content within the allotted time – being cut off is a possibility
4. Use large fonts and visuals (e.g., images and graphics) to keep your audience engaged
5. Be ready to answer questions on your research, but also know it’s okay to not have all the answers
6. Include your contact information so those who are interested can follow-up with you
7. Make sure you submit a final copy of your presentation in the requested format

Ms Ross concluded her presentation by encouraging attendees to look into conferences that align with their research interests and to build networks to support their development.

RPS Journals 

Dr Zachariah, the Managing Editor of the RPS journals (published by Oxford University Press) shared information on the scopes of the four RPS journals and what peer reviewers look for when assessing a publication.

You can find out more about the RPS journals here.

Dr Zachariah ran through the lifecycle of a manuscript, from submission to publication and discussed the need to prepare a research publication, keeping in mind the roles of key players in the manuscript assessment process:

Dr Zachariah concluded her presentation by providing encouraging tips to help authors maximise the impact of their manuscripts and understand how to create an impactful title. She encouraged the use of keywords and language which emphasise the importance of the research. She ended by encouraging those in the audience to submit their work to journals and share their findings so the profession can learn and grow.

Learn more and access research guidance at the below resources: