Displaying Data in Research

Chemali, Z., Ezzeddine, F. L., Gelaye, B., Dossett, M. L., Salameh, J., …, Frichhione, G. (2019).  Burnout among healthcare providers in the complex environment of the Middle East: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 19(1337), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7713-1

The authors focus on understanding the impact of burnout on medical practitioners. To achieve this objective, they perform a systematic literature review on journals retrieved from different reputable databases, including PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science. From their search, they narrow down to 138 articles that meet their criteria, which reveal that burnout is prevalent among healthcare providers in the Middle East. It has detrimental effects, including poor job performance, decreased job satisfaction, poor interpersonal relationship, and higher risk to contracting illnesses from patients. The researchers use flow charts, tables, and text as their data display techniques, which are the core focus of the paper.

Data display is an integral part of any scholarly research since it helps to convey study findings selectively and effectively. An article from the University of Leicester, titled Presenting Numerical Data, reveals that tables and figures are effective approaches for presenting large amounts of data. Verdinelli and Scagnoli (2013) enlighten that a judicious integration of visual displays should eliminate barriers to information accessibility and clarity, and simultaneously engage and appeal to the reader. Using a flow chart helps explain the whole research process, ranging from the literature search to the articles included. Similarly, the authors use detailed tables to present the common characteristics among studies evaluating burnout among physicians and nurses. As Verdinelli and Scagnoli (2013) recommend, the researchers tailor the tables to meet the research needs, ensuring the tables present appropriate information, reduce visual noise, and an oversimplification of the intended message does not occur. In addition to the flow chart and the tables, the researchers use accompanying text, which is crucial for clarifying the data provided in the tables. The article remains relevant to my research on burnout among healthcare providers, since it integrates many appropriate studies, giving a clearer picture of the concept.

References

Presenting numerical data (n.d.). University of Leicester. Retrieved from https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/all-resources/numerical-data/numerical-data

Verdinelli, S. & Scagnoli, N. I. (2013). Data Display in qualitative research. The International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 12, 359-381. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691301200117