Skip to main content

The Roadmap of Research

A Guide to Understanding and Writing a Medical Study

  • 1st Edition - May 3, 2026
  • Latest edition
  • Editors: Vincenzo Giordano, Carlos Oliver Valderrama-Molina, Fernando Manuel Bidolegui, Robinson Esteves Pires
  • Language: English

The Roadmap of Research: A Guide to Understanding and Writing a Medical Study helps readers easily grasp the context, methodologies, findings, and implications of research studie… Read more

Description

The Roadmap of Research: A Guide to Understanding and Writing a Medical Study helps readers easily grasp the context, methodologies, findings, and implications of research studies, build on previous work, avoid redundancies, and identify areas where new studies can contribute significantly. The book enables researchers to innovate, propose new ideas, and design studies that contribute novel perspectives or methodologies to the field. Each step in this roadmap plays a pivotal role in the research process, from building a foundation of knowledge through reading and understanding, to generating new ideas through critical thinking, and finally, disseminating findings through clear and effective writing.

Key features

  • Presents knowledge to facilitate the formulation of research questions that address gaps in knowledge or challenge existing paradigms
  • Offers skill building to communicate research findings effectively for dissemination and peer review
  • Helps readers validate hypotheses, generate empirical evidence, and contribute directly to advancing medical knowledge and practice

Readership

Researchers, medical students, young surgeons, senior surgeons, new researchers, medical professionals

Table of contents

1 Problem definition—PICOT
Carlos Oliver Valderrama‑Molina, Robinson Esteves Pires, Vincenzo Giordano, Fernando Bidolegui

2 Literature and evidence search in scientific research
Fernando Bidolegui, German Garabano

3 Types of scientific study
Carlos Oliver Valderrama Molina, María Fernanda García Rueda

4 Evidence‑based medicine
Asdrubal Falavigna, Maria Eduarda Lima Viapiana, Vincenzo Fin Falavigna

5 How to conduct a systematic review—Basic tutorial
Alejandro Vallejo‑Díaz, Noémie Reinert, Fintan Moriarty, Iván Florez

6 How to schedule your writing time
Phillip Thomas Grisdela, Joshua Layne Gary

7 Definition of the scheme: Theme, importance, hypotheses, objectives
William Obremskey, Vincenzo Giordano, Reece Vesperman, Andres Fidel Moreno‑Diaz

8 Anatomy of an article: Introduction
Kodi Edson Kojima

9 Anatomy of an article: Methods
Matheus Azi, Alexander Joeris

10 Anatomy of an article: Results section
Ahmed Kholeif, Mahmoud Badran

11 Anatomy of an article: Discussion, conclusion, and references
Robinson Esteves Pires, Gustavo Waldolato

12 Anatomy of an article: Title, summary, and keywords
Robinson Esteves Pires, Carlos Oliver Valderrama‑Molina, Vincenzo Giordano, Fernando Bidolegui

13 Checklist before submission
Cyril Mauffrey, Cameron William Harris

14 Risk measures and interpretation of the p‑value in clinical research
José L. Osma‑Rueda, Juan C. Uribe‑Caputi

15 Power calculation and sample size
Daniel Camilo Aguirre Acevedo, Carlos Oliver Valderrama‑Molina

16 Randomization strategies
John Jairo Zuleta‑Tobón, Jorge Hernando Donado‑Gómez

17 Meta‑analysis
Vincenzo Giordano, Carlos Oliver Valderrama‑Molina, Robinson Esteves Pires, José L. Osma‑Rueda, Fernando Bidolegui

18 Understanding inclusion and exclusion criteria
Rodrigo Pesántez, Maria Fernanda Echeverry

19 Guidelines for adapting and obtaining informed consent
Jorge Enrique Velarde Bouche

20 Guidelines for ethical review of the protocol
Juan Manuel Concha, Amparo Gomez

21 What are the principles and when to apply your project to an ethics committee
William Belangero, Gustavo Waldolato

22 The importance of good medical practice as a basis of evidence in the decision‑making process
Peter Giannoudis, Paul Rodham, Charalampos Pitsilos

23 How to search for an article and how to use referral programs
An Sermon, Anne‑Catherine Vanhove

24 Bad editorial practices
Martin J. Stoddart, R. Geoff Richards

25 Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
Robinson Esteves Pires, Carlos Oliver Valderrama‑Molina, Vincenzo Giordano, German Garabano, Sebastian Pereira, Fernando Bidolegui

26 Critical reading of an article (WORKSHOP)
Vincenzo Giordano, Anderson Freitas, Adriano F. Mendes Jr., Pedro Labronici

27 The seven principles of education
Madeline C. MacKechnie, Janneke I. Loomans, Olesja Hazenbiller, Theodore Miclau III

28 Gamification
Danilo Taype Zamboni, Guido Carabelli, Jorge Barla

29 Virtual reality in medicine
Claudia Arroyo Berezowsky, Marco Antonio Altamirano‑Cruz

30 Augmented reality in medicine
André Wajnsztejn, Lys Kang

31 Artificial intelligence
Oscar Javier Morales‑Guerrero

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: May 3, 2026
  • Language: English

About the editors

VG

Vincenzo Giordano

Vincenzo Giordano is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon and consultant at the Serviço de Ortopedia e Traumatologia Prof. Nova Monteiro Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, since 1994. He has a master’s degree and PhD from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a post-doctorate from the Fluminense Federal University. He did a one-year clinical fellowship in orthopaedic trauma in 1999 at the Division of Orthopaedics of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and visiting fellows at the Klinik für Unfallchirurgie of the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover in 2002 and at the Klinik für Traumatologie of the Universitätsspital Zürich in 2005. Dr. Giordano is currently the Research Officer for the AO Trauma Latin America and an International AO Trauma Faculty. He is fellow of the Brazilian College of Surgeons and responsible for the Orthopaedic Chapter. He is fellow of the Brazilian Academy of Military Medicine and responsible for the Surgical Clinics Section. He is past chair of the AO Trauma Brazil, the Brazilian Society of Orthopaedic Trauma, and the Brazilian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (Rio de Janeiro State). Dr. Giordano has several publications and book chapters in the area of orthopaedic trauma, and recently has been researching in leadership and generational education for surgeons.
Affiliations and expertise
Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital (Rio de Janeiro, RJ – Brazil)

CV

Carlos Oliver Valderrama-Molina

Carlos Oliver Valderrama Molina is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon for the Orthopaedic Department of the Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital and a professor of the orthopaedics and traumatology program at the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia. He completed a clinical fellowship in trauma of the skeletal system in the University of Barcelona and the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain) between 2007 and 2008 and a clinical fellowship in trauma at Klinik für Unfallchirurgie of the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover in 2008. In 2013, he obtained a master’s degree in clinical sciences at the University of Antioquia (Medellin, Colombia) and was a professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the same university. He currently leads the osteoarticular infections and polytrauma team at the Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe, with several lines of research in these topics. He is a member of the Colombian Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology and is part of the scientific committee of the Colombian Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. He is also a faculty of AO Trauma, actively contributes to the Research Support Group of AO Trauma Latin America and is the research delegate of the board of AO Trauma Colombia. He published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in orthopaedic trauma.

Affiliations and expertise
Professor, University of Antioquia, Columbia

FB

Fernando Manuel Bidolegui

Fernando Bidolegui has a degree in Medicine from the Barceló Foundation University in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He completed the specialization in orthopaedics and traumatology as a Resident at the Navy Hospital and later was Chief Resident at the same hospital. He completed a fellowship in hip and knee surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA, under the supervision of Dr. Miguel Cabanela in 2002. In 2004, he did his AO Trauma fellowship in at the Universitätklinik des Saarlandes, Homburg Germany, with Prof. Tim Pohlemann. He serves as Head of the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department of the Sirio Libanés Hospital and of the Orthopaedics Department of the Otamendi Sanatorium, both in Buenos Aires. Dr. Bidolegui is also a member of AO Trauma Argentina, an AO Trauma international faculty, and actively contributes to the Research Support Group of AO Trauma Latin America. He is a recertified consulting member of the Argentine Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (AAOT), and member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) and the Association for the Study of the Hip and Knee (ACARO). Dr. Bidolegui is a former president of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association of Argentina. With a prolific academic career, Dr. Bidolegui has authored several papers published in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to several book chapters in the field of orthopaedic trauma.

Affiliations and expertise
Head of the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, Sirio Libanés Hospital and Orthopaedics Department, Otamendi Sanatorium, Buenos Aires, Argentina

RP

Robinson Esteves Pires

Robinson E. Pires is a Professor of orthopaedic surgery and traumatology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil. Dr. Pires serves as the Chief of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Felício Rocho Hospital and Orizonti Institute. With a master’s degree from the Federal University of São Paulo, Dr. Pires pursued his PhD and Post-Doctoral Research at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He completed a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at the Federal University of São Paulo and served as visiting fellow at the University of Colorado (Denver Health Medical Center), University of California San Francisco (Orthopaedic Trauma Institute), and UC Davis (Sacramento, CA, USA). Dr. Pires is also an AO Trauma Faculty and actively contributes to the Research Support Group of AO Trauma Latin America, while serving as a Board Member of AO Trauma Brazil. Previously, he held the position of President of the Brazilian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (Minas Gerais State) and has been elected as President of the Brazilian Society of Orthopaedic Trauma for the year 2025. With a prolific academic career, Dr. Pires has authored several papers published in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to a substantial number of book chapters in the field of orthopaedic trauma.

Affiliations and expertise
Professor of orthopaedic surgery and traumatology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil