Download or read book Critical Appraisal of Epidemiological Studies and Clinical Trials written by Mark Elwood and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2007-02-22 with total page 615 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a logical system of critical appraisal, to allow readers to evaluate studies and to carry out their own studies more effectively. This system emphasizes the central importance of cause and effect relationships. Its great strength is that it is applicable to a wide range of issues, and both to intervention trials and observational studies. This system unifies the often different approaches used in epidemiology, health services research, clinical trials, and evidence-based medicine, starting from a logical consideration of cause and effect. The author's approach to the issues of study design, selection of subjects, bias, confounding, and the place of statistical methods has been praised for its clarity and interest. Systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and the applications of this logic to evidence-based medicine, knowledge-based health care, and health practice and policy are discussed. Current and often controversial examples are used, including screening for prostate cancer, publication bias in psychiatry, public health issues in developing countries, and conflicts between observational studies and randomized trials. Statistical issues are explained clearly without complex mathematics, and the most useful methods are summarized in the appendix. The final chapters give six applications of the critical appraisal of major studies: randomized trials of medical treatment and prevention, a prospective and a retrospective cohort study, a small matched case-control study, and a large case-control study. In these chapters, sections of the original papers are reproduced and the original studies placed in context by a summary of current developments.

Download or read book Meta Ethnography written by George W. Noblit and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1988-02 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can ethnographic studies be generalized, in contrast to concentrating on the individual case? Noblit and Hare propose a new method for synthesizing from qualitative studies: meta-ethnography. After citing the criteria to be used in comparing qualitative research projects, the authors define the ways these can then be aggregated to create more cogent syntheses of research. Using examples from numerous studies ranging from ethnographic work in educational settings to the Mead-Freeman controversy over Samoan youth, Meta-Ethnography offers useful procedural advice from both comparative and cumulative analyses of qualitative data. This provocative volume will be read with interest by researchers and students in qualitative research methods, ethnography, education, sociology, and anthropology. "After defining metaphor and synthesis, these authors provide a step-by-step program that will allow the researcher to show similarity (reciprocal translation), difference (refutation), or similarity at a higher level (lines or argument synthesis) among sample studies....Contain(s) valuable strategies at a seldom-used level of analysis." --Contemporary Sociology "The authors made an important contribution by reframing how we think of ethnography comparison in a way that is compatible with the new developments in interpretive ethnography. Meta-Ethnography is well worth consulting for the problem definition it offers." --The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease "This book had to be written and I am pleased it was. Someone needed to break the ice and offer a strategy for summarizing multiple ethnographic studies. Noblit and Hare have done a commendable job of giving the research community one approach for doing so. Further, no one else can now venture into this area of synthesizing qualitative studies without making references to and positioning themselves vis-a-vis this volume." -Educational Studies

Download or read book How to Read a Paper written by Trisha Greenhalgh and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-02-26 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best-selling introduction to evidence-based medicine In a clear and engaging style, How to Read a Paper demystifies evidence-based medicine and explains how to critically appraise published research and also put the findings into practice. An ideal introduction to evidence-based medicine, How to Read a Paper explains what to look for in different types of papers and how best to evaluate the literature and then implement the findings in an evidence-based, patient-centred way. Helpful checklist summaries of the key points in each chapter provide a useful framework for applying the principles of evidence-based medicine in everyday practice. This fifth edition has been fully updated with new examples and references to reflect recent developments and current practice. It also includes two new chapters on applying evidence-based medicine with patients and on the common criticisms of evidence-based medicine and responses. How to Read a Paper is a standard text for medical and nursing schools as well as a friendly guide for everyone wanting to teach or learn the basics of evidence-based medicine.

Download or read book Systematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research written by Michael Saini and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Qualitative synthesis within the family of systematic reviews meets an urgent need to use knowledge derived from qualitative studies to inform practice, research, and policy. Despite the contingent nature of evidence gleaned from synthesis of qualitative studies, systematic synthesis is an important technique and, used judiciously, can deepen understanding of the contextual dimensions that emerge from qualitative research. This pocket guide presents an overview for planning, developing, and implementing qualitative synthesis within existing protocols and guidelines for conducting systematic reviews. The authors also explore methodological challenges, including: the philosophical tensions of integrating qualitative synthesis within the family of systematic reviews; the balance of comprehensive and iterative information retrieval strategies to locate and screen qualitative research; the use of appraisal tools to assess quality of qualitative studies; the various approaches to synthesize qualitative studies, including interpretive, integrated, and aggregative; and the tensions between the generalizability and transferability of findings that emerge from qualitative synthesis. Social work researchers, educators, and doctoral students who are interested in systematic reviews will find the step-by-step format of this book invaluable for conducting their reviews, both in the form of rapid evidence assessments and in high-quality critical reviews.

Download or read book Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students written by Charlotte J. Whiffin and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2024-03-06 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students Are you struggling to make sense of complex research papers and craft insightful critiques for your academic assignments? Then look no further! Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students is your indispensable guide to understanding research papers, mastering critical appraisal, and most importantly, succeeding in your summative assignments. While this text is written with Level 5 students in mind, you will find it is a useful text at any academic level when required to engage in evidence-based practice. In today’s ever-evolving healthcare system, the ability to critically appraise research evidence is crucial. In pre-registration programmes, this core skill is often assessed through written assignments. However, students can struggle not only to interpret research papers and evaluate their quality, but also to write about this appraisal in an academic way. This comprehensive textbook equips healthcare students with the evidence skills they need, while also enhancing their ability to produce high-quality assignments. Authored by experienced academics with over two decades of teaching research and evidence-based practice, this text covers core topics such as: The significance of evidence in practice, locating and selecting appropriate literature, and navigating assignments based on the appraisal of research Strategies for reading research papers and understanding them before appraisal The fundamentals of critiquing research, with Key Fact sheets summarising the design issues of specific types of research How to move beyond EBP for academic assessment, towards using evidence in everyday professional practice Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students is an excellent core text to master the art of critical appraisal and enhance academic performance.

Download or read book Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions written by Julian P. T. Higgins and published by Wiley. This book was released on 2008-11-24 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Healthcare providers, consumers, researchers and policy makers are inundated with unmanageable amounts of information, including evidence from healthcare research. It has become impossible for all to have the time and resources to find, appraise and interpret this evidence and incorporate it into healthcare decisions. Cochrane Reviews respond to this challenge by identifying, appraising and synthesizing research-based evidence and presenting it in a standardized format, published in The Cochrane Library (www.thecochranelibrary.com). The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions contains methodological guidance for the preparation and maintenance of Cochrane intervention reviews. Written in a clear and accessible format, it is the essential manual for all those preparing, maintaining and reading Cochrane reviews. Many of the principles and methods described here are appropriate for systematic reviews applied to other types of research and to systematic reviews of interventions undertaken by others. It is hoped therefore that this book will be invaluable to all those who want to understand the role of systematic reviews, critically appraise published reviews or perform reviews themselves.

Download or read book Evidence Based Nursing written by Alba DiCenso and published by Elsevier Health Sciences. This book was released on 2005-01-10 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evidence Based Nursing is written in response to numerous requests by nurse practitioners and other graduate faculty for a nursing literature resource. This reader-friendly, accessible guide features plentiful examples from the nursing literature and the addition of specific nursing issues such as qualitative research, with direct application for clinical practice. The guide enables nurses to: frame their clinical questions in a way that will help them find the evidence to support their opinions; distinguish between strong and weak evidence; clearly understand study results; weigh the risks and benefits of management options; and apply the evidence to their individual patients to improve outcomes. Part One provides a basic approach to the problems faced by nurses when determining optimal care, predicting patient progress, and protecting patients from potentially harmful side effects, in addition to including a literature assessment summary and management recommendations. Part Two expands on Part One, providing concrete examples through case studies. This is the only book of its kind that helps nurses use the nursing literature effectively to solve patient problems. Three-step approach to dissecting a problem - to help find the best evidence and improve patient care, most questions can be divided into three parts: (1) Are the results valid? (2) What are the results? and (3) How can I apply the results to patient care? Part One - The Basics: Using the Nursing Literature provides a basic approach to the problems faced by nurses when determining optimal care, predicting patient progress, and protecting patients from potentially harmful side effects and includes a literature assessment summary and management recommendations. Part Two - Beyond the Basics: Using and Teaching the Principles of Evidence-Based Nursing expands on Part One, providing concrete examples through the presentation of cases. Two-part organization helps both beginners and those more accomplished at using the nursing literature. Clinical Scenario provides a brief but detailed description of a clinical situation that requires the application of research through a critical thinking process. Using the Guide examines a clinical scenario, and then evaluates the way in which research findings are collected, analyzed, and applied to the resolution of the problem presented in the scenario. Free CD-ROM contains everything found in the book, allowing for electronic outlining, content filtering, full-text searching, and alternative content organizations.

Download or read book Sod Seventy written by Muir Gray and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-15 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sod 70! Keep fit, keep the brain going, and with a spot of good fortune you can be living a fulfilling, active life into your nineties and beyond. This book – part exercise book, part manifesto for a happier, healthier life – tells you how. Many of us approach our seventies with an unhelpful stereotype lodged in our brains. The stooped figures on the road sign imply that ageing inevitably causes problems but many of these can be postponed or prevented because they are caused not by ageing, but by loss of fitness, preventable disease and the wrong attitude. Shake off the stereotypes and empower yourself. Embrace seventy, and make the most of it by following the simple resolutions created for you in this book, packed with ideas to help you get fit and healthy, in body and mind. This book tells you how to Sod Seventy! – and live life to the full! Keep fit, keep your brain active, and with a spot of good fortune you can be living a rewarding, active life into your eighties, nineties and beyond. Part exercise book, part manifesto for a happier, healthier life – this book will show you how. From the art of body maintenance to the importance of choosing healthcare wisely, Sod Seventy! is the practical and uplifting approach to living longer and better. The perfect gift for friends or relatives nearing seventy, or a present to yourself!

Download or read book Making Sense of Critical Appraisal written by Olajide Ajetunmobi and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-02-10 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handy pocket companion provides all the necessary guidance on how to understand medical research publications, read them critically and decide whether the content of those papers is clinically useful in the care of patients. Illustrated throughout with medically relevant examples, the accessible text encompasses all relevant aspects of study design and clinical audit to give a clear framework to support critical reading for the novice and more experienced reader.

Download or read book Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences written by Pranee Liamputtong and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 2300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Updated content will continue to be published as 'Living Reference Works'"--Publisher.

Download or read book Covid By Numbers written by David Spiegelhalter and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2021-10-07 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'I couldn't imagine a better guidebook for making sense of a tragic and momentous time in our lives. Covid by Numbers is comprehensive yet concise, impeccably clear and always humane' Tim Harford How many people have died because of COVID-19? Which countries have been hit hardest by the virus? What are the benefits and harms of different vaccines? How does COVID-19 compare to the Spanish flu? How have the lockdown measures affected the economy, mental health and crime? This year we have been bombarded by statistics - seven day rolling averages, rates of infection, excess deaths. Never have numbers been more central to our national conversation, and never has it been more important that we think about them clearly. In the media and in their Observer column, Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter and RSS Statistical Ambassador Anthony Masters have interpreted these statistics, offering a vital public service by giving us the tools we need to make sense of the virus for ourselves and holding the government to account. In Covid by Numbers, they crunch the data on a year like no other, exposing the leading misconceptions about the virus and the vaccine, and answering our essential questions. This timely, concise and approachable book offers a rare depth of insight into one of the greatest upheavals in history, and a trustworthy guide to these most uncertain of times.

Download or read book Finding What Works in Health Care written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-07-20 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Healthcare decision makers in search of reliable information that compares health interventions increasingly turn to systematic reviews for the best summary of the evidence. Systematic reviews identify, select, assess, and synthesize the findings of similar but separate studies, and can help clarify what is known and not known about the potential benefits and harms of drugs, devices, and other healthcare services. Systematic reviews can be helpful for clinicians who want to integrate research findings into their daily practices, for patients to make well-informed choices about their own care, for professional medical societies and other organizations that develop clinical practice guidelines. Too often systematic reviews are of uncertain or poor quality. There are no universally accepted standards for developing systematic reviews leading to variability in how conflicts of interest and biases are handled, how evidence is appraised, and the overall scientific rigor of the process. In Finding What Works in Health Care the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 21 standards for developing high-quality systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research. The standards address the entire systematic review process from the initial steps of formulating the topic and building the review team to producing a detailed final report that synthesizes what the evidence shows and where knowledge gaps remain. Finding What Works in Health Care also proposes a framework for improving the quality of the science underpinning systematic reviews. This book will serve as a vital resource for both sponsors and producers of systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research.

Download or read book Evidence Based Practice Across the Health Professions written by Tammy Hoffmann and published by Elsevier Australia. This book was released on 2009 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a foundation in the knowledge and skills necessary to perform and understand the implications of evidence-based practice within a healthcare environment. Hoffmann and Bennett, University of Queensland; Del Mar, Bond University, Australia.

Download or read book Testing Treatments written by Imogen Evans and published by Pinter & Martin Publishers. This book was released on 2011 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work provides a thought-provoking account of how medical treatments can be tested with unbiased or 'fair' trials and explains how patients can work with doctors to achieve this vital goal. It spans the gamut of therapy from mastectomy to thalidomide and explores a vast range of case studies.

Download or read book A Beginner s Guide to Evidence Based Practice in Health and Social Care written by Helen Aveyard and published by Open University Press. This book was released on 2009-08 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A Beginner's Guide to Evidence Based Practice in Health and Social Care is for anyone who has ever wondered what evidence based practice is or how to relate it to practice. It presents the topic in a simple, easy to understand way, enabling those unfamiliar with evidence based practice to apply the concept to their practice and learning. Using everyday language, this book provides a step by step guide to what we mean by evidence based practice and how to apply it. It also provides an easy to follow guide to searching for evidence, explains how to work out if the evidence is relevant or not, explores how evidence can be applied in the practice setting, and outlines how evidence can be incorporated into your academic writing."--Publisher's description.

Download or read book Synthesizing Qualitative Research written by Karin Hannes and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-10-13 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A considerable number of journal publications using a range of qualitative synthesis approaches has been published. Mary Dixon-Woods and colleagues (Mary Dixon-Woods, Booth, & Sutton, 2007) identified 42 qualitative evidence synthesis papers published in health care literature between 1990 and 2004. An ongoing update by Hannes and Macaitis (2010)identified around 100 additional qualitative or mixed methods syntheses. Yet these generally lack a clear, detailed description of what was done and why (Greenhalgh et al, 2007; McInnes & Wimpenny, 2008). Choices are most commonly influenced by what others have successfully used in the past or by a particular school of thought (Atkins et al, 2008; Britten et al, 2002). This is a substantive limitation. This book brings balance to the options available to researchers, including approaches that have not had a substantial uptake among researchers. It provides arguments for when and why researchers or other parties of interest should opt for a certain approach to synthesis, which challenges they might face in adopting it and what the potential strengths and weaknesses are compared with other approaches. This book acts as a resource for readers who would otherwise have to piece together the methodology from a range of journal articles. In addition, it should stimulate further development and documentation of synthesis methodology in a field that is characterized by diversity.

Download or read book Evidence Based Ophthalmology written by Richard Wormald and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-30 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evidence-Based Ophthalmology offers a unique approach to managing eye disease. From systematic reviewing of evidence, this book provides an overview of techniques for optimum management in key areas, including glaucoma, cataract and retinal disease – an invaluable reference source for practitioners worldwide representing an important contribution to the literature. Key Features International authorship by leading Cochrane participants An unbiased method for summarising and disseminating the evidence Identifies gaps in evidence, and therefore research opportunities Free-access update website giving the latest trial data and recommendations for implementation in practice Includes a free fully searchable CD-ROM