The Doctors Guide to Critical Appraisal, 3rd Edition

Authors:

Narinder Kaur Gosall

Gurpal Singh Gosall

Description:

The Doctor's Guide to Critical Appraisal is a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the knowledge and skills clinicians need to appraise clinical research papers. The book teaches the reader how to identify the strengths and weaknesses of study methods, how to interpret results with confidence and how to identify which results can make a real difference to patients. The book takes a back-to-basics approach and has a uniquely logical format. Rather than simply guiding the reader through commonly used checklists, the book aims to educate the reader on understanding the essential components of a good research paper and why certain techniques are important. Every chapter focuses on a single topic, assuming no prior knowledge. Clinical scenarios, figures and exercises emphasise important principles. This book is aimed primarily at medical students and doctors in all medical specialties and of all grades. The book content covers the areas examined in postgraduate exams, including MRCGP, MRCPsych, MRCOG, FCEM, ISFE, MFPH, FPM and RANZCP. The first two editions have been used by a wide range of other healthcare professionals, including dentists, psychologists, pharmacists, nurses and researchers. The book is of value to anyone evaluating the quality of research papers, anyone starting out in research and wanting to understand the strengths and weaknesses of research papers, and anyone involved in supervising or taking part in academic journal clubs. The content list includes: Formulating a research question; search strategies; journals and articles; study designs; the research pathway; populations and samples; bias; confounding factors; inclusion and exclusion criteria; matching; randomisation; concealed allocation; the placebo effect; blinding; endpoints; validity; reliability; basic statistical terms; epidemiology; intention-to-treat analysis; risks and odds; types of data; measuring data; data distributions; categorical data; normal and non-normal data; inferring population results from samples; null hypothesis; statistical tests; non-inferiority and equivalence studies; correlation and regression; systematic reviews and meta-analyses; publication bias; interim analysis; aetiological studies; diagnostic studies; treatment studies; prognostic studies; economic studies; qualitative research; guidelines; critical thinking; presenting at a journal club; taking part in an audit meeting; working with pharmaceutical representatives. Winner of the 'Basis of Medicine' category at the BMA Book Awards 2012!

ISBN: 978 1 905635 818
e-Book ISBN: 978 1 908185 846

Published Date: 2012

Page Count: 237  , File Size: 5 Mb