Research methods and critical appraisal course
Friday 18 June 2010
Venue: Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE, England
By the end of the course delegates will:
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the different study designs in observational research and know the circumstances in which it is appropriate to use them
Understand the principles that underlie randomised controlled trials and realise how easily they can be undermined or subverted by poor design or execution
Have developed a reliable approach to the evaluation and appraisal of published clinical research papers
Be able to impress your senior colleagues at journal club meetings and interviews with your critical appraisal skills
Have no fears about the critical appraisal sections of examinations
Be in a position to contribute to the design and development of research projects.
Registration Details:
RSM Associate: £130
RSM Fellow: £200
Consultant/GP: £260
RSM Student: £90
Student: £120
Trainee: £160
RSM Trainee: £130
CPD: 5 credits
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10.00 am |
Registration, followed by tea and coffee |
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Chair: The tutors for this course are: Dr Kamran Abbasi, Editor, JRSM Mr Giulio Bognolo and Dr Christopher Martyn |
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10.30 am |
Introduction |
| What today is about. Who the speakers are. What do participants hope to achieve. | |
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10.45 am |
A strategy for appraising published papers |
| Are the findings true? And can they be generalised? How to go about detecting common errors in design and interpretation. The triple whammy of bias, confounding and chance. Don't be fooled by rhetoric. | |
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11.00 am |
How do journals select the papers they publish |
| How editorial decisions are made. How these decisions are informed by peer review. Does the editorial selection process of high impact factor journals mean that the findings of the papers they publish are trustworthy? Conflicts of interest and sponsorship of studies by the pharmaceutical industry. | |
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12.00 pm |
Research methods 1 |
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Observational studies: case series; case control studies; cohort studies. Principles of choosing appropriate control groups. |
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1.15 pm |
Lunch break |
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1.45 pm |
Statistics |
| Type 1 and 2 errors. Statistical power and the interpretation of negative results. Analysis by sub-groups. The need for hypotheses to be specified in advance of analysis. Presentation of results. | |
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3.00 pm |
Tea and coffee break |
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3.15 pm |
Research methods 2 |
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Randomised controlled trials: good and bad trial design. Evaluating systematic reviews and meta- analyses. |
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4.15 pm |
Completion of evaluation forms |
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4.20 pm |
Review of the day |
| Conclusion. Round up of the day. | |
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4.30 pm |
Close of meeting |
