Understanding Clinical Papers (eBook)

DAVID BOWERS, Medical Statistician, University of Leeds Medical School, UK. ALLAN HOUSE, Professor, Director of Leeds Institute of Health Science, University of Leeds, UK. DAVID OWENS, Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Leeds Institute of Health Science, University of Leeds, UK. BRIDGETTE BEWICK, Senior Lecturer in Health Research, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, UK.

Preface to the First Edition vii

Preface to the Second Edition ix

Preface to the Third Edition xi

Preface to the Fourth Edition xii

Part I Setting the Scene: Who Did What, and Why 1

1 Some Preliminaries 3

2 The Abstract and Introduction 8

3 The Aims and Objectives 15

Part II Design Matters: What Type of Study Is It? 21

4 Descriptive Studies: Qualitative 23

5 Descriptive Studies: Quantitative 29

6 Analytic Studies 36

7 Intervention Studies 45

8 Mixed Methods Research 57

9 Studies of Complex Interventions 60

10 Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 65

11 Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies 75

Part III The Cast: Finding Out About the Subjects of the Research 79

12 The Research Setting 81

13 Populations and Samples in Quantitative Research 85

14 Research Using Already-Collected Data 90

15 The Sample in Qualitative Research 95

16 Identifying and Defining Cases 99

17 Controls and Comparisons 102

Part IV Establishing The Facts: Starting With Basic Observations 107

18 Identifying the Characteristics of Quantitative Data 109

19 Summarizing the Characteristics of Quantitative Data 116

20 Identifying and Summarising the Characteristics of Qualitative Data 121

21 Measuring the Characteristics of Participants: Quantitative 124

22 Measuring the Characteristics of Participants: Qualitative 130

23 Diagnostic Tests: Measuring the Characteristics of Measures 133

24 Measurement Scales 138

25 Exploring and Explaining: Topic Guides 150

Part V Establishing More of the Facts: Some Common Ways of Describing Results 153

26 Fractions, Proportions, and Rates 155

27 Risks and Odds 157

28 Ratios of Risks and Odds 160

Part VI Analysing the Data: Estimation and Hypothesis Testing 167

29 Confidence Intervals for Means, Proportions, and Medians 169

30 Confidence Intervals for Ratios 176

31 Testing Hypotheses - The p-value 181

Part VII Analysing the Data: Multivariable Methods 197

32 Measuring Association 199

33 Measuring Agreement 206

34 Linear Regression 211

35 Logistic Regression 222

36 Poisson Regression 228

37 Measuring Survival 237

38 Analysing Qualitative Data 244

Part VIII Reading Between the Lines: How Authors Use Text, Tables, and Pictures to Tell You the Story 249

39 Results in Text and Tables 251

40 Results in Pictures 260

41 The Discussion and Conclusions 270

References 274

Index 282