Reading Research

In this comprehensive online course, you’ll gain a deep understanding of the critical appraisal process and why it’s essential in evaluating scientific publications. Our expert instructors will guide you through the key steps involved in critically appraising research articles, helping you develop the skills to conduct independent evaluations.

Click on ‘Learn more’, then on the RET Program website, click on ‘log in’, sign up as a new member with your details. When you come to ‘Institution’ in the drop-down box, click on ‘@research’, you will then be asked to click on your health service in the drop-down box. In the next box where it asks for the @Research Access Code, enter ‘atResearch’. Registering this way will provide free access to the RET Program courses, courtesy of @research.

Given the sheer volume and variable quality of published papers even in high impact journals, it is essential to have skills to target and rapidly appraise relevant literature to answer current clinical questions. This seminar provides simple strategies to help focus your reading, examine validity of results, and decide whether to accept and apply them in your setting.

Understanding Health Research is a tool designed to help people understand and review published health research to decide how dependable and relevant a piece of research is. The tool was developed by researchers at MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, in collaboration with two other MRC Units and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Links to articles in the BMJ that explain how to read and interpret different kinds of research papers, including quantitative research, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, economic analyses, statistical analyses, assessing methodology quality, and the Medline database.

Explores what a systematic review is, its aims and objectives, and how to read and interpret its results for maximum benefit.

Links to risk of bias assessment tools for randomised trials; non randomised studies of interventions; prognostic studies; diagnositic studies; prevalence studies; mixed methods studies; measurement studies; qualitative studies; systematic reviews.

Checklists to assist critical appraisal for a range of research approaches, assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers, includes: Analytical Cross Sectional Studies, Case Control Studies, Case Reports, Case Series, Cohort Studies, Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies, Economic Evaluations, Prevalence Studies, Qualitative Research, Quasi-Experimental Studies, Randomised Controlled Trials, Systematic Reviews, Text and Opinion.

Online workshops and virtual learning available at cost, however checklists free for Randomised Controlled Trials; Systematic review; qualitative research; cohort study; diagnositic study; case control study; economic evaluation; clinical prediction rule.