Analysing and Interpreting Research

CONSORT Statement

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Why are the criteria in the CONSORT Statement useful for assessing RCT quality?

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PICO

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CASP Checklist

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Why is the CASP Checklist valuable?

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What affects the validity of a study?

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Weak vs strong inclusion and exclusion criteria

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What increases the generalisability of a study?

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Interpreting ratios

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Interpreting confidence intervals

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What are the reasons for a confidence interval including 1?

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Intention to treat analysis

Pre-analytical factors affecting lab test results

Post-analytical factors affecting lab test results

Within-subject variation

Between-subject variation

How does a laboratory monitor the analytical performance of results produced?

What are reference intervals and how can they be determined?

Sensitivity

Specificity

Positive Predictive Value (PPV)

Negative Predictive Value (NPV)

Sampling errors

How can bias be reduced in community surveys?

Strategies to reduce sampling bias

What randomisation errors can occur?

What are the risks of a non-blinded trial?

Placebo effect

Blinding and double-blinding definitions

For which trial methods is blinding not possible?

How can the effects of a study that cannot blind the participants be mitigated?

RCT

Observational Study

Observational Study vs RCT

What special considerations might be relevant when planning, executing and following-up a research programme involving recruitment of subjects within a country where governance arrangements and social structures differ substantially from those within the UK. An example might be the conduct of HIV drug trials in a low-income country – how might the perspectives of their authorities, citizens and carers differ from the perspectives in the UK?