Overview
Now in its Second Edition, this book helps to unravel the process of evidence-based practice, which requires clinicians to evaluate and collate information from the journals they read. Understanding Clinical Papers, Second Edition uses actual papers to illustrate how to understand and evaluate published research, but goes beyond this to provide an explanation of a range of important research-related topics.
Understanding Clinical Papers, Second Edition:
- Covers everything necessary to understand a clinical research paper
- Examples are illustrated and based uniquely on tables, abstracts and exerts from published clinical research papers
- Amazingly clear, lively, accessible style
- The new edition has been markedly improved and extended, containing, for example, new material on measurement scales, systematic reviews, writing a paper, statistics software and critical appraisal
“What strikes the reader... straight away is clarity… promises to become a recommended text for undergraduate and postgraduate courses." JOURNAL OF TROPICAL PEDIATRICS
“The writing style is amazingly clear and does not require formal course work in biostatistics or epidemiology…We strongly recommend it for beginners and for easy entry into a complex domain and to experts who we think will enjoy it and who will find it useful as they teach, advise and help others.” QUALITY IN HEALTH CARE
“What makes this book unique is that each point presented is illustrated with excerpts from actual papers, often three or four per chapter... this is a very effective teaching device." JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
“This book should be an essential addition to the personal libraries of all health care workers who need to use articles in journals. In these days of evidence-based medicine, this should apply to all physicians, nurses and other health professionals.” ONCOLOGY
Understanding Clinical Papers, Second Edition is an invaluable resource for everyone involved directly or indirectly in health care – an ultimate guide for those who read clinical literature.
Synopsis
Now in its second edition this book helps to unravel the process of evidence-based practice which requires clinicians to evaluate and collate information from the journals they read. The book uses actual papers to illustrate how to understand and evaluate published research, but goes beyond this to provide an explanation of a range of important research-related topics.
This second edition has been markedly improved and extended, not only with the inclusion of a considerable amount of completely new material (including a chapter on measurement scales), but with a major sharpening of the existing text to improve clarity and flow. In addition, many of the examples taken from the literature have been updated to maintain the book's contemporary focus.
"The great strength of this book lies in the lively and accessible way in which it is written, making it particularly appealing to its target audience of practitioners and clinicians. Dealing with an already well-covered topic which can be dry and unpalatable, the authors manage to present their material in a colourful and interesting way. The language is clear and readable. It is well-structured, logically mirroring the sequence of good quality papers. The examples from studies are well chosen, interesting and at times entertaining in themselves. References are informative and help to contextualise the information. This is a most useful book which I would recommend in particular for students of all disciplines and practitioners involved in research activity." Accident & Emergency Nursing
"This book should be an essential addition to the personal libraries of all health care workers who need to use articles in journals. In these days of evidence-based medicine, this should apply to all physicians, nurses and other health professionals." Oncology
"The writing style is amazingly clear and does not require formal course work in biostatistics or epidemiology.... We strongly recommend it for beginners and for easy entry into a complex domain and to experts who we think will enjoy it and who will find it useful as they teach, advise and help others." Quality in Health Care
Doody Review Services
Reviewer:Diane M Tomasic, EdD, RN(Slippery Rock University )
Description:This book provides clinicians with information to assist them in evaluating and collecting research literature for evidence-based practice. Its focus is on components of a research article and readers will need a basic knowledge of research methodology as this is not a "how-to" book for research. The first edition was published in 2001.
Purpose:The purpose is to assist clinicians in reading research reports, particularly quantitative studies. The book provides a basic explanation of the structure of a research report and the vocabulary used.
Audience:The target audience includes clinicians engaged in practice and/or research and undergraduate and postgraduate college students in all medical and clinical disciplines which involve any element of research.
Features:This book is structured in units that mirror a published research study such as abstract, introduction, etc. The purpose of each component is given. Excerpts from published studies are used to illustrate the specific components of a research study. For example, in the chapter on populations and samples, the target population, study population, and sample are identified in the article for the reader. There are two shortcomings. The authors define hypothesis as a specific question suggested from prior research or theory; most research books define hypothesis as a declarative statement that identifies the relationship between two or more variables. The second is the lack of a glossary of terms that may be helpful to readers.
Assessment:This should be quite useful to the intended audience. With the emphasis on evidence-based practice, it is important that clinicians have the ability to read and comprehend a research study. This edition has a new chapter on measurement scales and new/expanded information on ethics, abstracts, consents, intervention studies, statistical analysis, and systematic reviews.
Editorials
Reviewer: Diane M Tomasic, EdD, RN(Slippery Rock University )
Description: This book provides clinicians with information to assist them in evaluating and collecting research literature for evidence-based practice. Its focus is on components of a research article and readers will need a basic knowledge of research methodology as this is not a "how-to" book for research. The first edition was published in 2001.
Purpose: The purpose is to assist clinicians in reading research reports, particularly quantitative studies. The book provides a basic explanation of the structure of a research report and the vocabulary used.
Audience: The target audience includes clinicians engaged in practice and/or research and undergraduate and postgraduate college students in all medical and clinical disciplines which involve any element of research.
Features: This book is structured in units that mirror a published research study such as abstract, introduction, etc. The purpose of each component is given. Excerpts from published studies are used to illustrate the specific components of a research study. For example, in the chapter on populations and samples, the target population, study population, and sample are identified in the article for the reader. There are two shortcomings. The authors define hypothesis as a specific question suggested from prior research or theory; most research books define hypothesis as a declarative statement that identifies the relationship between two or more variables. The second is the lack of a glossary of terms that may be helpful to readers.
Assessment: This should be quite useful to the intended audience. With the emphasis on evidence-based practice, it is important that clinicians have the ability to read and comprehend a research study. This edition has a new chapter on measurement scales and new/expanded information on ethics, abstracts, consents, intervention studies, statistical analysis, and systematic reviews.
From the Publisher
"Reading it will definitely enhance one's ability to distinguish the robust from the not so robust. Worthy of space in a departmental library." (UROLOGY NEWS, July 2010)
"…an excellent basis for all who intend to write scientific texts as well as those reading, evaluating, and trying to understand the results…" (Clinical Chemistry, May 2007)
"What makes this book unique is that each point presented is illustrated with excerpts from actual papers, often three or four per chapter...this is a very effective teaching device." (Journal of the American Medical Association, December 26, 2006)
"This should be quite useful to the intended audience." (Doody's Health Services)
"What strikes the reader ... straight away is clarity … promises to become a recommended text for undergraduate and postgraduate courses." (Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, September 2006)