How To Read A Paper 7th Edition (the Basics Of Evidence-based Healthcare)

Learn to assess published research in this best-selling introduction to evidence-based healthcare

Evidence-based practices have revolutionized medical care. Clinical and scientific papers have something to offer practitioners at every level of the profession, from students to established clinicians in medicine, nursing and allied professions. Novices are often intimidated by the idea of reading and appraising the research literature. How to Read a Paper demystifies this process with a thorough, engaging introduction to how clinical research papers are constructed and how to evaluate them. Now fully updated to incorporate new areas of research, readers of the seventh edition of How to Read a Paper will also find:

• A careful balance between the principles of evidence-based healthcare and clinical practice
• New chapters covering consensus methods, mechanistic evidence, big data and artificial intelligence
• Detailed coverage of subjects like assessing methodological quality, systemic reviews and meta-analyses, qualitative research, and more.

How to Read a Paper is ideal for all healthcare students and professionals seeking an accessible introduction to evidence-based healthcare – particularly those sitting undergraduate and postgraduate exams and preparing for interviews.

Foreword to the first edition by Professor Sir David Weatherall xii

Preface to the seventh edition xiv

Preface to the first edition xvii

Acknowledgements xix

Chapter 1 Why read papers at all? 1

Does ‘evidence- based medicine’ simply mean ‘reading papers in medical journals’? 1

Why do people sometimes groan when you mention evidence- based healthcare? 4

Before you start: formulate the problem 11

Exercises based on this chapter 13

References 14

Chapter 2 Searching the literature 15

The information jungle 15

What are you looking for? 16

Levels upon levels of evidence 17

Synthesised sources: systems, summaries and syntheses 18

Pre-appraised sources: synopses of systematic reviews and primary studies 21

Specialised resources 22

Primary studies: tackling the jungle 23

One-stop shopping: federated search engines 25

Using artificial intelligence to search the literature 25

Asking for help and asking around 26

Online tutorials for effective searching 26

Exercises based on this chapter 27

References 28

Chapter 3 Getting your bearings: what is this paper about? 30

The science of ‘trashing’ papers 30

Three preliminary questions to get your bearings 32

What are randomised controlled trials and why do they matter? 34

What are cohort studies? 38

What are case–control studies? 40

What are cross-sectional surveys? 40

What are case reports? 41

The traditional hierarchy of evidence 42

Exercises based on this chapter 43

References 43

Chapter 4 Assessing methodological quality 45

Was the study original? 45

Who is the study about? 46

Was the design of the study sensible? 47

Was bias avoided or minimised? 49

Was assessment ‘blind’? 54

Were preliminary statistical questions addressed? 55

A note on ethical considerations 58

Summing up 59

Exercises based on this chapter 60

References 60

Chapter 5 Statistics for the non-statistician 63

How can non-statisticians evaluate statistical tests? 63

Have the authors set the scene correctly? 65

Paired data, tails and outliers 71

Correlation, regression and causation 72

Probability and confidence 74

The bottom line (quantifying the chance of benefit and