Table of Contents 1
Cover
4
Preface to the First Edition
5
Preface to the Second Edition
SOME NOTES ON STATISTICAL SOFTWARE
WRITING PAPERS FOR CLINICAL JOURNALS
6
Preface to the Third Edition
7
Preface to the Fourth Edition
8
PART I: Setting the Scene: Who Did What, and Why
CHAPTER 1: Some Preliminaries
WHO WROTE THE PAPER?
IN WHAT SORT OF JOURNAL DOES THE PAPER APPEAR?
WHO (AND WHAT) IS ACKNOWLEDGED?
CHAPTER 2: The Abstract and Introduction
THE ABSTRACT
THE INTRODUCTION
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
CHAPTER 3: The Aims and Objectives
HYPOTHESES
OBJECTIVES THAT ARE NOT HYPOTHESIS TESTING
STUDIES WITH UNCLEAR OBJECTIVES
9
PART II: Design Matters: What Type of Study Is It?
CHAPTER 4: Descriptive Studies
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
TYPES OF QUALITATIVE STUDY
CHAPTER 5: Descriptive Studies
CASE REPORTS
CASE SERIES
CROSS‐SECTIONAL STUDIES
LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
CHAPTER 6: Analytic Studies
ECOLOGICAL STUDIES
CROSS‐SECTIONAL, TWO‐GROUP STUDIES
CASE–CONTROL STUDIES
COHORT ANALYTIC STUDIES
VARIATIONS IN CASE–CONTROL AND COHORT DESIGNS
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING CASE–CONTROL AND COHORT STUDIES
‘STROBE' GUIDELINES
CHAPTER 7: Intervention Studies
TRIALS
RANDOM ALLOCATION AND ITS CONCEALMENT
CONSENT AND RANDOMIZATION IN TRIALS
PLACEBOS OR TREATMENT‐AS‐USUAL
PRAGMATIC AND EXPLANATORY TRIALS
INTENTION‐TO‐TREAT ANALYSIS
FEASIBILITY AND PILOT STUDIES
CLUSTER RANDOMIZED TRIALS
ADAPTIVE TRIAL DESIGN
CONSORT GUIDELINES
CHAPTER 8: Mixed Methods Research
CHAPTER 9: Studies of Complex Interventions
CHAPTER 10: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
PUBLICATION AND OTHER BIASES
THE FUNNEL PLOT
HETEROGENEITY
COMBINING THE STUDIES
‘PRISMA' GUIDELINES
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF NON‐TRIALS RESEARCH
CHAPTER 11: Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies
10
PART III: The Cast: Finding Out About the Subjects of the Research
CHAPTER 12: The Research Setting
CHAPTER 13: Populations and Samples in Quantitative Research
SAMPLING
SAMPLE SIZE AND POWER
CHAPTER 14: Research Using Already‐Collected Data
SOURCES OF ALREADY‐COLLECTED DATA
PROBLEMS WITH ALREADY‐COLLECTED DATA
MISSING DATA IN ALREADY‐COLLECTED DATASETS
CONFOUNDING IN ALREADY‐COLLECTED DATA
CHAPTER 15: The Sample in Qualitative Research
