Resource Packs

In experimental research the design and progress of an experiment is carefully controlled by the researcher. There are many features that need to be considered when designing experiments and the pack also introduces a number of common research designs. Additionally the advantages and limitations of experimental research are examined and the factors relating specifically to human experimentation, grouped as causality, validity and humanity and ethics, highlighted..

The aim of this pack is to provide an overview of the principles underlying experimental research design to allow the reader to be able to read research literature and evaluate research proposals critically.

This resource packs suggests further reading and resources as well as supplying a glossary of terms.  

Primary health care teams play a pivotal role in the health care system. As gatekeepers to the health service their decisions have significant impact on people's health and on health service resource use. Health economic evaluation uses a range of strategies and tactics whereby the estimates of relative value can be ascertained and interpreted. These tools are needed, as it is no longer acceptable for decision-makers to simply choose strategies that work, or even those that work best, but rather those that work best subject to the best use of resources.

This pack provides a way into the sometimes complex world of health economics. It is a practical guide on what health economics can do for the primary care professional. The aim is to enable better understanding, criticism and interpretation of published economic evaluations in medical literature and to provide the tools needed to carry out your own economic evaluations.

This resource packs suggests further reading, resources and websites as well as supplying a glossary of terms. 
 

There are broadly two approaches to collecting information for research purposes: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research is concerned with investigating things which can be observed and measured in some way. Such observations and measurements can be made objectively and repeated by other researchers. Qualitative research on the other hand is concerned with developing explanations of social phenomena. It aims to understand the world in which we live and why things are the way they are. It is concerned with the opinions, experiences and feelings of individuals and this produces subjective data.

This resource pack has a general introduction into the nature of qualitative research. It includes identification of the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research in a brief comparison with quantitative research. The main qualitative approaches and way of collecting information are described, and guidance is given on techniques for analysing and presenting information. The purpose is for primary health care professionals to gain a basic understanding of qualitative research and show the potential for this type of research in primary health care.

This resource packs suggests further reading. 
 

A literature review is a self-contained piece of written work that gives a concise summary of previous findings in an area of the research literature. It reflects an author's knowledge and interpretation of the area of interest. Literature reviews vary considerably in their depth and breadth, as well as style of presentation, depending on the purpose intended by the author. This may range from a superficial search of literature to give a researcher an insight into an area of potential research though to a scientifically rigorous "systematic review".

This resource pack looks at sources of research literature and outlines the different manual and electronic bibliographic tools to identify research literature. It offers tips on how to plan a literature search strategy, examine the results and write a review.

This resource packs suggests further reading and resources as well as supplying a glossary of terms. 
 

Evidence based practice requires that practitioners are able to identify relevant and applicable research speedily and efficiently, which is why there has been an increased interest in reference management in recent years. A reference management system is any systematic means of organising your references. Such a system may be either manual or electronic or a combination of both. Each approach has three basic steps input, retrieval and output.

The aim of this resource pack is to introduce the need for, and practicalities of, managing bibliographic references as part of the research process. It discusses the pros and cons of manual versus electronic reference management systems, takes the reader through the major stages involved in reference management and reviews the major software packages available for the task. In addition it alerts authors to journals' "Instructions to Authors" regarding references and standard requirements for submitting manuscripts. In the appendices there is a detailed comparison between the Harvard and Vancouver referencing styles.

This resource packs suggests further reading and resources as well as supplying a glossary of terms.