Clinical Research Made Easy: A Guide to Publishing in Medical Literature

Since its inception approximately 20 years ago, evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become a standard part of many educational curricula world-wide. The concept of EBM empowers us to formulate appropriate clinical questions, appraise the literature using the hierarchy of evidence, and apply the study results to their practice. The application of evidence-based medicine is not easy. It requires a fundamental understanding of research methodology and critical appraisal. Critical concepts for health care providers include the strengths and limitations of meta-analyses, randomized trials, cohort studies and case series. Although we may perceive that evidence-based medicine mandates a strict adherence to randomized trials, it more accurately involves informed and effective use of all types of evidence (from meta-analyses of randomized trials to individual case series and case report). Clinical Research Made Easy is one resource developed with the busy health care provider in mind. Whether a practicing surgeon, physician, physiotherapist, student or allied health care provider, this book bridges your knowledge gaps and facilitates practical application of EBM and clinical research. We distil complexities of clinical research into simple facts. We should no longer consider clinical research as only occurring in high profile institutions around the world, but rather occurring in every health care setting in all environments. We hope this book provides one step in the right direction- and stimulates a new generation of evidence users and evidence providers.

Mohit Bhandari MD MSc PhD FRCSC Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Trauma and Surgical Outcomes, Professor, Department of Surgery, Associate Member, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, Academic Division Head, Orthopaedic Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, USA Parag Kantilal Sancheti FRCS MS DNB MCh Professor and Chairman, Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Pune, Maharashtra, India