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Making Sense of Results

Objectives

This module introduces the key concepts that are required to make sense of statistical information presented in research papers - it is not intended to teach you how to do statistics but rather how to assess crititcally and interpret the statistics presented by others. By the end of this unit module you will:

  • Understand the most common outcome measures used in clinical research
  • Understand the concept of statistical significance and how it can be assessed
  • Understand the concept of clinical significance and how it can be assessed

Activity

In this module you will find:

  1. A detailed discussion of the main types of outcomes used in clinical trials.
  2. A section on how to account for the play of chance when interpreting these sorts of results.
  3. A section on how to translate them into clinically meaningful terms.
  4. Some additional topics particularly relevant to meta-analysis (a pooled analysis of multiple trials often reported in systematic reviews).
  5. A quiz section with answers and feedback for you to test yourself. If you cannot access the quiz then please create an account or login.
  6. A selection of useful texts and resources you may wish to read to enhance your knowledge and understanding.