Practical Clinical Research Design and Application

Every practicing physician, surgeon, advanced practice provider, and allied health professional interacts regularly with peer-reviewed literature: either while creating it, or consuming it. Despite the countless hours over many years spent in formal clinical training, many clinicians and clinician-authors lack advanced training or a working nuanced knowledge of research methodology and study design. Institutions have responded to this gap by reinforcing their ranks with statistical and methodological support in the form of data analysts, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians. However, clinicians are often unable to "talk the methodological talk" to guide them. This ultimately results in a stark disconnect between clinically relevant aspects of research and appropriate study design.