Article critiquing and Journal club

1. Journal Club and Article critiquing
11/25/2018
Dr. Ssuna Bashir
Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
MBCh.B (MUST) Msc. (MAK)
Fellowship in Mixed methods Research (MAK)
Email: sbn144@gmail.com Mob. +256775655562

2. Introduction
• What is a journal club? And why do we need to have a journal club?
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3. Step 1: Introduction
• Picking a paper for journal club
• The paper should:
─ be of interest you & likely interest others
─ Not be a draft, in publication, or just published yesterday
─ Have been cited “a bunch” (check Google Scholar)
─ Report a new or improved method, or be a novel in your field
─ Application of an existing method
─ Not be too long
─ Not be too “domain heavy” because your audience may not be
─ Consensus on the choice of paper
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4. Step 2: Author (s) & journal
• Title of the paper
• Authors & affiliated institution (s)
• Impact factor of the journal
• Declaration of Research Assessment (DORA) e.g PLOS journal
• Journal circulation & readership
• Non-predatory, peer–review, open-access journal
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5. Step 3: Hypothesis & research question
• What is the research question? Is it well constructed?
• Four basic components (PICO)
─ Population-Who was studied?
─ Intervention- What was the intervention or exposure, risk factor, tested?
─ Comparison or control- What was the alternative that was compared to?
─ Outcome- what was the nature of the outcome measured? (Schwartz, 2007)
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6. Step 4: Appraise the evidence
• Introduction/background of the article
─ Read the key references & related papers
─ What is already known on the subject?
─ Is this correctly presented?
─ Is the hypothesis correct?
─ Is the question relevant & important in the context of the existing literature?
─ What does the study contribute to the existing literature?
• E.g. Intervention ‘x’ has been shown to cause significant reduction in patient group ‘y’.
However, no studies to date have assessed the effect of ‘x’ in patients with a history of ‘z’
(Schwartz 2007)
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7. Step 5: Study design
• Study design/type
─ Is it appropriate for the research question & the subject under investigation
• Study population
─ Can the results of the study be translated to the general population?
─ Is the patient group representative of the normal population?
• Sampling method/procedure
─ Randomization- how are participants allocated to the groups?
─ Inclusion & exclusion criteria : affect the validity of the study
─ Selection, information bias, random & systematic error
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8. Step 6: Method
• A flawed methodology will undermine the validity of the results
─ Was the method & approach to the study appropriate?
─ Was follow up complete & consistent in each group?
─ What outcome measures were used & were they appropriate?
─ Statistical tools/methods suitable & correctly interpreted?
─ Statement of power, p-value, power analysis (before or post-hoc), effect
size etc
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9. Step 7: Results
─Are the results clearly stated?
─Is the result statistically significant?
─Review supplementary graphs & tables to ensure they are accurate & represent the
data in the text
─ Show main results slide(s)
─ Extract part of a complex figure, especially if the text or figure labels are in a small
font
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10. Step 8: Discussion & interpretation
• Discuss the strengths & weakness of the study
─Does the result support the conclusions?
─Consider the statistical significance vs the clinical significance
─Does the article acknowledge the relevant literature & other approaches?
─Limitations of the study
─Have the authors declared any conflicts of interest?
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11. Step 9: Utility of the study findings
• End your appraisal by telling us how the paper might change policy & practice
─Refer to the research question
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12. Step 10: Output
• Having critically appraised & presented the article
─ Write a letter to the editor of the journal
─ Identify areas for further research
─ Writing skills & critical appraisal skills
─ Academic skills for every one at different levels
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13. How to attend journal club
• Actively read the paper with all of the above issues in mind
• Don’t just move your eyes over the article text
• Plan to make one comment or ask one question (even if you
don’t get a chance to do so)
• Take notes on the presentation
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14. Sources on reporting guidelines
• Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials
http://www.consort-statement.org/
• Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)
Statement
https://www.strobe-statement.org/index.php?id=strobe-home
• Others: PRISMA- Systematic reviews, SPIRIT- Study protocols, SRQR- Qualitative
studies
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15. References
11/25/2018
• Altman R, BMI Journal Club Template (2012)
• Core training. How to prepare for and present at a journal club, British Journal of
Hospital Medicine (2013)

16. Thank you
11/25/2018