• Being critical
• Use and misuse of research
• Flawed research
• Using findings out of context
• Stretching research findings
• Distorting research findings
• Rejecting/ignoring research findings

Being critical

Having tracked down research that is relevant to your area of interest the next task is to actually make sense of that research. This section is intended to show you how to be critical of the research you are reviewing and how to check that the evidence is credible and represented appropriately. Unfortunately this means discussing the ways in which research findings may be misrepresented.
The development of what are known as Critical Appraisal Skills is about enhancing this aspect of research mindedness and includes more detailed understanding of statistics and concepts such as statistical significance. Those wishing to follow up critical appraisal skills are referred to the following resources.

Critical Appraisal
A website with a range of resources, links, tools and tutorials to aid critical appraisal.

Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM)
The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine has been established in Oxford as the first of several centres around the country whose broad aim is to promote evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to anyone who wants to make use of them.