This lecture seeks to provide you with some basic principles of reading research reports with a critical eye. It also seeks to tie together some of the more peripheral issues that have arisen in the course of developing these lectures.

The sequence of this series of lectures started off broadly, then concentrated on specific areas of Epidemiology. Now, as this series comes to an end, it is time to bring everything together again, within a broader context. This, and the next lecture, seek to explore some of the weaknesses and current issues of epidemiologic studies and methods, and the strategies that can be taken to correct these weaknesses. They also provide you with tips on what to look for in a good research report. It is my hope that these two lectures will help you understand how to best use the findings of epidemiologic studies.

Sources for this lecture include WHO (1993), Basic Epidemiology; RM page, GE Cole & TC Timmreck, Basic Epidemiology Methods and Biostatistics; HRSA (1998) Analytic Methods in Maternal and Child Health; M. A. Patton (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods; T. Greenhalgh’s lectures at: http://bmj.com, and V.H. Massey (1991) Nursing Research. A study and learning tool.