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• Understanding research and critical appraisal skills

Crowe Associates has had a variety of experience of developing workshops and teaching programmes that address areas of 'understanding research'. Areas covered include:

• Framing and developing research questions
• Understanding different research methods and approaches
• The role of research evidence in decision making
• Critical Appraisal of research evidence

These workshops and programmes have been designed for; public health practitioners; research teams; patient and public groups; policy developers; and mixed groups. They can cover half a day, a whole day or as part of a programme of learning activity.

We will shortly be making available some of our tools and exercises that we use in workshops.  These will be PDF documents, that can be downloaded.

Sessions tend to be interactive in nature, using a variety of problem-based approaches such as ‘information’ (press cuttings/patient stories and research articles), or a ‘fictitious disease’, or real papers to help participants focus on the research concepts and ideas.

The workshops/sessions can be useful in fostering positive and open relationships in research teams or on projects and can identify the different and important perspectives of the constituent groups.

Workshops/sessions follow a logical ‘path’ and will cover a variety of themes including for example; developing the research question, designing appropriate studies and dealing with bias in research.

All materials are provided, inlcuding glossaries of research terms and packs of useful information.

Previous and current clients include:

• Medical Research Council
• Newham University Hospital NHS Trust
• Thames Valley Diabetes Research Network
• North West London Strategic Health Authority
• Homerton NHS Hospitals Trust