Mark your calendar: the inaugural Forensic Journal Club is coming up 12 February. Find all the information you need to participate here.
Several of you have asked me about specific questions to consider for journal club. I think there are are lot of directions you can take in a journal club, but as I looked at the resources in my own library, here are some basic ones I like (adapted from a guide from the nice folks at McMaster University School of Public Health in Canada):
What is the study’s objective/hypothesis/question?
What is the rationale and relevance of the question? (i.e. why was the study done?)
What is the relevance of this topic/question to forensic healthcare? (i.e. is it urgent or essential reading for a practitioner in our field?)
What methodological approach (design, analysis, etc.) has been used? (i.e. what was done?)
What were the results of the study? (i.e. what did the investigators find?)
What were the strengths & weaknesses of this study?
Do the conclusions follow logically from the design and results?
How do the results relate to current practice and how might they influence future practice? (i.e. why should we care?)
I would also encourage you to check out the Understanding Research clinical guide for more ideas and information…