Subject Resources: EBP

Listed below are Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) developed by the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Physiotherapy in the subject area of EBP. Click on a title link to view the RLO. To keep up to date on released RLOs, keep checking our news section, or link to our RSS news feed (what's RSS?). Use of these RLOs is governed by our Terms of Use.

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Full list of RLOs
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Overwhelmed? Try this suggested EBP RLO Pathway for students, by Associate Professor Stephen Timmons.

EBP RLOs
Title	Description	Detail
Asking the right question	This RLO outlines why asking the right question can help in the search for evidence, and explains how to construct good questions using the PICO technique.
Case series and cross-sectional studies	Case series typically involve a much smaller number of patients than the more powerful case-control study or Randomised controlled trial (RCT). In this design patients with a known exposure to a treatment are tracked prospectively to identify new forms of disease or adverse effects. Case series can also be retrospective - here medical records are examined to identify a link between exposure and disease.
Case-control studies	This resource looks at cases (diseased subjects) and controls (non-diseased subjects) and investigates their exposure status.
Cohort and case-controlled studies	This RLO explains what are case-control and cohort studies, and outlines the difference between them.
Cohort Studies	This resource looks at cohort studies in relation to medical research and investigates medical disease and establishes links between risk factors and health outcomes.
Confidence intervals	This RLO defines the term 'confidence intervals' and demonstrates how they can be used to determine the significance and range of possible sizes of a treatment effect.
Descriptive statistics for interval and ratio scale data	Describing the use of measures of central tendency - mean, mode, median - and dispersion - range, Standard Deviation.
Designing a Questionnaire	This RLO introduces good practice in questionnaire design, step by step.
Determining the clinical importance of trial results	This RLO demonstrates how to interpret and use clinical trial data (ARR, RRR, NNT, NNH, and confidence intervals) in practice.
How to conduct a literature search	Practical examples of searching databases of journal articles (eg CINAHL, BNI), including screen movies of actual searches.
Levels of Measurement	To understand the different levels of measurement and the arithmetic operations that can be performed on them
Levels of Measurement: what you can and can't do arithmetically	An explanation of the statistical operations that can be performed on the different levels of measurement. This resource has been re-purposed and an HTML5 version has replaced the original version.
Meta-analysis	This RLO provides an introduction to the basic concepts of meta-analysis, which is an important and valuable tool for summarising data from multiple studies.
Numbers needed to treat and numbers needed to harm	This RLO considers how to measure and interpret the magnitude of effect in clinical trial results using number needed to treat (NNT) and number needed to harm (NNH).
Positive and negative predictive value of diagnostic tests	This RLO explains how diagnostic test results are a combination of true and false positive, or true and false negative.
Presenting and interpreting meta-analyses	How to present and interpret the results of a meta-analysis using forest plots.
Probability associated with inferential statistics	An introduction to probability, and the probability of sample errors affecting research results.
Qualitative and quantitative research	Outlining the distinction between qualitative and quantitative methods of doing research.
Qualitative Data Analysis	The aim of this Reusable Learning Object (RLO) is to give you an idea of how qualitative data analysis is done. It's aimed at students studying evidence based practice or research methods, with a basic understanding of what qualitative research is.
Quantitative Study Designs	This resource explains study design and looks at the situations in which you might apply the different types of design methodology.
Referencing Books using Harvard	This resource outlines the information that is required to accurately reference a book for the Harvard referencing scheme. It also outlines where that information can be found within a book.
Referencing Journals using Harvard	This resources outlines the information that is required to accurately reference a journal article for the Harvard referencing scheme. It also outlines where that information can be found within a printed journal.
Relative risk reduction and absolute risk reduction	This RLO considers how to measure and interpret the magnitude of effect in clinical trial results using relative risk reduction (RRR) and absolute risk reduction (ARR).
Search strategy for locating Randomised Controlled Trials	Introduction to search strategies for locating randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in online databases.
Sensitivity and Specificity	This RLO explains how diagnostic test accuracy is described by the terms sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity describes the accuracy of the test in detecting disease. Specificity describes the accuracy of the test in detecting health.
SI Units and calculating unit changes	To identify what SI units are, when they are used, and how to calculate unit changes.
Steps in conducting a systematic review	This RLO outlines the five fundamental steps to conducting a systematic review of health care research so as identify, select and critically appraise relevant research.
Surrogate Outcomes	This RLO considers the type of evidence which should be used when making decisions about patient care.
Types of qualitative research	This RLO outlines the variety of types of qualitative research that there are. It's aimed primarily at students studying evidence based practice and research methods.
Using databases to find journal articles	An introduction to online databases of journals relevant to nurses (eg CINAHL, BNI).
What are Journals?	This learning object introduces educational journals and describes three types: Academic, Professional and Subject. The examples used are drawn from the area of nursing, but the concepts are cross-discipline.
What is a randomised controlled trial?	This RLO outlines how Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) work.
What is Evidence Based Practice?	This RLO introduces the concept of evidence based practice and explains, in outline, how evidence based practice is done.
Why critique research?	Why published research needs to be appraised by readers.