Top 10 tips for conducting a postal survey
I’ve spent the last year organising a postal survey of GP patients. Having overseen the mail-out of nearly 15,000 questionnaires, I thought I would offer a few thoughts on how to get through a big...
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Applying for NHS Ethics approval – key tips
The IRAS website So, you’re planning a research project and you want to conduct it in NHS settings – so you need NHS Ethical approval. Doing this for the first time (or even second or third!) can be a...
View ArticleSignificantly significant?
A complaint often levelled at medical research is that far more focus is given to statistical significance than clinical significance. In fact I saw a tweet a few weeks ago deploring the situation....
View ArticleRevising a paper? Here’s what I do…
The first paper I ever submitted to a journal was accepted without revision. Brilliant. Choose a journal, write the paper, send it in, sorted. Oh, my poor deluded younger self. Imagine my surprise when...
View ArticleReviewing a paper? Here’s what I do!
Following on from the storming success of my random thoughts on revising a paper, I thought I would treat everyone to a Part II: what do I do when reviewing a paper? To set the scene, try reading this...
View ArticleRecruiting patients to research? Our top tips on working that waiting room…
Recruiting patients can be difficult at the best of times, but how about when you only have a few minutes to explain the study, in a GP’s surgery waiting room, and you are asking for the person’s...
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Feeling disorganised? You are not alone
…in her office there were such quantities of lecture notes, letters and other documents lying around that it was like standing amidst a flood of paper. On the desk, which was both the origin and the...
View ArticleThe (sort of) essential guide to writing a grant application
There’s a slightly painful time in any researcher’s career when they realise they won’t always be showered with money by their lovely Professors for ever. Of course, the sensible (or unfortunate)...
View ArticleThe art of making PowerPoint look good
As my colleagues are well aware, I am a pedant. I find this a particularly useful characteristic when it comes to writing research papers. Tables and figures need to be accurate and clear. Layout of...
View ArticleWriting a paper? Steal some ideas from storytellers
Recently, I have spent a lot of time sighing over papers I have been asked to review, usually scribbling furiously in various margins “WHAT IS THE STORY HERE?” In team meetings, we often plan out...
View ArticleAcademics and alchemists: hitting gold in research dissemination
These days, dissemination of academic research is a core part of any academics’ responsibilities, often with little resource to help. How do you do yours? And how does it all really work? In an age of...
View ArticleSignificantly significant?
A complaint often levelled at medical research is that far more focus is given to statistical significance than clinical significance. In fact I saw a tweet a few weeks ago deploring the situation....
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