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This assignment has several components and is worth 200 points. 

There is a web-based Course Feedback Form that I want you to complete. You may complete the form any time after you have completed Assignment Three. I will e-mail you the password for access. This is not an instructor evaluation, but a mechanism for you to tell me what worked and what can be improved in this course. I value your thoughtful input into the design of this experience.

Assignment Overview:

A literature review is a concise analysis of a number of research articles that all deal with the same topic. The goal of this assignment is to allow you to apply a number of readings about how to do a critical analysis of research articles to producing a simple literature review. This is the culmination of the course. Research findings can only be applied to professional practice when you look over many research studies and draw from them those pieces of the truth that appear to be reliable and valid and that provide practical benefits to your professional practice.

Reading Assignment:

1. The Whole Art of Deduction - Study Chapter 10.
2. The Cochrane Collaboration is an international group that supports preparing, maintaining and promoting the accessibility of systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions. Reviews prepared using the Cochrane methods are based on the concept of MetaAnalysis. Look around this site and browse some of the linked sites.
3. The Cochrane Handbook describes how to write a review using their methods. You are assigned parts of chapters 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 in the handbook. The exact sections to read are identified in the description of the assignment. A pdf version of the Cochrane Handbook can be downloaded.
4. Cochrane Library (Click on "Cochrane Library in left menu. Do not click on the Login button. No user name or password needed). Also found on the Moody Medical Library Databases page. This database includes the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness database, a controlled clinical trials database, and other information on evidence-based medicine. To go to this site and look at a review you must be at a computer on campus or logged into UTMB via remote access from home. You can search for a few examples, for example:
   acupuncture for low back pain
   Copy-and-paste the title above into the Search box. Then, look through the list of search results. This particular review will be there someplace. Review the review and get a feeling for what your review will be like. Your review will be much simpler and shorter, but it will have the same purpose. The two reviews below deal with respiratory care. The first review is an aborted review we will use in class and the second one is a good sample for respiratory care.
   1. Alexander technique for chronic asthma
   2. Active chest compression-decompression for cardiopulmonary resuscitation
5. Review this web site that deals with the basic components of clinical trials - A Handbook of Clinical Trials and Epidemiologic Research Designs.
6. Evidence-Based Medicine uses the same principles as those we are exploring here for research. This site is a good introduction to the terminology and methods of EBM. It also may give you a different perspective on research methods. Please study these three sections: What is EBM?, Literature Search, and Evaluating Evidence.
7. Statistical Power - Read the Conclusion Validity section of the Analysis chapter in Trochim. Focus on the last section that talks about statistical power. Statistical power is the probability that a study will be able to measure a difference between the treatment groups if in fact a difference exists. It is a factor to consider when designing deciding if a study used a large enough sample size. You want your study to be capable of finding what you are seeking. There are mathematical methods to calculate the optimal sample size. Too small a sample and you will not be able to measure any differences because for a difference to be measured it needs to be very large. To large a sample raises your costs. When you evaluate the articles consider the concept of power in deciding if they used a large enough sample. You may wish to read A Review of Statistical Power Analysis Software by Len Thomas and Charles J. Krebs (Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, April 1997, 78(2), 126-139).

1. Web of Science - Also found on the Moody Medical Library Databases page. Use this searchable database to locate your two "future" articles, i.e., the ones that are newer than your key article. This link may not be available from off campus computers. When you get to the site, click of 'Full Search" and then on "Cited Reference Search".
2. Search MEDLINE through the Moody Medical Library. Access is based on your IP address or password. Follow directions at the site.
3. You can also use the other on-line resources listed for assignment 1.