Research, Critical Appraisal and Statistics
Judge whether research methods, estimates and conclusions can support an Emergency Medicine decision.
How to prepare for FRCEM SBA
Protect the full Emergency Medicine curriculum, prioritise the published item counts and practise the decisions expected of a clinician approaching independent practice.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Start with the clinical question, study design, population, bias, effect estimate, precision and applicability.
Exam cue: Recognise when an apparently dramatic result is undermined by bias, imprecision, multiplicity or a surrogate outcome.
Concept 2
Translate evidence into shared clinical decisions while accounting for baseline risk, harms, feasibility and patient values.
Exam cue: Interpret diagnostic accuracy, randomised trials, observational studies and systematic reviews using absolute as well as relative effects.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Equating statistical significance with a large, precise or clinically important treatment effect.
Guardrail: Do not select an option because it is technically true; select the one that best fits the patient's current physiology, evidence, urgency and decision point.
Choosing an answer that is generally true but does not fit the patient's physiology, urgency, evidence or current decision point.
Guardrail: Do not select an option because it is technically true; select the one that best fits the patient's current physiology, evidence, urgency and decision point.
Memory anchors
What frames decisions in research, critical appraisal and statistics?
Start with the clinical question, study design, population, bias, effect estimate, precision and applicability.
Which research, critical appraisal and statistics findings change urgency?
Recognise when an apparently dramatic result is undermined by bias, imprecision, multiplicity or a surrogate outcome.
How should investigation be planned in research, critical appraisal and statistics?
Interpret diagnostic accuracy, randomised trials, observational studies and systematic reviews using absolute as well as relative effects.
What makes management complete in research, critical appraisal and statistics?
Translate evidence into shared clinical decisions while accounting for baseline risk, harms, feasibility and patient values.
What common error should be avoided in research, critical appraisal and statistics?
Equating statistical significance with a large, precise or clinically important treatment effect.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
An ED trial reports a relative risk of death of 0.80 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.62 to 1.03. What is the best interpretation?
A diagnostic study of a new troponin rule-out pathway includes only patients already known to have myocardial infarction and healthy volunteers. What bias is most likely?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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