The revision of CONSORT guidelines for reporting blinding in randomised controlled trials is the subject of controversy and criticism. To determine whether the criticism is justified, in this short communication paper we discuss the problems encountered in the methodology of the assessment of blinding, and the reporting of blinding in randomised controlled trials and the standards of reporting on blinding with reference to their usage in clinical trials of acupuncture for chronic pain. To conclude we recommend two simple guidelines: the development of sound clinical protocols that anticipate potential difficulties and reinforce overall internal validity, and secondly. the accurate reporting of the methodologies used to ensure a clear view of blinding procedures.
Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; standards ; Double-Blind Method ; Guidelines as Topic ; Humans ; Publishing ; standards ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; methods ; standards ; Research Design ; standards ; Single-Blind Method ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVES: This study attempts to show how studies using non-experimental data can strengthen causal inferences by applying propensity score and instrumental variable methods based on the counterfactual framework. For illustrative purposes, we examine the effect of having private health insurance on the probability of experiencing at least one hospital admission in the previous year. METHODS: Using data from the 4th wave of the Korea Labor and Income Panel Study, we compared the results obtained using propensity score and instrumental variable methods with those from conventional logistic and linear regression models, respectively. RESULTS: While conventional multiple regression analyses fail to identify the effect, the results estimated using propensity score and instrumental variable methods suggest that having private health insurance has positive and statistically significant effects on hospital admission. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that propensity score and instrumental variable methods provide potentially useful alternatives to conventional regression approaches in making causal inferences using non-experimental data.
Adult ; *Data Interpretation, Statistical ; *Epidemiologic Methods ; Female ; Health Services Research/*methods ; Humans ; Insurance, Health/*statistics & numerical data ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Admission/*statistics & numerical data ; Regression Analysis ; Research Design ; Selection Bias

WHY: Calculating the sample size is essential to reduce the cost of a study and to prove the hypothesis effectively. HOW: Referring to pilot studies and previous research studies, we can choose a proper hypothesis and simplify the studies by using a website or Microsoft Excel sheet that contains formulas for calculating sample size in the beginning stage of the study. MORE: There are numerous formulas for calculating the sample size for complicated statistics and studies, but most studies can use basic calculating methods for sample size calculation.
Chi-Square Distribution ; *Research Design ; *Sample Size ; Statistics as Topic/*methods

Evidence-based medicine combines the patient's preferences with clinical experience and the best research evidence. Randomized clinical trials are considered the most valid research design for evaluating health-care interventions. However, empirical research shows that intervention effects may be significantly overestimated (in one study on average by about 50 per cent) in randomized clinical trials with inadequate methods for generation of allocation sequence, allocation concealment, and double blinding. Further, intervention effects may be significantly overestimated if trial results are not analysed by the intention-to-treat method. Unfortunately more than 90 per cent of the randomized clinical trials have inadequate randomization, lack double blinding, or do not use intention-to-treat analysis. These irregularities may explain the considerable variation of clinical practice-within regions, single countries, and single clinics. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to improve this situation. Guidelines for Good Clinical (Research) Practice, conduct of more trials as multicentre trials, The Consort Statement, and The Cochrane Collaboration may all help in the application of the best research evidence in clinical practice. By investments in education, applied research, and The Cochrane Collaboration, evidence-based medicine may form a stronger basis for clinical practice.
Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; methods ; Research Design

OBJECTIVE: To re-evaluate the systematic review/Meta-analysis of acupuncture and moxibustion for childhood autism (CA), aiming to provide decision-making basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: The systematic review and/or Meta-analysis of acupuncture and moxibustion for CA were searched in PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, SinoMed, CNKI and Wanfang databases. The retrieval time was from the database establishment to May 5th, 2022. PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and Meta-analyses) was used to evaluate the report quality, and AMSTAR 2 (a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews 2) was used to evaluate the methodological quality, bubble map was used to construct the evidence map and GRADE was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. RESULTS: A total of 9 systematic reviews were included. The PRISMA scores ranged from 13 to 26. The report quality was low, and there was a serious lack in the aspects of program and registration, search, other analysis and funding. The main problems in methodology included not making prespecified protocol, incomplete retrieval strategy, not providing a list of excluded literatures, and incomplete explanation on heterogeneity analysis and bias risk. The evidence map showed that 6 conclusions were valid, 2 conclusions were possible valid and 1 conclusion was uncertain valid. The overall quality of evidence was low, and the main factors leading to the downgrade were limitations, followed by inconsistency, imprecision and publication bias. CONCLUSION Acupuncture and moxibustion has a certain effect for CA, but the quality of reporting, methodology and evidence in included literature need to be improved. It is suggested to perform high-quality and standardized research in the future to provide evidence-based basis.
Child ; Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Autistic Disorder ; Moxibustion/methods* ; Publication Bias ; Research Design ; Systematic Reviews as Topic ; Meta-Analysis as Topic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to introduce the main concepts of statistical testing and effect size and to provide researchers in nursing science with guidance on how to calculate the effect size for the statistical analysis methods mainly used in nursing. METHODS: For t-test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, regression analysis which are used frequently in nursing research, the generally accepted definitions of the effect size were explained. RESULTS: Some formulae for calculating the effect size are described with several examples in nursing research. Furthermore, the authors present the required minimum sample size for each example utilizing G*Power 3 software that is the most widely used program for calculating sample size. CONCLUSION: It is noted that statistical significance testing and effect size measurement serve different purposes, and the reliance on only one side may be misleading. Some practical guidelines are recommended for combining statistical significance testing and effect size measure in order to make more balanced decisions in quantitative analyses.
*Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Humans ; Nursing Research/*methods ; Research Design ; Sample Size ; Software

Recently a number of acupuncture clinical trial projects mainly conducted by conventional scientists have generated many negative results. A large meta-analysis of patient-level acupuncture data for the treatment of chronic pain conditions have demonstrated that the effects of verum acupuncture on pain improvement have statistically significant, but small, differences compared with sham-acupuncture procedures and no difference between acupuncture points and non-points. These conclusions have puzzled the acupuncture community and made confusion for acupuncture research and practices. The purpose of this paper was to compare differences between acupuncture clinical practices and the trial studies, which include "acupuncture technical principles", "acupuncture clinical trial design", and "acupuncture practice based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine". These factors contribute to the puzzle between the acupuncture community/practice and acupuncture clinical trials, which can be improved in future studies.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Chronic Disease ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Humans ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Pain Management ; methods ; Research Design

As evidence-based practice has become an important issue in healthcare settings, the educational needs for knowledge and skills for the generation and utilization of healthcare evidence are increasing. Systematic review (SR), a way of evidence generation, is a synthesis of primary scientific evidence, which summarizes the best evidence on a specific clinical question using a transparent, a priori protocol driven approach. SR methodology requires a critical appraisal of primary studies, data extraction in a reliable and repeatable way, and examination for validity of the results. SRs are considered hierarchically as the highest form of evidence as they are a systematic search, identification, and summarization of the available evidence to answer a focused clinical question with particular attention to the methodological quality of studies or the credibility of opinion and text. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an overview of the fundamental knowledge, principals and processes in SR. The focus of this paper is on SR especially for the synthesis of quantitative data from primary research studies that examines the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. To activate evidence-based nursing care in various healthcare settings, the best and available scientific evidence are essential components. This paper will include some examples to promote understandings.
Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Evidence-Based Nursing ; Humans ; Information Storage and Retrieval/methods ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Research Design ; *Review Literature as Topic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the major trends in research studies in the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration from 2010 to 2012. METHODS: A review using analysis criteria developed by researchers was done of 132 studies published between 2010 and 2012. Research design, participants, research domain, and keywords were analyzed from the Journal of Korean Nursing Administration. RESULTS: Job satisfaction, stress, organizational commitment, safety, turnover, nursing education, and performance were found to be major keywords. Of the research in the Journal, quantitative methods were used in 93.2% of studies. The major setting and participants were hospitals (58.2%) and nurses (65.5%) respectively. Prevalent analysis methods used were t-test, ANOVA, correlation, regression, chi-square, AMOS, and factor analysis. Major domains in the articles were: controlling, directing, staffing, nursing management education, and professionalism & legal principles. CONCLUSION: Through this study, the research trends in nursing administration were identified, but there is a need to include more of the following topics in future research: new concepts in nursing policy, enhanced deliberations of IRB, rationalization of the effects in sample size calculations, theoretical development of planning and organizing, and development of interventions for management support of the nursing management process.
Education ; Education, Nursing ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Job Satisfaction ; Methods ; Nursing Research ; Nursing* ; Rationalization ; Research Design ; Sample Size

No abstract available.
Humans ; Immunosuppression ; *Kidney Transplantation/methods ; *Pancreas Transplantation/methods ; Patient Selection ; Treatment Outcome