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Background: Routine data such as claims data and health care documentation data are of increasing relevance in health services research—also in the field of general practice and family medicine. An increasing number of articles using these kind of data highlights the increasing relevance. Thus, it is essential for general practitioners (GPs) to know the strength and weaknesses of studies using routine data. Aim: The goal if this article is to empower readers to critically appraise articles based on routine data in a systematic and criteria-based fashion. Materials and methods: We used available guidelines and recommendations, a selective literature review, and our own expertise. Results: An advantage of routine data is that they are less cost intensive than primary data acquisition in prospective studies. Routine data have usually a lower selection bias; hence, they represent the reality of health care better than primarily acquired data. Another advantage is the high case numbers in routine data, which allows subgroup analyses even for low prevalent patient groups. Limitations are the restricted quality and validity of routine data. These limitations have to be addressed by measures of quality assurance such as internal and external validation. Conclusion: Routine data analyses are an important method in health care research. These analyses are especially good in researching everyday health care and analyzing subgroups with low prevalence. Results from routine data analyses should be reported transparently including the limitations of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 50 years, different types of reviews evolved with different objectives. In a summary, 48 review types were identified, which were grouped into seven "review families" with regard to their underlyin g o bjectives and their literature search methods. Among these, the "Focused Mapping Review and Synthesis" (FMRS) approach was not considered. The aim of our short paper is to introduce FMRS as a potential further member of a review family and to highlight its methodological characteristics, potentials, and challenges. FMRS can be used for exploration and focused description of a wide range of topics, but especially fo r a s-pects of knowledge production, i.e., methodological and theoretical issues. A specific search in PubMed and medRxiv revealed nine publi-cations on FMRS between 2016 and 2022, the majority of which addressed research practice as the object of investigation, rather than topics of clinical research. The inclusion of the FMRS in a review family would be welcome due to the peculiarities of the systematisation of literature search within the approach of FMRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 20th century activity spaces have mainly been perceived as a niche concept in German-speaking spatial research. Meanwhile, international research on activity spaces has developed further and gained quite some attention recently. This paper elaborates a comprehensive definition of activity spaces and presents current fields of application with special regard to research on travel behaviour, segregation and public health. Activity spaces as a concept improve estimates of the interactions between individuals and their respective social or built environments. Therefore, insights on activity spaces might ease the development of adequate planning and policy measures. In order to facilitate the systematic generation of future research questions, hypotheses, research designs and practice-oriented insights, this paper presents both a novel analytical concept and established methods for the study of activity spaces. The paper closes with considerations on possible research perspectives that lie beyond the current state of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once again, the current situation in which the world is facing a pandemic shows that the future is unpredictable. Foresight offers libraries methods for a better assess regarding the future consequences of the pandemic, to prepare themselves for eventuated events, and to develop today strategies for the future. The following article presents various methods of foresight and provides answers to the question what foresight can do for libraries. It also presents various trends of future reports which are currently foreshadowing on the horizon of the library world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since 2018/2019, three S3 treatment guidelines (GL) for alcohol-, pharmaceutical-, and tobacco-related disorders have been developed and approved in Germany. In addition to the scientifically correct procedures for developing GL, the collection and evaluation of potentially competing interests (CI) are central to the quality of the GL. Aims: Description of methods for processing potential CI and of results. Methods: Data on 11 themes concerning potential financial and non-financial CI from 217 participants have been collected using an existing questionnaire. Analysis took place by partly drawing on existing criteria, partly utilizing a newly developed coding system for information on potential CI, as well as a newly developed system of topic-related voting limitations. Findings: 69 participants (32 %) had no CI, 48 (22 %) had a CI with limited relevance (leading position), 86 (40 %) had a moderate level CI (abstention from voting) and an additional 14 (6 %) had a high-level CI (exclusion from session). Through the application of the new system of topic-related voting limitations, it was possible for 60 % to 90 % of the 148 contributors with a limitation to still participate, depending on the GL topic. Conclusions: The assessment system for potential CI and related exclusion measures reached a high level of acceptance; a re-evaluation was necessary in only about 5 % of cases. The statistical indicators differed considerably between the different GL. This requires further methodological analyses and better instructions using examples, particularly with regards to non-financial CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methodological issues (e.g., ignoring missing data, irrelevant outcomes, flawed subgroup analyses) often limit the value of health research. One reason is that health researchers cannot easily find relevant methods guidance. To improve the findability of methods guidance, we initiated the development of the Library of Guidance for Health Scientists (LIGHTS, https://lights.science/). LIGHTS is a new open access database to effectively support health researchers, statisticians, methods consultants, methods developers, ethics boards, peer reviewers, journal editors, funding bodies, and others who are searching for optimal methods guidance in clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sculptural depiction in school appears to be associated with very high requirements and is, if at all, often treated according to an unclear understanding of methods and with different educational goals. A closer look at the partial performances of sculptural processes and techniques shows, however, that sculpting can be learned when it is operationalized gradually in didactic terms. This includes process preparations as well as the development and provision of aids for perception, imagination, and depiction. The article at hand takes up various methods of sculptural seeing, thinking, and acting and illustrates a selection of alternative materials that are suitable for a sculptural depiction in a school setting with only a few resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no doubt that there is historical research in religious education studies and also in religious didactics. All relevant studies have a design that can be identified as "historical" on the basis of the underlying question, the epistemological interest, the subject, the methods and theories of reference. The article offers, in addition to scientific theoretical considerations, a material overview of historical research in the field of religious didactics. But it concludes that it would be misleading at present to speak of an established format of historical-religious- didactic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selection of databases in the context of systematic reviews should be well-reflected since it can affect the overall result of the literature search or the subsequent literature evaluation and analysis. Methodological criteria to be considered step by step in the selection of databases include the thematic focus of the databases and a sensitive or specific approach to searching. Pragmatic considerations such as database accessibility do not correspond to a high-quality methodical approach. However, they cannot always be disregarded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine whether data from a picture description task and a sentence completion task provided the same results about children's production of German main clauses (verb in second position) and subordinate clauses (verb final position). 47 children (primarily with German as a second language) were tested with HAVAS 5 and LiSe-DaZ. Despite a significant correlation between the syntactic abilities in both methods, the results demonstrate that the two methods do not provide the same information about children's production of main and subordinate clauses (agreement 68%). 14 children produce subordinate clauses (verb final position) in the sentence completion task but not in the picture description task. With respect to the results, the risk of underestimating children's syntactic abilities will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symptomatic treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) nowadays is of similar importance as immunotherapy within a comprehensive concept of therapy of this chronic disease, since it contributes considerably to the reduction of disabilities in activities of daily living as well as social and occupational life. Moreover, symptomatic treatment is of great importance for amelioration of quality of life. Since our last survey of symptomatic MS treatment in 2004 and publication of the guidelines of the German Neurological Society and the Klinisches Kompetenznetz Multiple Sklerose (KKN-MS) in 2014 several developments within the topics of mobility, bladder and sexual function, vision, fatigue, cognition and rehabilitation took place. These new findings together with further aspects of disease measures and overall treatment strategies of the respective symptoms, as well as treatment goals are introduced in a series of six individual contributions. Here, the topic will be introduced, the methodical approach will be explained, and the treatment of ataxia and tremor will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive literature search (CLS) describes a complex search with the aim to identify as many studies as possible to answer an underlying research question of a systematic review. However, concrete recommendations or a definition of the CLS are not available. The present article introduces a framework of the CLS, presents the associated challenges and points to methodological implications as well as potential future research topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has its roots in the consternation of head anesthetists over the loss of colleagues. Anesthesia, intensive care medicine, emergency medicine and pain therapy has lost too many first class colleagues through suicide, addiction, severe depression and other causes. It is time to direct attention not exclusively to patients but also to apply an important occupational principle in the rescue service and intensive care medicine to the profession of anesthetists: Every life counts! The following article supplies information on the frequency, methods and possible reasons for suicide by physicians and suggestions for the prevention of suicide as well as treatment of physicians who are at risk ofsuicide will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A system has been developed which allows respiration and apnea events to be simulated. With this system respiratory amplitude and respiratory frequency can be varied and it is also possible to simulate varying degrees of upper airway obstruction. In this study the simulator has been applied to eight positive pressure ventilation devices from different manufacturers for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The results showed remarkable differences between the devices regarding the dynamics and the final pressure delivered during the periods with repetitive apnea. The application of simulators such as the one used here in order to test positive pressure devices for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea has proved to be feasible and is recommended for future investigations of treatment devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods of the Nether-Saxony Soil Information System (NIBIS) which could estimate the potential behaviour of pesticides in soils are tested in different projects in test areas of Saxony (Germany). The methods offer approaches to assess in quality the potential bounding enrichment, availability and dislocation of pesticides in mesoscale geographic dimension. Strategies of resource protection or programmes of measuring of the actual pollution of rivers and soils are complemented by the estimation of large-scale risk-areas by different compounds. Problems of the application cause on the availability of modelling-data and the specific characteristics of the calculation-algorithmus. To an expansive using of the methods it would be necessary to complete and programme the instructions of calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]