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Qualitative research contributes to the medical literature through the observation, description and interpretation of theories about social interactions and individual experiences as they occur in their natural setting. This type of research has the potential to enhance the understanding of surgeons' and patients' preferences, attitudes and beliefs, as well as assess how these may change with time. To date, there is no widely accepted standard for the methodological assessment of qualitative research. Despite ongoing debate, this article seeks to familiarize surgeons with the basic techniques for the critical appraisal of qualitative studies in the surgical literature., The randomized controlled trial (RCT) and the systematic review of RCTs, both forms of quantitative research, represent the gold standard in clinical research. (1) While quantitative research seeks to establish [...]

SUMMARY A well-planned randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the most optimal study design to determine if a novel surgical intervention is any different than a prevailing one. Traditionally, when we [...]

SUMMARY Phase 3 randomized controlled trials are the widely accepted gold standard through which treatment decisions are made, as they assess the efficacy of a novel treatment against the control [...]