Ethical Issues in Study Design, Statistics, And Reporting of Findings – A Researcher’s Responsibility to Participants, Physicians, and Patients

Part I: Clinical research can be flawed by error in design, method, and reporting, which lead both to scientific paucity and ethical failing. This class focused on ethics and methodology and aimed to define the role of a researcher in conducting clinical research. It followed the evolution of a study, beginning with asking a study question, and cumulating with manuscript publication.

How to Write an Abstract and How We Rate It

This session took the participant through the various components of abstract writing. Emphasis was placed on delineation of the hypothesis, methodology of prospective vs retrospective studies and clear presentation of results with a succinct conclusion. Methodology for grading of abstracts and a subsequent "hands-on" piece to allow participants to grade representative abstracts (constructed by the course faculty to be distributed in advance of the session) was integrated into the course.