Journal Club Discussion

Journal Club Discussion Outline I. Main points of the article a. Background: b. Approach: c. Results: II. Article critique a. Background information and study aims i. Did the authors provide adequate background information? Is there additional information that you would like to know about this area of research? ii. Are the aims of the study clear? b. Methods i. Study design: Is this an appropriate approach for examining the research question? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the selected research design? ii. Participants: Did the authors adequately describe the study population? Is there additional information that you would like to know about the participants? What do you think about the authors’ decisions regarding exclusion/inclusion criteria? Could they have introduced bias? iii. How was loss to follow up addressed in this study? What do you think of this approach? iv. Measures: What do you think of their approach to measuring physical activity (advantages, disadvantages, etc)? Are there measures that you would have added if you were involved in this study? v. Analysis: Was the analytic strategy clearly outlined? Were relevant confounders adjusted for? c. Results i. What are your thoughts regarding the results of the study? d. Discussion and Conclusions i. Do the authors adequately address the strengths and limitations of the study? ii. Discuss the public health relevance of the findings 1. Does this study have important public health implications? 2. How can these findings be used? iii. Future research directions Does this article raise questions that can be addressed in future studies?