Our research vision, philosophy and methods

The CEBM Research vision is to be a global source of high quality evidence, on which clinical decisions can be reliably based.

To achieve this vision we will:

• Generate and synthesise high-quality evidence that benefits patients and society.
• Improve the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of common primary care conditions.
• Build innovative tools to increase the impact of healthcare data in the real world.
• Deliver timely, innovative, and relevant outputs that directly affect policy and affect practice.  
• Develop tools and materials for the general public to better understand research evidence and healthcare findings.
• Build research capacity by supporting the next generation of research leaders.

Research pedigree

For over 20 years, the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine has been dedicated to conducting research for the benefit of patients, providers, and society.  Over 20 individuals work in the Centre, with diverse backgrounds, including clinicians, methodologists, statisticians, and research administrators. We also have a global network of international research collaborators, supporting the delivery of our vision, from Europe, Africa, Canada, the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and India. What unites them is a collective endeavour to provide high-quality evidence, on which clinical decisions can be reliably based.

We are based in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford. Our institution is ranked number one in the world university rankings and our department is ranked number one in the UK for the quality of its research.

Research philosophy

We align our research with the principles outlined in the EBM Manifesto.
In our research we seek to:

• involve patients, health professionals, and policy makers in the prioritisation, design, implementation, and dissemination of our results;
• prioritise systematic reviews and synthesis of existing evidence;
• be relevant, replicable, and accessible to identified end users;
• question clinical and research practices that may introduce biases, including research methods, scientific reporting, and conflicts of interests;
• apply world-leading expertise in research that underpins regulations of medications and devices;
• produce high-quality research that supports patient-focused clinical guidelines;
• support quality improvement in existing research methods and introducing innovative methods;
• share expertise and support the next generation of EBM research leaders.

Research methods

We use applied and translational research methods to generate new knowledge, in order to inform healthcare decision making. Furthermore, we use our skills and expertise to identify, develop, and appropriately apply existing and new research methods, to achieve our vision.

Examples of the research methods we use include:

• Systematic reviews and evidence synthesis
• Quantitative methods, including clinical trials, Diagnostic Test Accuracy, and Clinical audit
• Data mining
• Mixed methods, combining quantitative and qualitative methods
• Meta-epidemiology
• Investigative epidemiology
• Data visualisation
• Data coding.