Book Review

The importance of evidence-based practice cannot be under-stated in a modern health service and within paramedic practice, the recent publication of the ambulance service clinical guidelines is testimony to that. Yet with the relatively recent evolution of higher education in our profession, the concept of conducting and interpreting formal research may still be alien to some.

The governance of undertaking and interpreting structured research can be daunting and some of the finer points can be easily over-looked. This text covers most, as establishing research objectives, identifying the type of study to be undertaken, sampling, data collection and analysis are all covered. For somebody who has undertaken formal research projects before, I found the content to be easily palatable, well-structured and lucidly presented.

That being said, some of the more complex concepts, such as hypothesis testing and confidence intervals, would have benefited from more in-depth consideration. Yet no single text can reasonably claim to be the definitive research manual.