Academic viva for intercollegiate exam
- You will be given two papers to read in the space of one hour
- There is no longer a need to submit two of your own abstracts
- Read the shorter paper first
- Write notes directly on the paper
- Have two different colour highlighter pens with you
- One colour for the good pints
- Another colour for the bad points
- Decide which paper you would prefer to discuss - you might get to choose!
- The academic viva is not simply an exercise in statistics
- For each paper consider the following point
Title, authors, institution
- Is the title of the paper clear
- Is the subject of the paper relevant and important
- Does it come from an academic institution or smaller hospitals
- Are the numbers of authors appropriate
- Do the authors have a credible reputation in this field
Introduction
- Is it short and succinct
- Does it clearly set the background to the paper
- Are all relevant references included
- Is the discussion of previous studies balanced
- Are the aims of the current study clearly stated
Methods
- Determine the type of study
- From the type of study determine the level of evidence it will produce
- Decide whether the type of study is appropriate to the question asked
- Are inclusion and exclusion criteria stated
- Are the primary and secondary outcome measures stated
- Has an appropriate statistical method been used
Results
- Can all subjects be accounted for
- Were the baseline measures of the groups similar
- Are the results clearly stated in the text, figures or tables
- Are there any discrepancies between the text and table
Discussion
- Have appropriate conclusions been drawn from the data presented in this paper
- How does this compare with other peoples experiences
References
- Are the references up to date
Finally
- Summarise the paper in 5-6 sentences
- Pick out both the good and the bad points
- Form and opinion as to whether you think it is good, average or poor paper
- Decide whether it will change your practice
- Decide how you would have designed the study differently
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