Methods Study Spotlights

Learn more about a selection of research studies that are being supported by Methods PCORI Funding Announcements

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Bank of Questions Fuel Patient Surveys

Researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center developed and validated an item bank of survey questions to capture patient-reported outcomes and experiences related to childbirth, including experiences related to pain management and staff support.

Hospitals and researchers can use the item bank to quickly develop surveys to collect data needed to better understand and improve patients' childbirth experiences. The research team is expanding the item bank to 10 more hospitals through a PCORI Dissemination and Implementation Award. Learn more about this study.
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Calculating Results for Pragmatic Trials

A research team from Harvard University’s School of Public Health is developing evidence-based methodological guidance for the design and analysis of pragmatic randomized controlled trials.

The team will examine how different approaches to characterizing treatment adherence (data collection and statistical methods) and other study factors might reduce (or increase) bias in research findings. The guidance will help researchers to generate evidence that improves patients’ and clinicians’ understanding of the benefits and risks of treatments based on how the treatments are used in real-world settings. Learn more about this study.
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Guidance Helps Ensure Complete, Reliable Data

University of Colorado Denver researchers developed guidance to assess the quality of data collected for nonresearch purposes but increasingly used for research, such as electronic health record (EHR) data. Researchers who use these data, and stakeholders who rely on the findings from such studies, need to have confidence that the data can support the conclusions.

The research team identified key characteristics of high-quality EHR data, provided recommendations for reporting and assessing the quality of these data, and assessed the utility of the guidance and barriers to adherence. The findings were used to update PCORI Methodology Standards for data networks. Learn more about this study.

Posted: October 7, 2019