1. What are the differences between research, clinical audit and service evaluation?

2. ResearchClinical AuditService Evaluation Designed to derive generalisable new knowledge Designed and conducted to produce information to inform delivery of best care Designed and conducted solely to define or judge current care Designed to test a hypothesisDesigned to answer ‘does this service reach a predetermined standard’? Designed to answer ‘what standard does this service achieve’? Addresses clearly defined questions, aims and objectives Measures against a standardMeasures without reference to a standard Study design may involve allocating patients to intervention groups No allocation to intervention Normally requires Research Ethics Committee review Does not typically require Research Ethics Committee review Does not require Research Ethics Committee review

3. How does research differ from clinical audit?

4. ResearchClinical Audit Designed to derive generalisable new knowledge Designed and conducted to produce information to inform delivery of best care Designed to test a hypothesisDesigned to answer ‘does this service reach a predetermined standard’? Addresses clearly defined questions, aims and objectives Measures against a standard Usually involves collecting data that are additional to those for routine care but may include data collected routinely. May involve treatments, samples or investigations additional to routine care Usually involves analysis of existing data but may include administration of simple interview or questionnaire Study design may involve allocating patients to intervention groups No allocation to intervention May involve randomisationNo randomisation Normally requires Research Ethics Committee review Does not typically require Research Ethics Committee review

5. How does service evaluation differ from clinical audit?

6. Service EvaluationClinical Audit Designed and conducted solely to define or judge current care Designed and conducted to produce information to inform delivery of best care Designed to answer ‘what standard does this service achieve’? Designed to answer ‘does this service reach a predetermined standard’? Measures without reference to a standardMeasures against a standard Usually involves analysis of existing data but may include administration of simple interview or questionnaire No allocation to intervention No randomisation Does not require Research Ethics Committee review Does not typically require Research Ethics Committee review

7. How does service evaluation differ from research?

8. Service EvaluationResearch Designed and conducted solely to define or judge current care Designed to derive generalisable new knowledge Designed to answer ‘what standard does this service achieve’? Designed to test a hypothesis Measures without reference to a standardAddresses clearly defined questions, aims and objectives Usually involves analysis of existing data but may include administration of simple interview or questionnaire Usually involves collecting data that are additional to those for routine care but may include data collected routinely. May involve treatments, samples or investigations additional to routine care No allocation to interventionStudy design may involve allocating patients to intervention groups No randomisationMay involve randomisation Does not require Research Ethics Committee review Normally requires Research Ethics Committee review