We conduct methodological work in collaboration with other groups such as the MRC ConDUCT Hub for Trial Methodology Research and the NIHR School for Primary Care Research Evidence Synthesis Working Group.

The University has a site licence for the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a large dataset of anonymised records from NHS primary and secondary care for research purposes.

Current projects

• Qualitative Data Preservation and Sharing. Stevenson, F., (Co-PI) Leydon-Hudson, G., (Co-PI), Caddick, B., Barnes, R., Chew-Graham, C., Latter, S., Pitchforth, E., Pope C., Saunders, B., Turner, K., Ziebland, S., Maidment, I., Laidlaw, L., Percy, A. Funder: NIHR School for Primary Care Research (2022-2024)

• Improving the evidence base for primary care: NIHR Evidence synthesis working group. Huntley A, Feder G, Salisbury C, Payne R, Duncan L, Dawson S, Malpass A. Funder: NIHR School for Primary Care Research  

• Turner K, Huntley A, Dawson S. Systematic reviews to inform the design of usual care comparator arms in primary care trials: methodological approaches and profiling of current research practice. NIHR School for Primary Care Resarch (2021-2023)

Completed projects

• Measuring paediatric health-related quality of life using digital ecological momentary assessment. Brigden A, Fraser H, Thompson L, Ridd M J. Crawley E.

• Health inequalities in older people: a community-driven plan for action. Coghill N, Francombe-Webb J, Chalder M, Wyatt K, O'Neill M. Funder: GW4 Initiator Programme (2018-2019)

• Patient-centred trials: developing measures to improve the experience of people taking part in clinical trials. Bower P, Sanders C, Young B, Turner K, Gillies K, Donnelly A. Funder: NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (2017-2019)

• How does the elicitation and exploration of parent treatment preferences effect the conduct of primary care trials with children. Boyd G, Sutton E, Ridd M. (2019-2020)

• Identifying clinical features in primary care electronic health record studies: methods for codelist development. Watson J, Nicholson BD, Hamilton W, Price S.

• A systematic review of the assessment of implementation fidelity in primary care trials. Barnes RK, Huntley A, Mann C, Heawood A. Funder: NIHR School for Primary Care Research (2016-2018)   

• Identifying and critiquing different approaches to developing complex interventions (INDEX study). O’Cathain A, Turner K, Duncan E, Hoddinott P, Yardley L, Croot E. Funder: MRC (2016-18)

• The Bristol Archive Project: Creating a shared resource of primary care encounters and linked data. Barnes RK, Ridd M, Metcalfe C, Salisbury C. Funder: NIHR School for Primary Care Research (2014-2016)

• 'Research Champion' - increasing social science involvement in antimicrobial resistance research. Lambert H, Cabral C. Funder: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (2015-2016)

• 'One in a Million' Improving the re-use potential of a new database of primary care consultations and linked data. Barnes RK, Jepson M, Ridd M, Metcalfe C, Proctor S, Salisbury C. Funder: SW GP Trust (2015)

• Identifying the quality indicators of a patient-centred trial: obtaining expert consensus using the Delphi method. Bower P, Young B, Turner K, Planner C, Donnelly, Stephenson C, Gillies K, Knapp P. Funder: NIHR School for Primary Care Research (2015)

• Study of Treatments in Depression (STRIDE): a secondary analysis of qualitative data. Turner KM, Donovan J, Kessler D. Funder: NIHR School for Primary Care Research (2014-2015)

• Assessing the public's willingness to provide informed consent for their identifiable medical records to be accessed for different types of research, Gemma Lasseter, Lesley Wye, Richard Huxtable and Chris Salisbury (Funded by NIHR School for Primary Care Research)

• Losing the Losses: Understanding the reasons for attrition in randomised trials and developing the evidence to prevent it: qualitative study within mixed methods evaluation. C Gamble, A Lane, A Heawood. Funder: MRC Methodology Research Programme (2014-2016)

• Systematic Techniques for Assessing Recruitment to Trials (START): a programme to test recruitment interventions. P Bower, S Treweek, S Eldridge, J Graffy, D Collier, A Kennedy, P Wallace, C Salisbury, D Torgerson, P Knapp. MRC.

• Testing the feasibility of a new approach to gaining consent for research in primary care. C Salisbury, L Wye, R Huxtable, J Donovan. G Lasseter. NIHR School for Primary Care Research

• Methods of estimating cost-effectiveness in RCTs when adherence to allocated treatment is incomplete. T Peters, C Metcalfe, W Hollingworth. NIHR Research Methods Fellowship and Internship Award

• The ConDuCT Hub (COllaboration and iNnovation in DifficUlt and complex randomised Controlled Trials): regional Hub within a national network providing a methodological platform for clinical trials, bringing together and reinforcing existing strengths in methodological research and developing new methodological research. J  Blazeby, J Donovan, A Heawood, T Ades, N Welton, C Metcalfe, S Noble, A Lane. Funder: MRC (2010-2014)

• An ethnographic study of group decision-making and member roles to understand and improve how Trial Steering Committees and Trial Management Groups contribute to trial conduct. A Heawood, A Lane, C Gamble, S McCann, M Sydes, M Clarke. MRC Hubs for Trial Methodology Research Network Funding.

• Influences on psychosocial and physical health in early adulthood: phenotypic enrichment of the ALSPAC cohort through linkage to primary care electronic patient records and other databases. J MacLeod, G Smith, M Hickman, A Henderson, A Boyd, D Darvill, J Sterne, C Salisbury, et al. Wellcome Trust

• Centre for the Improvement of Population Health through E-health Research (CIPHER). R Lyons, D Ford, J Macleod, C Butler, S Palmer, S Brophy, P Burton, J Carroll, J Cassell, et al. Medical Research Council