Smart Literature Searches and Critical Appraisal for NHS Professionals
13 December 2024, online
This session was led by Liz Lourandos, Knowledge Specialist at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, and explored best practice and techniques for effective literature searching and critical appraisal.
Access to resources from this session: Slides
The informative, online session supported participants in developing evidence-based approaches in their work by combining live demonstrations, hands-on exercises and critical thinking strategies to strengthen their literature searching and critical appraisal skills.
Attracting attendees from organisations such as NHS trusts, local councils, and voluntary sector groups, holding a variety of roles such as public health leads, clinical researchers, student nurses, library assistants, and mental health practitioners across South West London, it was a diverse group who joined us online. Some of the session highlights were Boolean Logic Made Simple: A well-received Venn diagram effectively illustrated how to use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to structure searches with precision.
Participants also enjoyed the live demonstration of various search techniques. Liz guided attendees through tools such as the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub and Ovid, explaining strategies like using keywords, Boolean operators, combining searches, applying filters, and copying search histories to refine results – all for searching the literature strategically.
The evidence pyramid helped participants distinguish between filtered and unfiltered information. Tools like the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist were introduced for systematically evaluating the reliability and applicability of research articles.
This session emphasised the value of thoughtful research practices to confidently integrate high-quality evidence for informed decision-making in healthcare research.
In the feedback, participants said that, “it was very well organised,” and that “the relaxed nature of the learning, the example of the literature search, and the journal review were all great.”
Participants left with a solid understanding of how to plan and execute effective literature searches using tools like Medline, CINAHL, and Embase, and practical techniques for critical appraisal, including evaluation of evidence with the CASP checklists. The session also explored strategies for navigating research databases and applying advanced search filters to improve accuracy and outcomes.
Turning Vision into Funded Projects: A Network Cafe on Bid Writing
27 November, Electric House (LSBU), Croydon
This session was led by Alison White (Head of Innovation, Health Innovation Network South London/NHS SWL ICB) and Kate Scott (Associate Professor, Kingston University) and explored the art and science of bid writing.
Access to resources from this session: Slides
This Network Cafe offered attendees an all-inclusive journey, from vision articulation to crafting persuasive narratives and refining bids.
The session attracted attendees from a diverse mix of organisations – from NHS SWL ICB, local councils, voluntary sector organisations, academic institutions, and the private sector. Roles ragned from project managers and programme directors to healthcare professionals and researchers.
This cafe proved the power of thoughtful bid writing, leaving attendees with he confidence and techniques to turn their visions into funded realities.
Attendees shared their experiences, challenges, and questions about bid writing in an interactive thinking pairs activity. This activity helped participants refine their ideas and gain fresh perspectives.
Other key takeaways included the importance of aligning organisational values with the vision. A discussion on “vision vs mission” highlighted how core business priorities should drive the vision to make it clear and compelling.
A clear favourite amongst attendees, the Storytelling for Persuasion segment unpacked the magic of storytelling, breaking it down into three essential components: Ethos (Credibility): why should people trust you?, Pathos (Emotion): How does your story connect to the heart, and Logos (Logic): Does your narrative make sense?
Participants discovered how these elements work together to craft persuasive narratives that connect with audiences and funders and gained practical tips on clarity, compliance, and conciseness to refine their proposals effectively.
One participant said that the session was, “a chance to take a step back and analyse how best to apply, with the help of other people’s expertise and experience.”
Measuring Outcomes & Proving Impact
7 October, FUSEBOX, Kingston upon Thames
The session was led by Marcus Green, Optum, and built on the September discussion on the importance of evaluation
Access to resources from this session: Slides and access to the Evaluation Toolkit
This Network Café attracted diverse voices from NHS England, local councils, voluntary sector organisations, community groups, academics, and university students, creating a great opportunity for cross-sector exchange of discussions about what it means to demonstrate impact in research today.
At the heart of the session was the logic model framework, which Marcus skillfully unpacked. Starting with the rationale behind each project, the model maps a clear path through inputs, activities, outputs, and ultimately, long-term outcomes. Real-world examples, like the Wallington Community Garden project, made these ideas tangible, showing how a well-planned evaluation can transform a community’s efforts into measurable success.
“Working through the logic model and peer experiences made the concepts come alive.” – Participant
Participants were not just listeners – they actively engaged in the session through Menti exercises and group discussions, applying these frameworks directly to their own work.
The final part of the session focused on proving value for money in today’s resource-conscious environment and exploring practical approaches to both financial and social value assessment.
In its entirety, the session highlighted the power of thoughtful evaluation as a method of accountability and a way to substantiate the real-world impact of research. It went beyond theory, equipping attendees with the tool to demonstrate that their work is not just valuable, but can be truly transformative for the communities they serve.
“The quality of discussions between participants was excellent, and I learned a lot from the session.” – Participant.
The Importance of Evaluation
13 September, St George’s University of London
The session was led by Marcus Green, Optum, who focused on understanding evaluation practices for real-world projects.
Access to resources from this session: Slides and access to the Evaluation Toolkit
This Network Café brought together community leaders and researchers from across South West London to explore the importance of evaluation in research. The session was led by Marcus Green, Analytics Director at Optum, and focused on understanding evaluation practices for real-world projects.
It began by discussing key reasons for evaluation, such as assessing impact, learning what works, identifying areas for improvement, and maximising community impact. The conversation highlighted how evaluation could act as a tool to demonstrate the value of work being done in ways that would resonate with external stakeholders.
Marcus guided participants through practical steps in the evaluation process. A key focus was on setting evaluation questions that aligned with project goals, helping to clarify what success looks like from the outset. This enabled everyone to reflect on how they could apply these questions to their own work.
The session also covered the importance of data and measurement, discussing how to gather both qualitative and quantitative data that can provide useful insights. The session encouraged close collaborations with stakeholders from the beginning to ensure robust data collection.
Next, the session moved to designing evaluation methods that suit each project’s unique context. We discussed the Logic Model, a framework that helps map out the flow from inputs to outcomes, showing how small actions can lead to significant, measurable change. Marcus also stressed the value of using SMART metrics to ensure that projects are realistic in what they aim to achieve.
Speaking on the session, one attendee shared, “The quality of discussion between participants was excellent,” highlighting the value of collective input, and many participants left with new connections and expressed excitement about building on them.
Best practice when conducting surveys
9 August, online
The session was led by Dr. Catherine Heffernan, who drew in a diverse audience eager to improve their survey techniques.
Access to resources from this session: Slides and session recording (coming soon)
Through a series of interactive activities, participants shared their own experiences and best practices for distributing surveys, increasing response rates, and using effective nudging techniques such as emails, calls, and in-person follow-ups. These conversations emphasised the importance of making surveys accessible and convenient for participants to maximize engagement.
Together with the participants, Catherine explored key aspects of survey design, discussing the differences between quantitative and qualitative research approaches and the steps involved in crafting effective surveys. The session also underscored the significance of carefully framing questions and the need for pre-testing and piloting surveys to achieve meaningful results.
The group activities were a central part of the session, allowing everyone to apply the concepts in a practical setting. One exercise involved critiquing poorly designed questionnaires, which sparked lively discussions. Another activity focused on creating a codebook for data analysis, a tool useful to organise and interpret survey results effectively.
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Many valued the interactive nature of the event and the practical activities, noting how much they learned from each other’s experiences. This Network Café was a powerful example of how collective learning can deepen understanding and provide practical tools for conducting successful research.
Launch event
16 May, Oru Sutton
The launch brought together a diverse group of community members, representatives from voluntary sector organisations, researchers and senior leadership staff from across South West London.
On 16 May 2024, the South West London Research Support Network was launched at Oru Space Sutton. Funded by NHS England’s Research Engagement Network, this network was set up to build awareness of and expand opportunities in research for communities, voluntary organisations, NHS and local authority staff and members of the public throughout the six boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth and Croydon.
Over a wonderful lunch, a diverse group of approximately 100 community members, representatives from voluntary sector organisations, researchers and senior leadership staff chatted and shared learning and research interests.
This was followed by the main event chaired by Dr Catherine Heffernan, Director of Health Improvement, NHS South West London. Through a series of fireside chats, the audience met representatives from the South London Applied Research Collaboration, the South London Clinical Research Network and the South London Health Innovation Network.
We learned about the work done by BIG South London to ignite the local economy, Kingston Voluntary Action and the SWL Integrated Care Board’s Evaluation Ambassadors. These discussions emphasised the resources and support available to help people participate in research in South West London.
We also heard about the Research Café Study, aimed at exploring the role of Research Cafés in increasing diversity and inclusivity in healthcare research and conducted in partnership with four vital voluntary sector organizations: Centre of Change in Croydon, Mind in Kingston’s Magpie Project, People Arise Now in Sutton, and Tooting Community Kitchen in Wandsworth. The principal investigator Dr. Josephine Ocloo and the Research Assistant Sapna Kurade shared experiences from this study with advice for the future of this network.
Attendees praised the event’s inclusive and welcoming environment, saying that they had wonderful conversations with amazing people. People were keen to know about the future network cafes and there was a collective commitment to build a more inclusive research community in South West London.
