ArticleBMJ open2015
Protocol--the RAMESES II study: developing guidance and reporting standards for realist evaluation.
Article in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Understanding pathways from primary health care to universal health coverage outcomes: a realist review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Welfare-to-work interventions and their effects on the mental and physical health of lone parents and their children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Welfare-to-work interventions and their effects on the mental and physical health of lone parents and their children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Mobile Health in Home-Based Palliative Care: Realist Review of Contextual Factors and Mechanisms Influencing Outcomes.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Review
- Structured Online Support to Inform and Assist Antidepressant Deprescribing in Primary Care (WiserAD Tool): Protocol for a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Springfield Healthy Hearts Data Framework: Protocol for a Co-Designed, City-Wide, Multicomponent Initiative That Coordinates, Monitors, and Evaluates Place-Based Heart Health Action.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Challenges, Strategies, and Explanatory Mechanisms in Clinical Skills Remediation Programs in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Realist Review Protocol.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- How Is Equity-Based Co-Creation Enacted in Health and Social Services? An Evaluation of Four Case Studies.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- A Realist Review Protocol on the Contribution of Mental Health First Aider Programmes to Staff Wellbeing within Hospital and associated healthcare settings.HRB open research · 2026Article
- Protected learning time in community pharmacy and possibilities for upscaling: an exploratory study in Wales, UK.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Improving employer and employee well-being in small and medium-sized enterprises in Flanders: a realist evaluation protocol of the FitBonus program.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Loneliness by Design: The Structural Logic of Isolation in Engagement-Driven Systems.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- The participation of lifeworld experts in Delphi processes: A reflection on method and practice.MethodsX · 2025Review
- Article
- When the parts are greater than the whole: how understanding mechanisms can advance implementation research.Implementation science : IS · 2025Article
- Community participation through women's health collectives promoted by India's National Urban Health Mission: a realist evaluation in Chhattisgarh state.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionRealist evaluation is an increasingly popular methodology in health services research. For realist evaluations (RE) this project aims to: develop quality and reporting standards and training materials; build capacity for undertaking and critically evaluating them; produce resources and training materials for lay participants, and those seeking to involve them.
methodsTo achieve our aims, we will: (1) Establish management and governance infrastructure; (2) Recruit an interdisciplinary Delphi panel of 35 participants with diverse relevant experience of RE; (3) Summarise current literature and expert opinion on best practice in RE; (4) Run an online Delphi panel to generate and refine items for quality and reporting standards; (5) Capture 'real world' experiences and challenges of RE-for example, by providing ongoing support to realist evaluations, hosting the RAMESES JISCmail list on realist research, and feeding problems and insights from these into the deliberations of the Delphi panel; (6) Produce quality and reporting standards; (7) Collate examples of the learning and training needs of researchers, students, reviewers and lay members in relation to RE; (8) Develop, deliver and evaluate training materials for RE and deliver training workshops; and (9) Develop and evaluate information and resources for patients and other lay participants in RE (eg, draft template information sheets and model consent forms) and; (10) Disseminate training materials and other resources.Planned outputs: (1) Quality and reporting standards and training materials for RE. (2) Methodological support for RE. (3) Increase in capacity to support and evaluate RE. (4) Accessible, plain-English resources for patients and the public participating in RE. DISCUSSION: The realist evaluation is a relatively new approach to evaluation and its overall place in the is not yet fully established. As with all primary research approaches, guidance on quality assurance and uniform reporting is an important step towards improving quality and consistency.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.