Editor’s Perspective Emphasizing Methods in Outcomes Research

Outcomes research focuses on the end results of healthcare, with emphasis on the patient experience. The field is not a singular discipline, but rather draws on a broad range of primary fields to produce knowledge that can inform decisions at the patient and health system level. Outcomes research uses a wide spectrum of methods that include experimental and nonexperimental designs. It is distinctive in its focus on questions that are relevant to optimizing efforts to promote the health of patients and populations, with an emphasis on aligning decisions to the preferences, values and goals of those individuals. The richness of methodological approaches to outcomes research is apparent in the pages of Circulation: Cardiovas-cular Quality and Outcomes. Examples include articles that report on randomized trials,1,2 cross-sectional studies,3 obser-vational cohort studies,4 economic analyses,5–7 meta-analy-ses,8 systematic reviews,9,10 prepost designs,11 simulations,12 and qualitative research.13,14 A glance at this content quickly dispels the myth that outcomes research is primarily associ-ated with secondary data analyses and data mining. That type of work, for the appropriate questions and with the appropri-ate methodological approach, can make important contribu-tions, but is hardly the only study design used by the field. Moreover, even studies using existing data bases often exhibit novelty in their methodological approach.15 At Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, our commitment to advancing clinical research methods is sup-ported by our process of manuscript evaluation. The statisti-cal review process is conducted, in collaboration with the editors, by a talented team that is directed by Dr Sharon-Lis