For those who have been assigned the task (or sought the opportunity) to develop outcomes studies for their organizations or for investigators who want to undertake such studies to pursue knowledge about what works in medical care, the following principles are offered:

• Outcomes research is feasible. It must be done carefully, but it can yield useful information.
  

• Conducting solid outcomes research requires careful attention to basic design and to the subtleties of each situation. One must begin with a clear question and not hope that the analysis will yield spontaneous insight.
  

• A careful delineation of the factors that might influence the outcomes of interest and a conceptual model of the expected relationships among those factors are essential.
  

• Technical issues are important. Aspects of measurement theory apply. Appropriate statistical analysis, often using sophisticated methods to correct for such problems as potential selection bias, is needed. Consultation in advance with statisticians and methodologists is strongly recommended.
  
  The following are two options offered by CORC to help learn how to conduct health outcomes research and to sharpen research and methodological skills.