A quantitative analysis of research in Physical Therapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Some physical therapists argue that research will justify and improve practice in the discipline. Whether these outcomes can be realized is partly a function of the nature of the research, the research methods used, and the extent to which clinical treatments are investigated.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This study analyzed aspects of a sample of 272 articles published in Physical Therapy during 1954 through 1993. Each article was read and categorized according to the method used and to whether it investigated clinical treatments.

RESULTS

An increasing percentage of the articles sampled described studies that used group designs, and most of the studies did not investigate clinical treatments.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

These findings are paradoxical given existing criticisms of group designs and expectations in physical therapy of research. More discussions and evaluations of current research practices in physical therapy are needed.