EpiBio Seminar Series | Joel Gagnier, PhD

"Clinimetrology: An empirical science of clinical research methods"

Presented by Dr. Joel Gagnier a Clinical Epidemiologist and Associate at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,  Department of Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, as a part of the EpiBio Seminar Series 2025/26.

Attend in person: PHFM 3015
Attend online: please request the Zoom link at epibio@uwo.ca 

Abstract: Clinimetrology is proposed as an empirical science of clinical research methods: the systematic study of how design, conduct, analysis, reporting, synthesis, and translation practices shape the credibility and usefulness of clinical evidence. This talk introduces clinimetrology as a unifying framework spanning 13 interlocking domains: (1) causal inference and target trial emulation; (2) randomized trials methodology; (3) observational studies and routinely collected health data; (4) analytic infrastructure, including missing data and competing risks; (5) diagnostic test accuracy methods; (6) prediction and prognosis methodology; (7) outcome measurement and clinimetrics; (8) evidence synthesis methods; (9) meta-epidemiology; (10) appraisal tools and evidence credibility; (11) reporting, transparency, and reproducibility; (12) implementation and translation methods; and (13) equity, heterogeneity, and external validity. Across these domains, clinimetrology treats methodological choices as testable hypotheses, leveraging comparative evaluations, simulations, replication audits, and meta-research designs to quantify bias, uncertainty, and generalizability, and to identify practices that improve decision-ready evidence. The session will provide a conceptual map linking domain-specific methods to common failure modes (e.g., time-zero bias, selective outcome reporting, misclassification, overfitting, publication bias, and inequitable applicability) and to practical remedies (e.g., explicit estimands, robust sensitivity analyses, validated measurement instruments, calibrated risk-of-bias assessment, and living synthesis). By positioning methods as an object of empirical inquiry, clinimetrology aims to accelerate trustworthy knowledge production, strengthen reproducibility, and improve the translation of evidence into equitable clinical care.