Survey Proposals

Surveys are a useful means of gathering information. Factual information and knowledge base should be accessible by other means, and BESS surveys should only be used to supplement that or to survey the membership’s perceptions/attitudes/opinions on the management of certain conditions. Other forms of surveys that would be highly topical and relevant to the needs of patients and/or the NHS would also be appropriate.

Surveys are often conducted to inform future research design, more specifically to aid in grant applications for specific areas of clinical research. Surveys designed for this specific purpose will be encouraged, as it will help promote BESS as a research network.

The topic of the survey should be as specific as possible, and the questionnaire designed appropriately to extract the information required on the topic. The questions should be unambiguous and consistently easy to understand. Using clinical scenario-based questions tends to elicit better response rates.

Please find further guidance and the application form below.

Criteria

Eligibility criteria for the applicant

Shoulder and Elbow consultants, orthopaedic trainee researchers supported by a Shoulder and Elbow Consultant or an Allied Health Professional.

Eligibility criteria for selection

Up to two surveys will be selected twice per year. The theme for survey proposals must be clinical research into shoulder and elbow disorders. All surveys will be assessed by the Research Committee.

Application and Guidance

Instructions to authors

Requests for circulation of surveys to BESS members should be submitted covering the following aspects:

  1. Purpose of the survey, and its potential benefit to the membership
  2. Relevance of the survey topic to the needs of patients and/or the NHS
  3. Justification that the survey is necessary to answer the question/s posed, i.e., such information is not available by other means
  4. Confirmation of how the results of the survey will be utilised
  5. Plans for dissemination of survey results.

The total length of your proposal should not exceed 200 words. You must also submit the wording for the questionnaire to accompany the proposal.

BESS will retain ownership of data from surveys of its members. By submitting your survey to BESS, you agree to provide the Research Committee with a summary of your findings.

These summarised survey results will be archived on the BESS web pages to allow access to other researchers.

BESS will limit the number of surveys to a maximum of three per year. Only well-constructed surveys which adhere to the above principles will be selected for circulation to the membership. The Research Committee will provide this quality assurance by objectively assessing the surveys submitted to BESS.

Appropriately constructed surveys following the above guidelines should be submitted using the form below.

Questions can be submitted to the Research Committee via research@bess.ac.uk.

The closing date is for submissions in this period is:

09.00, Monday, 11 March 2024

SURVEY PROPOSALS FOR 2024 WILL OPEN HERE IN DECEMBER 2023.

The BESS privacy notice is located here. Please ensure you read this before submitting your survey.

Past Surveys

YearName Survey Title
2017Toby BaringThe N-Brace Trial
2017Andy CarrA survey of current practice and opinions on using patches to enhance rotator cuff surgery
2017Tariq KwaeesHumeral Shaft Fracture Survey
2017Jayanti RaiReturn to work following arthroscopic supraspinatus repair: Survey of current UK practice
2018Harvinder SinghThe management of displaced fractures of the shaft of humerus
2019Rachael DawSurvey of Current practice in shoulder and elbow arthroplasty patient review
2019Elena KarasouliReverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty (rTSA) verses Anatomic Total Shoulder Arthroplasty (aTSA)
2019Harvinder SinghThe development of the treatment arms in a national trial on the management of displaced fractures of the distal clavicle
2020Steve GwilymDistal Biceps survey
2020Kapil KumarSurvey of use of Superior Capsular Reconstruction for management of irreparable rotator cuff tear
2020Helen Thompson The hydrodilatation expert Delphi survey  (HD X Delphi survey)
2021Aziz HaqueRadial head fractures
2021Chris LittlewoodWhich factors influence clinical equipoise across surgical members of the British Elbow and Shoulder Society in relation to rehabilitation following rotator cuff repair?
2021Radhakant PandeyNeglected shoulder dislocation survey
2022Eleanor BurdenPhysical Restrictions following Total Elbow Arthroplasty
2022Addie MajedThe Management of Distal Humeral Fractures
2023Lindsay CunninghamNew implants in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery: a survey of current perspectives
2023Zaid HamoodiThe predictors of failure in total elbow arthroplasty
2023Maciej SimonElective Shoulder Replacement Surgery – perioperative routines and management across countries