Akadeemilise teksti kirjutamise juhend: TNR 12, 1,5 ja valmis?

Tänapäeva hariduses on kirjutamisel keskne roll ja seetõttu on oluline ka see, kuidas kirjutamist toetatakse ja juhendatakse. Artiklis anname ülevaate Eesti gümnaasiumide ja ülikoolide uurimis- ning lõputööde juhenditest. Kogusime uurimiseks 60 juhendit ja analüüsisime neid, et näha, mida juhendid tavapäraselt sisaldavad ning millist abi need (üli)õpilasele kirjutamisprotsessi eri etappides pakuvad. Analüüsist selgus, et juhendites moodustasid sisuteemad ((üli)õpilastööde liigid; teema valik; kavandamine; allikate valik ja käsitlemine; ülesehitus; keel ja stiil; eetilised põhimõtted) vaid 22% juhendite kogumahust, ülejäänud 78% oli pühendatud vormistusele jm formaalsetele aspektidele. Sisuteemadest käsitleti kõige sagedamini töö ülesehitust, vähim räägiti töö kavandamisest. Rõhuasetused juhendites viitavad kirjutamise mõtestamisele Eesti haridussüsteemis üldisemalt: tähelepanu pööratakse eelkõige lõpptulemusele ja selle nõuetekohasusele, samas tulemuseni jõudmise protsess jäetakse sageli tagaplaanile. *** "Academic writing guidelines: TNR, 12, 1.5 and done?" In the article, we introduce an analysis of guidelines for theses and other written assignments in Estonian high schools and universities. We have collected 60 guidelines and analyzed them quantitatively to see what topics they contain and in which proportions, and qualitatively to see how those topics are presented and explained. The goal of this study was to understand how guidelines assist students throughout the process of writing longer assignments. First of all, it is important to emphasize that written guidelines are only a part of the guidance students receive (in addition to writing courses, seminars etc), yet they are regulated and more centralized at the institutional level compared to other options (e.g selective courses or Bachelor’s/Master’s seminars which can vary by teacher). Our analysis of the guidelines shows that they mainly focus on formal aspects. Only 22% of the total volume of guidelines (in pages) is dedicated to aspects related to the actual writing process and the content of the paper (planning, structure, working with sources, use of language). The rest is concerned with requirements on formatting, citation styles, submitting and defending the thesis etc. Of the content and process-related topics, the most attention is paid to the structure of the paper, which is mentioned in all guidelines, whereas the planning and drafting stage is discussed only in 14 guidelines out of 60. It can thus be concluded from our analysis that the guidelines for writing in Estonian high schools and universities appear to be oriented more toward form than content. The students receive thorough and detailed instructions on what the final text must look like, but the process of creating the text itself is often neglected. Our suggestion is to keep that tendency towards form in mind while creating or updating guidelines in order to make them more content-rich and therefore encouraging and motivating – all that to support (university) students in creation of meaningful texts

Association Between Administration of IL-6 Antagonists and Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE: Clinical trials assessing the efficacy of IL-6 antagonists in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have variously reported benefit, no effect, and harm. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between administration of IL-6 antagonists compared with usual care or placebo and 28-day all-cause mortality and other outcomes. DATA SOURCES: Trials were identified through systematic searches of electronic databases between October 2020 and January 2021. Searches were not restricted by trial status or language. Additional trials were identified through contact with experts. STUDY SELECTION: Eligible trials randomly assigned patients hospitalized for COVID-19 to a group in whom IL-6 antagonists were administered and to a group in whom neither IL-6 antagonists nor any other immunomodulators except corticosteroids were administered. Among 72 potentially eligible trials, 27 (37.5%) met study selection criteria. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: In this prospective meta-analysis, risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Inconsistency among trial results was assessed using the I(2) statistic. The primary analysis was an inverse variance–weighted fixed-effects meta-analysis of odds ratios (ORs) for 28-day all-cause mortality. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 28 days after randomization. There were 9 secondary outcomes including progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death and risk of secondary infection by 28 days. RESULTS: A total of 10 930 patients (median age, 61 years [range of medians, 52-68 years]; 3560 [33%] were women) participating in 27 trials were included. By 28 days, there were 1407 deaths among 6449 patients randomized to IL-6 antagonists and 1158 deaths among 4481 patients randomized to usual care or placebo (summary OR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.79-0.95]; P = .003 based on a fixed-effects meta-analysis). This corresponds to an absolute mortality risk of 22% for IL-6 antagonists compared with an assumed mortality risk of 25% for usual care or placebo. The corresponding summary ORs were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74-0.92; P < .001) for tocilizumab and 1.08 (95% CI, 0.86-1.36; P = .52) for sarilumab. The summary ORs for the association with mortality compared with usual care or placebo in those receiving corticosteroids were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.68-0.87) for tocilizumab and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.61-1.38) for sarilumab. The ORs for the association with progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death, compared with usual care or placebo, were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.70-0.85) for all IL-6 antagonists, 0.74 (95% CI, 0.66-0.82) for tocilizumab, and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.74-1.34) for sarilumab. Secondary infections by 28 days occurred in 21.9% of patients treated with IL-6 antagonists vs 17.6% of patients treated with usual care or placebo (OR accounting for trial sample sizes, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.85-1.16). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this prospective meta-analysis of clinical trials of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, administration of IL-6 antagonists, compared with usual care or placebo, was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO Identifier: CRD4202123015

Association between administration of IL-6 antagonists and mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 : a meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE Clinical trials assessing the efficacy of IL-6 antagonists in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have variously reported benefit, no effect, and harm. OBJECTIVE To estimate the association between administration of IL-6 antagonists compared with usual care or placebo and 28-day all-cause mortality and other outcomes. DATA SOURCES Trials were identified through systematic searches of electronic databases between October 2020 and January 2021. Searches were not restricted by trial status or language. Additional trials were identified through contact with experts. STUDY SELECTION Eligible trials randomly assigned patients hospitalized for COVID-19 to a group in whom IL-6 antagonists were administered and to a group in whom neither IL-6 antagonists nor any other immunomodulators except corticosteroids were administered. Among 72 potentially eligible trials, 27 (37.5%) met study selection criteria. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS In this prospectivemeta-analysis, risk of biaswas assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Inconsistency among trial results was assessed using the I-2 statistic. The primary analysis was an inverse variance-weighted fixed-effects meta-analysis of odds ratios (ORs) for 28-day all-cause mortality. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome measurewas all-cause mortality at 28 days after randomization. There were 9 secondary outcomes including progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death and risk of secondary infection by 28 days. RESULTS A total of 10 930 patients (median age, 61 years [range of medians, 52-68 years]; 3560 [33%] were women) participating in 27 trials were included. By 28 days, there were 1407 deaths among 6449 patients randomized to IL-6 antagonists and 1158 deaths among 4481 patients randomized to usual care or placebo (summary OR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.79-0.95]; P =.003 based on a fixed-effects meta-analysis). This corresponds to an absolute mortality risk of 22% for IL-6 antagonists compared with an assumed mortality risk of 25% for usual care or placebo. The corresponding summary ORs were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74-0.92; P <.001) for tocilizumab and 1.08 (95% CI, 0.86-1.36; P =.52) for sarilumab. The summary ORs for the association with mortality compared with usual care or placebo in those receiving corticosteroids were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.68-0.87) for tocilizumab and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.61-1.38) for sarilumab. The ORs for the association with progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death, compared with usual care or placebo, were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.70-0.85) for all IL-6 antagonists, 0.74 (95% CI, 0.66-0.82) for tocilizumab, and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.74-1.34) for sarilumab. Secondary infections by 28 days occurred in 21.9% of patients treated with IL-6 antagonists vs 17.6% of patients treated with usual care or placebo (OR accounting for trial sample sizes, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.85-1.16). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this prospectivemeta-analysis of clinical trials of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, administration of IL-6 antagonists, compared with usual care or placebo, was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality