Keeping this basic fact in mind, the visionary personality and academician and clinician par excellence Professor MN Parikh has a brilliant idea to infuse this academic pursuit amongst the medical students, clinicians and practitioners to develop and evolve their inherent power for advancement of various faculties of medicine. The elaborate chapters in Research Methodology Simplified: Every Clinician a Researcher are so vividly presented in correct and appropriate sequence that I am sure that readers will certainly be benefited in a big way. The difficult and the least understood chapter on medical statistics has been depicted in such a simplified manner so as to facilitate the thesis work and dissertation particularly for the postgraduates. The authors of this unique book have tried their best to amalgamate every minute aspect related to medical research. I am confident that this will be a masterpiece for all time to come in the sense that every time you read a page, you inculcate a feeling of new ideas.

It is said that:

I hope this is appropriate for this masterpiece.

The book has many pluses. The language has been kept simple throughout and thus is not unnerving. Each of the twenty-five chapters is further subdivided into independent sections, each of which can be read without loss of continuity and thus at no point you feel like skipping a chapter. The chapter on biostatistics is particularly well presented and hopefully will motivate students not to skip the statistics section in peer reviewed publications. Chapters on Misdeeds in Research, Thesis Writing and Presentation at Conferences and Meetings are especially useful as these are nowhere addressed in the current postgraduate curriculum or in other standard books on research methodology.

The book will be a useful addition to any departmental or institute's library. I wish that medical college heads of departments and librarians purchase this book and encourage students to read and subsequently apply the knowledge gleaned. I also appeal to all postgraduates and teachers alike to read the book and apply its principles both in the practice and use of evidence-based medicine in day-to-day practice. Even if some of you after reading this book are motivated to write papers, present at conferences, apply for funding and simply appreciate statistics meaningfully, the book would have served its purpose.

There are a large number of masterly books on various individual aspects of this vast topic Written by Western authors. But most of these lack simplicity of language, are not designed for easy understanding by clinicians, deal the topic in great depths not needed by most students, many researchers, and practicing clinicians, besides being unaffordably expensive. There are some books on Public Health and Preventive Medicine. There is hardly any book directed to clinical researchers and clinicians in general. I strongly believe that every practicing clinician must understand the basic nitty-gritty of research and fundamental role of biostatistics in clinical research. This is necessary to enable them evaluate the research studies presented to them in medical literature and at scientific conferences. It is this ability besides and understanding of quality of guidelines, strength of various recommendations, and value of consensus statements dished out to them by various agencies that can help them intelligently transfer relevant research into their own clinical practice for the benefit of their patients. Besides, every clinician, howsoever senior and busy he may be, must develop some expertise in conducting electronic search to guide him when faced by rare or unusual problems of individual patients. Most importantly, it is commonly believed that only those on the teaching faculty of medical colleges can do research while those involved only in day-to-day clinical practice cannot. I totally disagree with this. Many private practitioners, treat a vast number of patients. 12With this great treasure of clinical material at their disposal, they are in a position to conduct meaningful clinical research provided they keep thorough records of patients they see, desire to do research, and acquire basic training and understanding of clinical research methods. This is the main thrust and driving force behind the writing of this book.

The book is a humble effort to cater to the multiple needs of students — both undergraduate and postgraduate, teachers—both senior and junior, researchers, clinicians across all medical specialties, health care providers, medical administrators, and policy makers. I sincerely hope that all of them will find the book very useful. I earnestly solicit readers' comments, criticisms and suggestions. Lastly, I am indebted to Mr Prashant Kadam, a talented postgraduate student in Applied Biology, and my dear friend Kishore Dave, Electrical Engineer, for their valuable help, and to my publishers for their close cooperation.