Methods Research Lab
We study how researchers develop, evaluate and use research methods.
Research methods shape what we can learn from a study. We investigate how researchers choose and use methods, and build tools to support their decisions.
Stefan Schandelmaier leads the Methods Research Lab at the University of Basel, working with collaborators internationally.
The Swiss National Science Foundation supports Stefan Schandelmaier’s STREAM project through an Ambizione grant (2025–2029).
What we are working on
Our projects address different parts of a shared question: what helps researchers make sound decisions about methods? TYPE-ME classifies methods research. STREAM studies how to develop methods guidance. LIGHTS helps researchers find methods guidance. ICEMAN helps them assess claims about differences in treatment effects.
TYPE-ME
Methods research takes many forms and uses inconsistent terminology. TYPE-ME provides a shared classification to help researchers describe their work.
Links 4 for TYPE-ME
Collaborators 7 for TYPE-ME
- Anne-Laure Boulesteix, LMU Munich
- Georg Heinze, Medical University of Vienna
- Richard Hooper, Queen Mary University of London
- Hanan Khalil, La Trobe University
- Zachary Munn, University of Adelaide
- Dawid Pieper, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane
- Livia Puljak, Catholic University of Croatia
S
STREAM
How should researchers develop methods guidance? STREAM examines current practice and develops strategies to guide this work.
Links 4 for STREAM
Collaborators 6 for STREAM
- Anne-Laure Boulesteix, LMU Munich
- Frank Bretz, Novartis and Medical University of Vienna
- Gordon Guyatt, McMaster University
- David Moher, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and University of Ottawa
- Frances Shiely, University College Cork
- Derek Stewart, University of Galway
LIGHTS
Finding guidance on research methods can be difficult. LIGHTS brings guidance together in a searchable library.
Links 6 for LIGHTS
Collaborators 13 for LIGHTS
- Ivan Buljan, University of Split
- Saifur Rahman Chowdhury, McMaster University
- Hannah Ewald, University of Basel
- Federico Germini, McMaster University
- Gordon Guyatt, McMaster University
- Daeria Lawson, McMaster University
- João Pedro Lima, McMaster University and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Shanshan Lin, Johns Hopkins University
- Ana Marušić, University of Split
- Davide Papola, University of Verona
- Christoph Schönenberger, University of Basel
- Frances Shiely, University College Cork
- Linan Zeng, McMaster University and Sichuan University
ICEMAN
Does a treatment work better in one patient group than another? ICEMAN helps researchers assess the credibility of these claims in trials and meta-analyses.
Links 14 for ICEMAN
Collaborators 15 for ICEMAN
- Michael Borenstein, Biostat, Inc.
- Issa J. Dahabreh, Brown University
- Niveditha Devasenapathy, Indian Institute of Public Health-Delhi
- Joel Gagnier, University of Michigan
- Gordon Guyatt, McMaster University
- Rodney A. Hayward, University of Michigan
- John P. A. Ioannidis, Stanford University
- Jonathan Nordmann, University of Basel
- Willi Sauerbrei, University of Freiburg
- Christopher H. Schmid, Brown University
- Xin Sun, Sichuan University
- Lehana Thabane, McMaster University
- Geert J. M. G. van der Heijden, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam
- Ravi Varadhan, Johns Hopkins University
- Michael Walsh, McMaster University
Talks and posters
Coming up: ISCB–GMDS, Freiburg
We will present at the joint ISCB–GMDS conference, which runs from 27 September to 1 October 2026. If you are attending, come and say hello.
16 September 2026 · ICTMC, Birmingham
We presented posters at the International Clinical Trials Methodology Conference. Conference programme.
1 September 2026 · MSMR, Zurich
Malena Chiaborelli presented From methods research to methods guidance: an evolving collaborative research program at the Symposium on Meta Science for Methods Research. Her talk explored how LIGHTS, STREAM and TYPE-ME connect. Read the abstract or view the slides (PDF).
About the group
We bring together researchers from several institutions. Most of us also run trials, write reviews or sit on guideline panels. That experience shapes the questions we ask and the tools we develop.
Core group
You can find each project’s collaborators in the cards above.
Have a methods question, an idea for a study, or feedback on one of our tools? We’d like to hear from you. You do not need a fully developed proposal to start a conversation.
Email Stefan at s.schandelmaier@gmail.com.
Questions we are exploring
We are shaping the following ideas into future projects. If one connects with your work, get in touch to discuss it with us.
Topics 4 for Topics
A prospective registry for methods research
Could a registry help researchers find ongoing methods studies and track changes to study plans? We are exploring what it should record and how to make it useful.
Guidance for methods reviews and meta-epidemiological studies
How should researchers review the methods used in published studies, or examine how study characteristics relate to results? We want to develop guidance for conducting and reporting this work.
What evidence supports a research method?
What shows that one method performs better than another, and under what conditions? We want to map the evidence used to support methods and examine how it can inform recommendations.
How AI shapes choices about research methods
What happens when researchers ask AI tools which study design or analysis to use? We want to examine their recommendations, the evidence behind them and how they relate to methods guidance.
These independently led initiatives help researchers report studies, choose outcomes and assess evidence. Their resources complement our work on research methods.
Initiatives 3 for Initiatives
Helps researchers report health studies clearly and completely, with a searchable library of reporting guidelines and practical resources.
Helps researchers find and develop core outcome sets: the minimum outcomes that studies of a particular condition should measure and report.
Brings together tools and training to help researchers assess validity and risk of bias in evidence syntheses.
