title: A practical guide to value of information analysis.
abstract: Value of information analysis is a quantitative method to estimate the return on investment in proposed research projects. It can be used in a number of ways. Funders of research may find it useful to rank projects in terms of the expected return on investment from a variety of competing projects. Alternatively, trialists can use the principles to identify the efficient sample size of a proposed study as an alternative to traditional power calculations, and finally, a value of information analysis can be conducted alongside an economic evaluation as a quantitative adjunct to the 'future research' or 'next steps' section of a study write up. The purpose of this paper is to present a brief introduction to the methods, a step-by-step guide to calculation and a discussion of issues that arise in their application to healthcare decision making. Worked examples are provided in the accompanying online appendices as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, ed.wilson@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Edward C F
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003657:Decision Making; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research / Q000191:economics*; D012107:Research Design; D018401:Sample Size