Research Cycle: Critical Appraisal

How do these checklists work?

The checklists questions usually provide the following wording options - Yes, No, Not Sure or Not Applicable or sometimes Can't tell.  The checklists provide detailed explanation with each question on what part of the study you should be appraising. Once you have evaluated your article using a checklist guide, add up the number of times you selected Yes/No/Not Applicable. If overall you have selected YES this will provide a stronger positive appraisal of the study.  If overall you selected NO or NOT SURE this paper may not be suitable for inclusion in your assignment or policy update.  Still not sure? Ask a colleague to do the same process and see how their checklists adds up!

Select the linked resource you are appraising below which will link you to more detailed information on what checklists are best to use.

Journal Checklists

Clinical Guideline Checklists

Grey Literature Checklists

Website Page Checklists

 Critical appraisal forms part of the process of evidence-based practice. Critical Appraisal is the third step in formal evidence based methodology

1.  Ask a question
2. Find information/evidence to answer question
3.  Critically appraise the information evidence
4. Integrate appraised evidence with own clinical expertise and patient's preferences.
5. Evaluate

Why do we need to critically appraise the literature?

It is essential we:

• Weigh up the evidence for usefulness
• Assess (value) benefits and strengths for research against flaws and weaknesses.
• Assess the research process and results.

We question:

• Are the findings reliable?
• What do the results mean in the context of the decision we are making?

The questions to consider when evaluating JOURNAL ARTICLES are based on the following areas.

•  What is the Research Question
•  What is the Design of the Study (This will indicate which checklist you wish to use).  E.g. a Systematic review article will require a systematic review appraisal checklist to be used. 
•  Assess the Study's validity
•  Assess the Study's results
•  Assess the Study's application to clinical practice or your area of interest.

The questions to consider when evaluating GUIDELINES are based on the following areas.

• Availability. Is the guideline available in fulltext and easily accessible?
• Dates. Is the guideline current?
• Underlying evidence. Did they search the literature? Does it provide a list of references?
• Guideline developers. Who developed it and what's the purpose?
• Guideline purposes and users. Are the purpose and target users of the guideline stated?
• Ease of use. Easy to follow and recommendations clearly marked?

The term Grey Literature has been given many definitions

• Everything published outside of books and journal articles
• publications that are not acquired or located through commercial vendors
• documents that cannot be identified using an index or electronic database

Also refer to the Grey Literature LibGuide for more information on searching grey literature sources,

Evaluate websites for the following criteria, when incorporating this type of medium into your research findings.

•  What can the URL tell us?
•  Who wrote the page? Is he, she, or the authoring institution a qualified authority?
•  Is it dated? Current, timely?
•  Is information cited authentic?
•  Does the page have overall integrity and reliability as a source?
•  What's the bias?
• Are there references listed to support the website's information?