Appraising the Evidence
"Critical appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context."
The following resources will help you:
JBI Critical Appraisal Tools - tools to assist in assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers
Critically Appraising Evidence for Healthcare JBI eBook
Synthesizing Quantitative Evidence JBI eBook
Practice Guidelines
Practice Guideline Critical Appraisal Worksheet - Duke University
Systematic Reviews
Inclusion Criteria McMaster University guide to inclusion criteria for systematic reviews.
Anatomy of a Systematic Review National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (Canada)
CASP critical appraisal of Systematic Reviews
Systematic Review (of Therapy) worksheet CEBM Toronto
Systematic Review Critical Appraisal Duke University
Randomised Controlled Trials
CASP critical appraisal of RCTs
Non-randomised Studies
The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) University of Newcastle and University of Ottawa
Therapy
FRISBE for critical appraisal of therapy studies Duke University
Therapy worksheet CEBM Toronto
Therapy Critical Appraisal Worksheet Duke University
Diagnosis
Evidence-based Medicine: Answering questions of diagnosis Clin Med Res 2004. 2(1):63-9.
An introduction to critical appraisal of articles of diagnosis J Am Osteopath Assoc 2007.107(8):304-9
Diagnosis Critical Appraisal Worksheet Duke University
Diagnosis worksheet CEBM Toronto
Stats Calculator CEBM Toronto
More details on Likelihood Ratios CEBM Toronto
Diagnostic Test Calculator Alan Schwartz, University of Illinois, Chicago.
Synthesizing Evidence of Diagnostic Accuracy JBI eBook
Prognosis
Prognosis Critical Appraisal Worksheet Duke University
Prognosis worksheet CEBM University of Toronto
Harm
Harm worksheet CEBM University of Toronto
Harm Critical Appraisal Worksheet Duke University
Synthesizing Evidence of Risk JBI eBook
Differential Diagnosis
Differential Diagnosis Critical Appraisal Worksheet Duke University
Economic Evaluation
CASP critical appraisal of economic evaluations
Synthesizing Economic Evidence JBI eBook
Qualitative Studies
Qualitative Study Critical Appraisal Worksheet Duke University
Qualitative Research in Health Care A. Are the Results of the Study Valid? JAMA. 2000 Jul 19;284(3):357-362.
Qualitative Research in Health Care B. What Are the Results and How Do They Help Me Care for My Patients? JAMA. 2000 Jul 26;284(4):478-482.
Synthesizing Qualitative Evidence JBI eBook
Synthesizing Evidence from Narrative, Text and Opinion JBI eBook
Quality Improvement
How to Use an Article About Quality Improvement. JAMA 2010;304 2279-2287
More...
Knowledge Translation in Healthcare JBI eBook
Public Engagement in Translating Knowledge to Action JBI eBook
Translation Science and the JBI Model of Evidence Based Healthcare JBI eBook
Number Needed to Treat
How to calculate the number-needed-to-treat Terry Shaneyfelt. video 3 min
The NNT Tutorial Grahm Walker video 4 min
Number needed to treat Phillip Sedgewick. BMJ 2010;341:c5614
Absolute Risk Reduction, Relative Risk Reduction, Relative Risk
How to calculate a relative risk Terry Shaneyfelt. video 3 min
Basic Statistics for Clinicians: Assessing the effects of treatment: measures of association CMAJ. 1995 Feb 1;152(3):351-7. Erratum in: Can Med Assoc J 1995 Mar 15;152(6):813.
Odds Ratios
Gordon Guyatt explaining odds ratios video 21 min
How to calculate an odds ratio Terry Shaneyfelt. video 3 min
Odds ratios. Philip Sedgwick. BMJ 2010;341:c4414
Intention-to-Treat
Intention-to-treat analysis - What it is and why is it important? Terry Shaneyfelt video 5min
What is intention-to-treat analysis? Allan Shaughnessy video 1 min
What is the intention-to-treat analysis? Philip Sedgewick BMJ 2013;346:f3662
Forest Plots
How to interpret a forest plot. Terry Shaneyfelt video 5 min
Interpreting and understanding meta-analysis graphs--a practical guide. Aust Fam Physician. 2006 Aug;35(8):635-8. PubMed PMID: 16894442
Confidence Intervals
Confidence intervals. Terry Shaneyfelt video 5 min
Basic Statistics for Clinicians: Interpreting study results: confidence intervals CMAJ. 1995 Jan 15;152(2):169-73.
Sensitivity, Specificity and Likelihood ratios
Sensitivity & specificity H. Gilbert Welch video 8 min
How to calculate sensitivity Terry Shaneyfelt video 4 min
How to calculate specificity Terry Shaneyfelt video 3 min
What are likelihood ratios and how are they used Terry Shaneyfelt video 10 min
Diagnostic Test Calculator Alan Schwartz, University of Illinois, Chicago.
More...
more videos by Allan Shaughnessy
Stating the meaning of effect size measures in plain English
These links courtesy of Duke University
Over the last decade there has been an increase in new publishers and journals attracting authors who wish to publish Open Access (OA). It is important to evaluate the scholarly credibility of the publisher and the journal if you decide to publish in an OA journal.
Think. Check. Submit provides guidance on choosing the right journal for your research.
Keep the following questions in mind when evaluating OA publishers and journals:
Predatory Journals
The World Association of Medical Editors provides guidance on identifying predatory or pseudo-journals.
The folllowing lists have compiled 'potential, possible or probable predatory journals':
Note: These lists are not comprehensive or authoritative. They are designed to help authors, however, please conduct your own due diligence to reach your own conclusion.