HSE Library: Searching systematically (old): Critical Appraisal

What is critical appraisal?

According to the Centre for Evidence Based Practice in Oxford UK,

Critical appraisal is the systematic evaluation of clinical research papers in order to establish whether a study:

Addresses a clearly focused question?
Uses valid methods to address this question?
Finds valid results which are important?
Finds results which are applicable to my patient or population?

If the study in question does not adequately answer all of these questions, there is no point continuing with it.

CASP checklists

The CASP checklists are critical appraisal tools designed to be used when reading research. Checklists are available for:

Systematic Reviews
Randomised Controlled Trials
Cohort Studies
Case Control Studies
Economic Evaluations
Diagnostic Studies
Qualitative studies
Clinical Prediction Rule

These are free to download and can be used by anyone under the Creative Commons License.

CASP CHECKLISTS

Critical Appraisal Worksheets

The Centre for Evidence Based Medicine provides worksheets to assist with the critical appraisal of various publication types:

Each worksheet is a downloadable pdf document which follows a standard way of appraising evidence based on the publication type. Translations of the worksheets are available for a variety of languages.

Searching systematically (old): Critical Appraisal

What is critical appraisal?

CASP checklists

Critical Appraisal Worksheets

Critical appraisal tutorials