"Critical Appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context. It is an essential skill for evidence-based medicine because it allows people to find and use research evidence reliably and efficiently" (CASP, 2023)
Tools and Checklists
When you critically appraise a paper you will scrutinise it in order to objectively evaluate the quality and validity of it's conclusions and it's findings, and check for any bias. This is usually done through a series of pre-designed questions, which are also known as checklists. The specific questions used change slightly with different study designs. There are various sets of questions / checklists which are freely available online. Here are some good quality options:
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Understanding Health Research
This tool will guide you through a series of questions to help you to review and interpret a published health research paper. -
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists
Free downloadable checklists to help you more easily and accurately perform critical appraisal across a number of different study types.
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JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
JBI’s critical appraisal tools assist in assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers.
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Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal worksheets to help you appraise the reliability, importance and applicability of clinical evidence.
Books for Critical Appraisal
There are many books available in the library with more detailed information and guidance on critical appraisal. Often there will be a chapter or section about critical appraisal in a book about research or evidence-based practice. Here is a selection of books to get you started:
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A Beginner's Guide to Evidence-Based Practice in Health and Social Care
by
Call Number: 610.73072 A82ISBN: 9780335251971Publication Date: 2023Chapter 6: How do I know if the evidence is convincing and useful? -
Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals
by
Call Number: 610.73 L35ISBN: 9781529775914Publication Date: 2022Chapter 5: What is Critical Appraisal?
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme [CASP] (2023) What is Critical Appraisal? Available at: https://casp-uk.net/what-is-critical-appraisal/ (Accessed: 15 August 2023)