Critical Appraisal Resources

VIDEO
CLIPS

WEBSITES & TOOLS

Video clips

A video introducing the key elements of critical appraisal, produced by Cochrane , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

This group has produced a number of other critical appraisal videos:

Other helpful videos:

P-values

Statistics Corner: Confidence Intervals

Websites & Tools

Browse our Critical Appraisal
Book Collection

Bandolier EBM Glossary - definitions for the jargon words often used in medicine and the numbers and statistics used to describe it. The glossary includes terms used in epidemiology, in clinical trials, in diagnosis, in statistics, and in health economics.
BestBets - BETs bring the evidence one step closer to the bedside, by providing answers to very specific clinical problems, using the best available evidence. Each Topic answers a carefully worded 3-part question, using a structured approach to finding and reviewing the literature. BETs are designed specifically for Emergency Medicine. The BET method allows the use of lower quality research, and lists the shortcomings of the evidence used. As with other forms of EBM topic review, each BET has a clinical "bottom line" for the busy physician.
BMJ Best Practice: EBM Toolkit - This evidence-based medicine (EBM) toolkit supports those who want to learn more about the principles of EBM. The toolkit brings together information and tools to enable individuals to learn, practise and discuss EBM.
CASP The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) was set up as a programme within Learning & Development at the Public Health Resource Unit, Oxford. CASP aims to enable individuals to develop the skills to find and make sense of research evidence. The website gives access to critical appraisal checklists which guide the appraisal of a systematic review, observational study, or experimental study.
Catalogue of Bias - Designed to better understand the persistent presence, diversity, and impact of biases. The entries are a work in progress and describe a wide range of biases – outlining their potential impact in research studies.
CATmaker - a computer-assisted critical appraisal tool, which helps you create Critically Appraised Topics (CATs), for the key articles you encounter about Therapy, Diagnosis, Prognosis, Aetiology/Harm and Systematic Reviews of Therapy.
Centre for Evidence Based Medicine The CEBM in Oxford is one of several centres around the country whose broad aim is to promote evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to anyone who wants to make use of them. The website contains a useful introduction to Evidence Based Medicine, as well as downloads and EBM tools.
The Consort Statement Website CONSORT, which stands for Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials, encompasses various initiatives developed by the CONSORT Group to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).The main product of CONSORT is the CONSORT Statement, which is an evidence-based, minimum set of recommendations for reporting RCTs. It offers a standard way for authors to prepare reports of trial findings, facilitating their complete and transparent reporting, and aiding their critical appraisal and interpretation
The GATE Frame: Critical Appraisal with Pictures The Graphical Appraisal Tool for Epidemiological Studies (GATE) aims to help practitioners to visualise an entire study as well as the component parts.
The Joanna Briggs Institute - JBI’s critical appraisal tools assist in assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network - checklists SIGN develops evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the NHS in Scotland. The checklists cover appraisal of various study types including systematic reviews, RCTs, cohort studies, case-control studies and diagnostic studies.
Understanding Health Research - A tool for making sense of health studies. Trying to make sense of health research? This tool will guide you through a series of questions to help you to review and interpret a published health research paper.
Statistics Archives - Students 4 Best Evidence

Medline, Pubmed, CINAHL, AMED, EMBASE, EMCARE, HMIC, PsychInfo.

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