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Critical Appraisal

Use this guide to find information resources about critical appraisal including checklists, books and journal articles.

Last updated: 17/09/2024

Key Resources

Bedford D (2018) Anatomy of a journal article.
  • This online resource explains the sections commonly used in research articles. Understanding how research articles are organised can make reading and evaluating them easier
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP)
Centre for Evidence Based Medicine: Critical appraisal tools
  • Worksheets for appraising systematic reviews, diagnostics, prognostics and RCTs.
    View page
Cochrane: Evidence essentials
  • A free online resource for both healthcare staff and patients; four modules of 30ֱ45 minutes provide an introduction to evidence based medicine, clinical trials and Cochrane Evidence.
JBI: Critical appraisal tools
MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow (no date) 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.
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis)
  • The PRISMA flow diagram depicts the flow of information through the different phases of a literature review. It maps out the number of records identified, included and excluded, and the reasons for exclusions.
    View page
The Campbell Collaboration: Methodological Expectations of Campbell Collaboration Intervention Reviews (MECCIR)
  • A useful resource for methods and evidence in applied social science.
The Equator Network
  • A comprehensive database of reporting guidelines. Covers all the main study types.
AMSTAR
  • A tool to assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews.

Books

Book cover Aveyard H, Preston N and Farquhar M (2022) How to read and critique research: a guide for nursing and healthcare students. London: SAGE.
Book cover Aveyard H (2023) Doing a literature review in health and social care: a practical guide. 5th edn. London: Open University Press.
  • Chapter 5 covers critical appraisal of the literature.
book cover Booth A, Sutton A, Clowes M and Martyn-St James M (2022) Systematic approaches to a successful literature review. 3rd edn. Los Angeles: SAGE.
  • Chapter 6 covers assessing the evidence base.
Book cover Bootland D and others (2016) Critical appraisal from papers to patient: a practical guide. London: CRC Press.
  • Section 1 covers an introduction to critical appraisal. Section 3 covers appraising difference types of papers including qualitative papers and observational studies.
Book cover Coughlan M and Cronin P (2020) Doing a literature review in nursing, health and social care. 3rd edn. Los Angeles: Sage. 
  • Chapter 6 covers critically appraising the literature.
Book cover Elwood M (2017) Critical appraisal of epidemiological studies and clinical trials. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Book cover Gerrish K, and Lathlean J (2015) The research process in nursing. 7th edn. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
Book cover Greenhalgh T (2019) How to read a paper: the basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare. 6th edn. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons.
Book cover Gray J R and Grove S K (2020) Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: appraisal, synthesis and generation of evidence. 9th edn. Philadelphia: Saunders. 
Book cover Linsley P, Kane R and Barker J (2022) Evidence-based practice for nurses and allied health professionals. 5th edn. Los Angeles: Sage.
Book cover LoBiondo-Wood G and Haber J (2022) Nursing research: methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice. 10th edn. St. Louis: Elsevier.
Book cover Schmidt N and Brown J (2022) Evidence-based practice for nurses: appraisal and application of research. 3rd edn. Burlington: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Book subject search

Use this link to see details of books the RCN libraries hold on this topic.

Journal articles

Moorley C and Cathala X (2019) How to appraise mixed methods research, Evidence-Based Nursing, 22(2), pp. 38ֱ41.
Moorley C and Cathala X (2019) How to appraise qualitative research, Evidence-Based Nursing, 22(1), pp. 10–13.
Cathala X and Moorley C (2018) How to appraise quantitative research, Evidence-Based Nursing, 21(4), pp. 99ֱ101.
Buccheri RK and Sharifi C (2017) Critical appraisal tools and reporting guidelines for evidenceֱbased practice, Worldviews on EvidenceֱBased Nursing, 14(6), pp. 463-472.
Connelly LM (2016) Trustworthiness in qualitative research. (Understanding research), MedSurg Nursing, 25 (6), pp.435-436.
Fineout-Overholt E, Melnyk BM, Stillwell SB and Williamson KM (2010) Critical appraisal of the evidence: part I. An introduction to gathering, evaluating and recording the evidence, American Journal of Nursing, 110 (7), pp.47-52.
Fineout-Overholt E, Melnyk BM, Stillwell, SB and Williamson KM (2010) Critical appraisal of the evidence: part II. Digging deeperֱexamining the "keeper" studies, American Journal of Nursing, 110 (9), pp. 41-48.
Fineout-Overholt E, Melnyk BM, Stillwell SB and Williamson KM (2010) Critical appraisal of the evidence: Part III. The process of synthesis: seeing similarities and differences across the body of evidence, American Journal of Nursing, 110 (11), pp. 43-51.
Heale R and Twycross A (2015) Validity and reliability in quantitative studies, Evidence-Based Nursing, 18 (3), pp.66-67.
Myers G and Levin RF (2012) "Can you touch your toes? Using tables of evidence (TOES) to organize your evidence review", Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 26 (4), pp.238-240.
Noble H and Smith J (2015) Issues of validity and reliability in qualitative research", Evidence-Based Nursing, 18 (2), pp.34-35

Shea BJ and others (2017) AMSTAR 2: a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews that include randomised or non-randomised studies of healthcare interventions or both, British Medical Journal, 358.

  • An outline of AMSTAR 2 and its use for as a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews.
Smith J and Noble H (2014) Bias in research, Evidence-Based Nursing, 17 (4), pp. 100-101.
Smith J and Noble H (2016) Reviewing the literature, Evidence-Based Nursing, 19 (1), pp. 2-3.
Stonehouse D (2016) Evidence-based practice: knowing what's good or bad, British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 10 (4), pp. 199-201.
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Page last updated - 17/09/2024