ACAP Learning Resources: ACAP Library Pathfinder: Systematic Searching for a Review: Appraising Results

Appraising Results

Critical appraisal tools are used to evaluate the quality and validity of research articles by examining various aspects of the study design, methods, and results. The purpose of critical appraisal tools is to help researchers, clinicians, and other healthcare professionals determine whether a study is reliable and credible and whether the findings are likely to be accurate and applicable to an area of research, a specific practice, or a patient population. By using a standardised set of criteria to evaluate articles, critical appraisal tools can help to minimise bias and errors in the research process.

Typically, critical appraisal tools assess various aspects of a study, including the research question, study design, sample size, selection and recruitment of participants, data collection methods, statistical analysis, and interpretation of results. The tools often use a scoring system or checklist to rate the quality of the study, with higher scores indicating better quality and a lower risk of bias.

Further Reading

Buccheri, R. K., & Sharifi, C. (2017). Critical Appraisal Tools and Reporting Guidelines for Evidence‐Based Practice. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 14(6), 463–472. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12258

Appraising Research Papers

Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP Checklists)
This set of eight critical appraisal tools are designed to be used when reading research, these include tools for Systematic Reviews, Randomised Controlled Trials, Cohort Studies, Case Control Studies, Economic Evaluations, Diagnostic Studies, Qualitative studies and Clinical Prediction Rule.
These are free to download and can be used by anyone under the Creative Commons License.
UniSA. Critical Appraisal Tools
The University of South Australia. A range of appraisal tools, listed by type of study.
CEBM Critical Appraisal tools
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Checklists for SRs, diagnosis, prognosis, RCTs, qualitative studies, IPD reviews.
JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Joanna Briggs Institute. Checklists for analytical cross sectional studies, case control, case report, case series, cohort studies, diagnostic test accuracy studies, economic evaluations, prevalence studies, qualitative research, quasi-experimental studies, RCTs, SRs, text & opinion.
Critically Appraising for Antiracism
Naicker's Critically Appraising for Antiracism Quality Appraisal Tool.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander quality appraisal tool
Assessing the quality of health research from an Indigenous perspective.
Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers from a Variety of Fields
Contains checklists for appraising qualitative and quantitative research along with a detailed explanation of how to use and score them.
Transdisciplinary research quality assessment framework
View a prototype TDR quality assessment framework, organized as an evaluation rubric along with an overview of the relevant literature and summary of the main aspects of TDR quality identified there. Four main principles emerge: relevance, including social significance and applicability; credibility, including criteria of integration and reflexivity, added to traditional criteria of scientific rigor; legitimacy, including criteria of inclusion and fair representation of stakeholder interests, and; effectiveness, with criteria that assess actual or potential contributions to problem solving and social change.
AGREE Reporting Checklist
The AGREE Reporting Checklist is intended to assist practice guideline developers to improve the completeness and transparency of reporting in practice guidelines. The checklist can also provide guidance to peer reviewers, journal editors, and guideline users about the essential components of a high quality practice guideline.
How to critically evaluate the quality of a research article?