Research Guides: Journal Clubs: Reading & Appraising

Reading and Appraising

Critical Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of research studies to determine their validity, significance, and relevance for informed decision-making. This process involves analyzing the methodology, results, and overall quality of the research to assess the trustworthiness and applicability of the findings.

The foundational resources listed below can be used to by journal club facilitators and participants to efficiently read research articles and interpret the findings.

Clinical Epidemiology by Grant S. Fletcher
ISBN: 9781975109554
Publication Date: 2020-03-06
This book presents the principles and methodologies of clinical research, focusing on topics such as study design, data interpretation, and the analysis of research findings. It emphasizes the importance of translating research to evidence-based practice, enabling readers to apply scientific findings to patient care.
How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine and Healthcare by Trisha Greenhalgh
Call Number: Online
ISBN: 9781119484721
Publication Date: 2019
Assists readers new to critical appraisal in assessing the validity and relevance of scientific articles and enhancing their evidence-based practice skills.
Principles of Research Design and Drug Literature Evaluation, Second Edition by Rajender R. Aparasu; John P. Bentley
ISBN: 9781260441789
Publication Date: 2019-10-16
The book covers the principles of clinical research, statistics, data analysis, and drug literature evaluation to support evidence-based pharmaceutical care.

JAMAevidence This link opens in a new window
An evidence-based point-of-care clinical support tool that helps identify the best available evidence by providing guides to the systematic consideration of the validity, importance, and applicability of claims about the assessment of health problems and the outcomes of health care.
Alternate titles: JAMA Evidence
Published by: McGraw-Hill Companies

A critical appraisal checklist is a structured tool used to evaluate the quality and relevance of research studies. It typically includes a series of questions or criteria that guide the reviewer in assessing various aspects of the study. There are numerous checklists and appraisal tools available online. Below are links to a small sample of widely used tools.

CASP Checklists (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme)

Downloadable checklists to help journal club participants critically appraise studies.
Checklists are categorized by study type. Once you identify the study design of the article to be presented, use the corresponding checklist.
Visit How to Use the CASP Checklists for more information.

EBVM Critical Appraisal Tools (Center for Evidence Based Veterinary Medicine)

Fillable checklists for studies in veterinary medicine.
Checklists are categorized by study type with a "standard questions" checklist which can be used for any study type.

JBI Critical Appraisal Tools (Joanna Briggs Institute)

Developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute for systematic reviews but may be useful for journal clubs.
Checklists are categorized by study design. Once you identify the study design of the article to be presented, use the corresponding checklist.

LATITUDES network

Designed to assist systematic review and meta-analysis teams in identifying the best assessment tools for evidence synthesis; however, it may also be useful for journal clubs.
A library of validity (risk of bias) assessment tools that can be used to appraise studies.
Assessment tools are organized by the name of the tool or the study type it should be used for.

What Study Design Am I Assessing? (Latitudes Network)

These videos will introduce you to some of the main study designs used for health and biomedical research.

Cochrane Critical Appraisal Playlist from Cochrane Collaboration

Introduction to Critical Appraisal (9:33)
Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis (29:19)
Randomized Controlled Trials (22:05)
Cohort Studies (18:20)
Case Control Studies (16:15)
Cross Sectional Studies (10:48)
Diagnostic Studies (23:20)

How to Appraise a Clinical Trial - Part 1 (8:39) and Part 2 (25:42) from Strong Medicine on youtube.com

Introduction to Critical Appraisal Playlist from University Hospitals Birmingham Library

Includes several unique videos on critical appraisal of case reports/series, economic evaluations, and animal studies.