LibGuides: Literature Reviews in Medicine and Health: Appraisal by Study Type

Randomized Controlled Trials

CASP Randomized Cotrolled Trial Checklist
The questions in the checklist’s are designed to help you think about several aspects in a structured way.
JADAD Scale for Reporting Randomized Controlled Trials
The Jadad scale, sometimes known as Jadad scoring or the Oxford quality scoring system, is a procedure to independently assess the methodological quality of a clinical trial. Jadad et al. published a three-point questionnaire that formed the basis for a Jadad score.
JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Randomized Controlled Trials - Barker TH, Stone JC, Sears K, Klugar M, Tufanaru C, Leonardi-Bee J, Aromataris E, Munn Z. The revised JBI critical appraisal tool for the assessment of risk of bias for randomized controlled trials. JBI Evidence Synthesis. 2023;21(3):494-506
RoB2 Tool
A revised Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials.

CASP Checklist for Cohort Studies
The questions in the checklist’s are designed to help you think about several aspects in a structured way.
JBI Critical Apraisal Tools
JBI’s critical appraisal tools assist in assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers.
Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing nonrandomised studies
Nonrandomised studies, including case-control and cohort studies, can be challenging to implement and conduct. Assessment of the quality of such studies is essential for a proper understanding of nonrandomised studies. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) is an ongoing collaboration between the Universities of Newcastle, Australia and Ottawa, Canada. It was developed to assess the quality of nonrandomised studies with its design, content and ease of use directed to the task of incorporating the quality assessments in the interpretation of meta-analytic results.
STROBE
We aimed to establish a checklist of items that should be included in articles reporting such research – the STROBE Statement. We considered it reasonable to initially restrict the recommendations to the three main analytical designs that are used in observational research: cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies.

CASP Checklist for Case Control Studies
The questions in the checklist’s are designed to help you think about several aspects in a structured way.
JBI Critical Apraisal Tools
JBI’s critical appraisal tools assist in assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers.
STROBE
We aimed to establish a checklist of items that should be included in articles reporting such research – the STROBE Statement. We considered it reasonable to initially restrict the recommendations to the three main analytical designs that are used in observational research: cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies.
Tool to Assess Risk of Bias in Case Control Studies
A quality assessment tool for case-control studies from the CLARITY Group at McMaster University.

VAILDITIY

Was there a blind comparison with reference standard? (Gold Standard)
Was there a broad representation of patients?
Were both tests given to all patients?
Does the diagnostic test under assessment accurately distinguish between people who do and do not have the specific disorder?
Can I apply this valid, accurate diagnostic test to a specific patient?

MAGNITUDE OF EFFECT

CASP Checklist for Diagnostic Studies
A checklist for diagnostic studies created by the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) .
Diagnostic test studies: assessment and critical appraisal
From BMJ Best Practice - how to appraise a diagnostic study
JBI Critical Apraisal Tools
JBI’s critical appraisal tools assist in assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers.
QUADAS-2
A quality assessment tool for diagnostic accuracy studies

VALIDITY

MAGNITUDE OF EFFECT

What are overall results?
Are results applicable to my patient or population?
What was the size of the Treatment effect? - Relative Risk, Odds Ratios, Numbers Needed to Treat
Were all relevant outcomes addressed?
Are benefits worth cost or potential harm?

CASP Checklist for Qualitative Studies
The questions in the checklist’s are designed to help you think about several aspects in a structured way.

10 Questions to help you make sense of qualitative research
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP)
Critical Review Form - Qualitative Studies
Letts L, Wilkins S, Law M, Stewart D,Bosch J, Westmorland M 2007 McMaster University

CASP Checklist for Systematic Reviews
The questions in the checklist’s are designed to help you think about several aspects in a structured way.
JBI Critical Appraisal Tools for Systematic Reviews
Aromataris E, Fernandez R, Godfrey C, Holly C, Kahlil H, Tungpunkom P. Summarizing systematic reviews: methodological development, conduct and reporting of an Umbrella review approach. Int J Evid Based Healthc. 2015;13(3):132-40.
ROBIS
ROBIS is a tool for assessing the risk of bias in systematic reviews (rather than in primary studies). Here you can find the tool itself, information to help you complete a ROBIS assessment, and resources to help you present the results of your ROBIS assessment.