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?

MAGNITUDE OF EFFECT

• Assess Liklihood ratios
• Is the test reproducible?
• Will patient care be better using this test?

There are many checklists available for the assessment and critical appraisal of diagnostic test studies, as reporting is frequently inadequate
[1][2] However, they all include some variation of three critical questions;[2][3] these are:

• Is this study valid?
• 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?

• Users' guides to the medical literature: XV. How to use an article about disease probability for differential diagnosis. Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group.
  Richardson WS, Wilson MC, Guyatt GH, Cook DJ, Nishikawa J.
  JAMA. 1999 Apr 7;281(13):1214-9. No abstract available.
  PMID:10199432