Critical Appraisal – what is it?
Critical appraisal “is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context” (http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/painres/download/whatis/What_is_critical_appraisal.pdf) and is a cornerstone of evidence based practice, within the medical profession and beyond.
How can I learn more?
Bolton’s Health Matters offers critical appraisal awareness training as part of its information skills sessions. It also has a wide collection of books and resources on the importance of critical appraisal and evidence based practice. For more details on these, please contact Bolton’s Health Matters via email: nhsbolton.library@bolton.nhs.uk or by phone (01204) 462490 or pop in and see us!
Useful Resources
Introducing Critical Appraisal
- What is Critical Appraisal? PDF article
- ‘How to read a paper’ articles by Trisha Greenhalgh (NHS Athens account may be required)
- Critical Appraisal of Healthcare Literature
Tools and Checklists
- Centre for Evidence Based Medicine – covers all aspects of EBM including critical appraisal
- Critical Appraisal ‘Checklists’ for differing methodologies producing by SIGN
- IMPACTE toolkit produced by NHS Milton Kenyes
