Graduate search clinics

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Graduate search clinics

• Tools for critical appraisal and searching for
  systematic reviews
• Jo Hunter, Health Care LibrariesLouise Clarke,
  Social Science Librarian-in-charge

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Workshop timetable

• 0900 Introduction to critical appraisal
• What is good quality?
• Validity, reliability, relevance
• Study designs and critical appraisal checklists
• Practical exercise
• 1015 Searching for systematic reviews
• Why search for systematic reviews?
• Search strategies
• Useful databases

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What is good evidence?

• We need to use evidence from research studies to
  support our arguments and decisions
• One tool to assist us in this is
  critical appraisal.

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How can you tell whether a research study is
good quality?
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Factors that tell you about the quality of study
include..

• Extrinsic factors
• Journal
• Author
• Institution
• Quoted by other authors
• Quoted in newspapers

• Intrinsic factors
• Study design
• Number of participants
• Confounders
• Author bias

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Critical appraisal looks at the intrinsic factors
Critical appraisal is the process of
systematically examining research evidence to
assess its validity, reliability and relevance
before using it to inform a decision. (Adapted
from Hill H Spittlehouse C, EBM 2001 32)
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Validity, reliability, relevance

• Validity To what extent is the study a close
  representation of the truth?
• Reliability Are the results credible and
  repeatable?
• Relevance Will the results help me in my own
  research or practice?

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Critical appraisal Pros

• Systematic way of assessing a papers validity,
  reliability, relevance
• Helps to close the gap between research and
  practice
• Encourages objective assessment
• Skills are not difficult to learn

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Critical appraisal Cons

• Can be time-consuming initially
• Does not always provide the easy answer may
  provide more questions
• Can be dispiriting if it highlights poor quality
  studies

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Study design

• What is a study design?
• Research method The procedure used by the
  researchers to answer a specific question
• Examples of study designs
• Cohort study
• Randomised controlled trial
• Interview (qualitative)
• Systematic review

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Study design Cohort studies
Exposed
Not exposed
No disease
No disease
Disease
Disease
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Study design RCTs
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Study design Systematic reviews
Reviews
Systematic reviews
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Critical appraisal checklists

• CASP for experimental studies, qualitative
  studies, systematic reviews
• STROBE for cohort, case-control, and
  cross-sectional studies
• McMaster University EBP Group for qualitative
  studies

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Critical appraisal taster

• Paper Erickson, D.H. et al. A cognitive-behaviora
  l group for patients with various anxiety
  disorders. Psychiatric Services. 2007, 58(9),
  1205-11.
• Checklist CASP checklist for RCTs
• 3 groups, one section per group

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Searching for systematic reviews

• Why search for systematic reviews?
• Summarise and evaluate information
• Overcome bias inherent in small studies
• Overcome lack of generalisability
• Heterogeneity (inconsistency in results) can be
  identified

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Searching for systematic reviews

• Add appropriate search terms to your search in
  PsycInfo, Embase, Medline..
• Limit your search using Clinical Queries in
  PubMed
• Select databases that index systematic reviews
  Cochrane Library, Campbell Library

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Finding systematic reviews

• http//oxlip-plus.ouls.ox.ac.uk
• PsycInfo
• Embase
• PubMed
• Cochrane Library

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Finding systematic reviews

• http//oxlip-plus.ouls.ox.ac.uk
• CSA
• SCOPUS
• Campbell Library

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Critical appraisal and Searching for systematic
reviews

• Any questions?