Keep the following criteria in mind when appraising your literature:
- Validity: Look for trials that mimic clinical practice with outcomes that make sense.
- Outcomes should be large, useful, and statistically significant.
- Did the experiment demonstrate a cause-effect relationship between the independent and dependent variables?
- Reliability: Examine the numerical data reported for trials to see if they have large numbers of patients to avoid the random chance that leads to wrong outcomes.
- Are the results replicable in clinical practice? Is the methodology described in detail so the experiment can be repeated
- Applicability: Evaluate the study’s patients in comparison to the patients the evidence will be applied to.
Watch this video to learn more questions to ask during evidence appraisal.
