Manitoba's Health Information Knowledge Network
Critical appraisal is the process of assessing the quality of study methods in order to determine if findings are trustworthy, meaningful and relevant to your situation. Critical appraisal helps you answer the question: "Were the methods used in this study good enough that I can be confident in the findings?”
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools
Critical appraisal requires the reader to use their own judgment to evaluate an information source, but there are tools to help get you going.
An easy tool for evaluating information is the CRAP test, developed by Molly Beestrum and Kenneth Orenic at Dominican University (Illinois) CRAP stands for:
Currency: How recent is the information? Is it current enough for your topic?
Reliability: Is the information supported by evidence? Are there references? Is it peer reviewed?
Authority / Accuracy: Who is the creator or author? What are their credentials? Who is the publisher or sponsor? Are there ads? What does the url tell you?
Purpose/Point of View: Is this fact, opinion, or propaganda? Is the creator/author trying to sell you something? Is it biased? (political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal?)
The Community College of Baltimore County Library has a useful CRAP worksheet you can download.
CASP has critical appraisal checklists for each study type. Each checklist has three sections to assess:
AGREE II Includes six domains:
AMSTAR II [PDF] was developed to evaluate systematic reviews systematic reviews that include randomised or non-randomised studies of healthcare interventions, or both.
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools, Learning Centre
Online learning modules take 3-4 hours to complete
Provides certificates for completed modules
Critical Appraisal of Guidelines
Critical Appraisal of Systematic Reviews
Critical Appraisal of Intervention Studies
MHIKNET Library Services
Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library, University of Manitoba
727 McDermot Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3P5
Email: mhiknet@umanitoba.ca
Tel: 1-877-789-3804 | Fax: (204) 789-3923
The NJM Health Sciences Library is located on the University of Manitoba's Bannatyne Campus. The Bannatyne Campus is located beside the Health Sciences Centre near downtown Winnipeg. [Bannatyne Campus Map] [Street Map]
The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anisininew, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. More