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Evidence Based Medicine: Critical Appraisal

Study design & methodology

The 3 main questions

Regardless of the study design, there are 3 main questions to ask when critically appraising the medical literature.

1. Are the study results valid?

How serious is the risk of bias?

2. What are the study results?

3. How can I apply the results to patient care?

Critical appraisal resources

Critical appraisal tools - CEBM
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP)
Critical appraisal videos - Terry Shaneyfelt
Critical Appraisal Worksheets - McMaster EBCP Workshop
Select the relevant stream to access worksheets
JAMA Series on Step-By-Step Critical Appraisal - John Hopkins Medicine
Working out what’s reliable evidence

Appraisal tools for clinical practice guidelines