Critical Appraisal – are there any tools that can help you? (#24)

When you are looking at research articles you need to appraise them critically for validity, results and relevance. This means looking at the paper in a systematic way to determine whether it is going to help you to answer your question.

There are a wide range of tools that can help you to develop your skills in doing this. Our etutorial Critical Appraisal Tools will introduce you to some tools that can help. The tools do not necessarily give you a definitive “yes” or “no” but they help you to ask the right questions to assess the paper.

Tools icon - use critical appraisal tools to help you to assess research papers

In a similar way that we use the CRAAP tool (see previous blog post) if an item fails your appraisal it does not necessarily mean that it is a rubbish paper, just that it will not help you to answer your question.

Comments

Kortext eBooks - easy access to key ebooks

You can find information on a wide range of topics from the Kortext ebook collection, including non-clinical topics as well as nursing and medical textbooks. The ebook interface is easy to use. You can search for keywords, jump to different chapters or add your own notes. Special collections include ebooks for: Karger fast-facts Diversity and inclusion Primary care Psychological professions Wellbeing This collection is available to NHS staff via their NHS OpenAthens username. Link to the collection via the ebooks page on our website. Go to our ebooks help page to learn more about using ebooks or complete our tutorial - Using eBooks . Find more ebooks via Library Search or the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub. Just contact the Health Library for more help finding ebooks.

Login to Library Search – step-by-step instructions for NHS staff

Library Search is a discovery tool, allowing you to find items within the library collections. You can search Library Search without logging in to view books and ebooks available in our collections. By logging in to your library account on Library Search you can access a range of additional functionality, such as: Viewing details of your library account Submitting a request to hold a book for you Adding items to your e-bookshelf Saving searches Note that for NHS users logging in to Library Search does not give you access to full-text items. As an NHS member of staff you access online resources using your NHS OpenAthens username. Anatomy of a Library Card First let’s take a quick look at the most important components of your library card. Your library card and library card number give you access to print resources as well as library services. They confirm that you are a member of the library. Your name : this will be printed on your card, so you’ll know it’s yours!...

TRIP database - turning research into practice

The TRIP database is a user-friendly search engine making it easy for you to find high-level, good quality information and research. Focusing on healthcare evidence this database offers you the opportunity of completing simple searching as well PICO-based searching and allows you to focus results by content type. Some functionality is freely available without the need to login. You can "go pro" by logging in with your NHS OpenAthens username to access extra resources and functionality. You can link to the TRIP database from our NHS Resources page , where you'll find a list of key NHS-based resources and tools. For more help using the TRIP database go to our TRIP help page or check out the options on the site where blog posts are also available. Contact the Health Library for more information and help.

Information Skills for Health

Search This Blog