Introduction to Health Services Research : A Self-Study Course

Module 5: Quality Filtering and Evidence-Based Medicine and Health (page 12 of 15)

Analyzing the Literature for Quality

When preparing to analyze the literature, use these questions as a guide to evaluating each paper as is shown in the research cases. (Questions are also organized in a table for you to use in that format).

Study Question:

• What is/are your study question or questions?

Study Design:

• What kind of study design was used?
• Was the study design appropriate for this research question?
• more on
  • Study Design
  • Surveys
  • Cohort Studies
  • Case Control Studies
  • Randomized Clinical Trials

Sample:

• Who was studied?
• Is there an appropriate number of people in the sample?
• What was the sample size?
• more on Samples and sampling

Assignment:

• Were the people in the study assigned to groups?
• What groups were compared?
• Examine the table that describes the people in each group. Check to see that they are similar in age, socioeconomic status, health characteristics, and others (excluding the factors being studied).
• Were confounders indicated? How were they dealt with?
• more on Assignment

Assessment:

 

• How will these patient outcomes be defined and measured?
• Are measurements accurate and complete?
• Is there any evidence of recall bias?
• Is there any indication of "measurement errors"?
• Is the data complete and suitable for measuring the question?
• If the researchers compared outcomes of specific procedures across hospitals were the patients similar? Case-mix might be different in different hospitals.
• more on Assessment

Analysis:

• Analysis will answer three main questions
  • How strong was the association between variables?
  • What is the likelihood of getting the results from the sample if there was no relationship between variables in the larger population from which the sample came?
  • Were the groups in the study different in any way that could affect the results?
• more on Analysis

Interpretation:

• Was a causal relationship supported by the data?
• What was the relative risk?
• Was the association consistent across different groups?
• more on Interpretation

Extrapolation:

• Have the authors of the studies you found generalized too much from their data?
• Have the authors extend the data farther than the data supports?
• more on Extrapolation