LibGuides: Health: How to read journal articles

What is Peer Review

How to read a paper

How to Read a Paper by Trisha Greenhalgh
ISBN: 9781118801116
Publication Date: 2014-02-26

How to read a paper: Papers that report drug trials
Greenhalgh, T. (1997). How to read a paper: Papers that report drug trials. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 315(7106), 480. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7106.480
How to read a paper: Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests
Greenhalgh, T. (1997). How to read a paper: Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests. BMJ : British Medical Journal, 315(7107), 540. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7107.540
How to read a paper: Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research)
Greenhalgh, T., & Taylor, R. (1997). How to read a paper: Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research). BMJ : British Medical Journal, 315(7110), 740. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7110.740
How to read a paper: Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses)
Greenhalgh, T. (1997). How to read a paper: Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses). BMJ : British Medical Journal, 315(7108), 596. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7108.596
How to read a paper: Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses)
Greenhalgh, T. (1997). How to read a paper: Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses). BMJ : British Medical Journal, 315(7109), 672. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7109.672
How to read a paper: Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests
How to read a paper: Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests. (1997). BMJ : British Medical Journal, 315(7113), 942. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7113.942

Checklists

Systematic Review

AMSTAR 2
ROBIS
CASP Systematic Review Checklist
Available as PDF & Word Doc

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT)

CASP Randomised Controlled Trial Checklist
Avail as a PDF or Word Doc
RoB 2
Cochrane's Risk of Bias (RoB) tool for RCT

Non-randomized Studies or Observational Studies

Axis
A tool used to assess the quality of cross-sectional (prevalence) studies.
Case Series Studies Quality Appraisal Checklist
By the Institute of Health Economics
Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Tools
Includes checklists for: analytical cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, case reports, case series, cohort studies, diagnostic test accuracy studies, prevalence studies, quasi-experimental studies, randomized controlled trials, and systematic reviews.
Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS).
A tool for assessing non-randomized interventional studies.
The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS)
A widely used for case control or cohort studies.
ROBINS-I (Risk of Bias for non-randomized (observational) studies or cohorts of Intervention.)
From the Centre for Research Synthesis and Decision Analysis
Risk of Bias for non-randomized (observational) studies or cohorts of Exposures
From the Centre for Research Synthesis and Decision Analysis
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Study Quality Assessment Tools
For: Controlled Intervention Studies, Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses, Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies, Case-Control Studies, Before-After (Pre-Post) Studies With No Control Group, Case Series Studies.
CASP Checklists
Include - Cohort, case control, economic evaluation & Clinical Prediction Rule Checklist

Qualitative Studies

CASP Qualitative Checklist