And here is the upside. Other than the confounding point, academic papers in settled fields get studies that answer ‘yes’ to the following criteria (taken from the centre for evidence based something or the other):
Is the evidence from a known, reputable source?
Has the evidence been evaluated in any way? If so, how and by whom?
How up-to-date is the evidence?
Second, you could look at the study itself and ask the following general appraisal questions:
Did the study address a clearly focused issue?
Is the study design appropriate to the stated aims?
Are the measurements likely to be valid and reliable?
Are the statistical methods described?
How large was the effect size?
How precise was the estimate of the effect (look for the confidence intervals!)
Could there be confounding?
What implications does the study have for your practice? Is it relevant?
Can the results be applied to your organization?
Is the intervention feasible in your organization?
And here is the upside. Other than the confounding point, academic papers in settled fields get studies that answer ‘yes’ to the following criteria (taken from the centre for evidence based something or the other):
Is the evidence from a known, reputable source?
Has the evidence been evaluated in any way? If so, how and by whom?
How up-to-date is the evidence?
Second, you could look at the study itself and ask the following general appraisal questions:
Did the study address a clearly focused issue?
Is the study design appropriate to the stated aims?
Are the measurements likely to be valid and reliable?
Are the statistical methods described?
How large was the effect size?
How precise was the estimate of the effect (look for the confidence intervals!)
Could there be confounding?
What implications does the study have for your practice? Is it relevant?
Can the results be applied to your organization?
Is the intervention feasible in your organization?