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3. Appraise the Evidence
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Once you’ve had a look for information and research on the internet or in a library, you’ll hopefully have found a range of websites, journal articles, research reports and other publications on your chosen topic. This section looks at how you can evaluate the quality of the information you’ve found.
Why is this important?
- Your decision making should be informed by good quality research evidence
- Your reading will be more effective if you can quickly and confidently exclude irrelevant or poor quality information
- You'll be able to judge for yourself how far the conclusions reported are justified, rather than having to rely on what the authors say.
Evaluating the quality of information on websites
Once you’ve carried out a search, you need to assess the quality of the information you find. Anyone can put anything on the internet, so you need to think about a few things before you believe what you read.
Who is responsible for the site?
The first thing to check is who is responsible for the site. Often this will be obvious – for example, a government department, a local authority or a charity. However, you might not recognise the author or publisher, or it may not be clear who is responsible for the site.
If so:
- is there information about the author/publisher? Look for ‘About us’ or ‘About this site’ pages.
- are contact details given?
- what is the web address (url)? This can tell you the type of organisation responsible for the site, for example .ac or .edu = academic/education; .gov = government; .org = charities or non-profit organisations; .com or .co = commerce, and also the country code: .uk = United Kingdom.
- do reliable sources link to website? (You can use the link: command in Google to find all pages linking to a certain page, try: link:www.sheffield.gov.uk)
You should also consider whether the author/publisher could have an ulterior motive or bias. For example, are they a lobby group or PR firm? Is there advertising on the site? Is the site sponsored?
What's on the site?
Think about the purpose of the site, and its target audience. Does it aim to educate, to persuade, to entertain or to sell? Is it aimed at professionals, academics, children, the general public?
How current is the information on the site? When was it last updated? If there isn’t a date on the page, look at the dates of any press releases, news stories or publications mentioned.
Think about how accurate the content is. Do other sites say the same thing? Is the information on the site consistent, and does it make sense?
Finally, what about the site itself? Is it well designed? Did you find it easy to navigate? Are its menus clear? Do all the links work?
If you have doubts about who is responsible for the site, or the information on the site, then it’s probably best to choose a different, more reliable source.
North Team B decided to split into pairs and divide up the evidence they’d found to have a go at appraising it. In their next team meeting, each pair talked about the evidence they thought was of the best quality, and discussed why they’d chosen it.
Critically appraising research
Critical appraisal involves assessing and interpreting evidence by systematically considering its validity, results and relevance.
If you’ve found a journal article or research report, try working through these questions to help you to appraise your evidence. The questions are ordered to follow the structure of a typical article or research report.
You should be able to answer yes or no to each question.
- Is the purpose of the journal article or research report clearly stated?
The purpose should be clearly stated as an aim, question or hypothesis. It must be possible to achieve the aim, answer the question or test the hypothesis.
- Are key concepts defined?
The key concepts of the research should be defined to make sure there is a common understanding about what the author means. For example, if the research is about older people, what age group does it refer to?
- Is there a literature review?
A literature review should provide some context for the research. It should summarise existing knowledge about the topic, and identify any gaps in the literature.
- Has an appropriate research method been used?
Quantitative research methods should be used if measurable or quantifiable information is required, while qualitative research methods should be used to investigate attitudes, experiences or meanings. Does the author justify their research method?
- Has an appropriate data collection method been used?
The method of data collection chosen should match the research method. Questionnaires with mainly closed questions are good for gathering quantitative information, while interviews, focus groups, observational studies or questionnaires with open questions are more appropriate for qualitative research.
- Is the sample of participants appropriate?
Who took part in the research? How were they selected? Are they representative of the population? Were enough people involved? What was the response rate? Did anyone choose not to participate?
- Have ethical issues been considered?
Are issues such as participant consent, data protection and confidentiality mentioned?
- Is the data analysis rigorous enough?
Is the data analysis process described? Is enough data presented to support the findings?
- Are the results clearly presented?
Is there are clear statement of findings? Was the aim of the research achieved? Was the question answered? Was the hypothesis accepted? Is there any discussion of data that doesn't support the findings, or of limitations of the research?
- Is the research valuable?
Does the author discuss the contribution the study makes to existing knowledge? Do they identify areas for further research?
If you've answered yes to all (or most) of the questions, you can be confident that you've found some good quality evidence to support your decision making.
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