What is critical appraisal? 
Critical appraisal is the process of  systematically examining research to assess its reliability, value and relevance which guides healthcare professionals in their vital clinical decision making (Burls, 2016)

By developing critical appraisal skills you can:

• Identify poor quality research
• Identify poorly reported research
• Concentrate your reading time on better quality articles
• Discuss critically with patients any published material about their condition which they find and ask you about.

How Can The Library Service Help?

Critical appraisal training
Library Services can provide training on critical appraisal to Trust staff. We offer an interactive half day training session where we read a paper and decide how valid the results really are.  If you would like us to visit your department or journal club, please Contact Us

Books
To read more about critical appraisal try one of these books from the Trust Libraries

References:
Burls A. (2016) What is critical appraisal? London: Hayward Medical Communications. Available from: http://www.whatisseries.co.uk/what-is-critical-appraisal/