PPHC: L3 Critical Appraisal & Anatomy of a Scientific Paper

… is the process of systematically examining research evidence to assess its validity, results, and relevance before using it to inform decisions 

Critical appraisal 

Critical appraisal involves asking questions about article’s research …, scrutinizing data … and …, and evaluating how … are presented

methods, collection, analysis, results

Critical appraisal matters because it is an important step in the process of putting … into …

research, practice

The goal of a … is to communicate results of a research study and to share and further knowledge on a particular area of research

scientific article

What are the 6 main sections of a scientific paper?

Abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussions, and conclusion 

The … can be structured (separated into sections) or unstructured (single paragraph) and provides an overview of the article

abstract

The … usually consists of a few paragraphs (~2-5) on the problem the article is trying to tackle, context including relevant prior research. Usually the last paragraph is a statement of the objective (or purpose) of the research study.

introduction (or background)

The … tells us how the researchers conducted their study in terms of study design, data collection, and data analysis. It also includes how well the study was designed to minimize error(s) (bias) and speaks to validity of the study.

methods

The … tells you the findings, if applicable, who was studied and what their characteristics are, whether or not the findings were presented logically, and if the researchers use figures and tables to facilitate interpretation.

results

The … tells you the key findings highlighted and discussed by the researchers, how the researchers contextualize their findings (with other studies), whether or not researchers state strengths, limitations, and potential implications (applications) of their study.

discussion