J.Sales-Llopis

Neurosurgery Department, General University Hospital Alicante, Spain

Critical appraisal refers to the systematic evaluation of clinical research evidence to assess its validity, results, and relevance before applying it to decision-making in healthcare.

• Purpose: Evaluate methodological quality across various study types (RCTs, cohort studies, case series, qualitative research, etc.).
• Strengths: Detailed checklists tailored to each design; transparent criteria.
• Limitations: Time-consuming; less commonly used in some medical specialties.

• Purpose: Rates certainty of evidence and strength of clinical recommendations.
• Strengths: Widely endorsed by WHO, Cochrane, and others; integrates evidence with values/preferences.
• Limitations: Complex for non-specialists; primarily designed for guideline development.

• Purpose: Provides structured checklists for evaluating studies, especially qualitative and RCTs.
• Strengths: Easy to use; ideal for teaching; widely adopted in nursing and public health.
• Limitations: May oversimplify complex methodological issues.

• Purpose: Assesses the quality of systematic reviews.
• Strengths: Validated tool; helps distinguish high- from low-quality reviews.
• Limitations: Not applicable to primary studies; requires familiarity with systematic review standards.

• Purpose: Appraise study quality for use in clinical guideline development.
• Strengths: Emphasizes study design hierarchy and methodological rigor.
• Limitations: More focused on clinical questions; less adaptable for broader research areas.

• Critically appraise the following article using the most appropriate checklist based on its study design. Provide strengths, weaknesses, and a summary judgment on its reliability.

[Paste full abstract or article details here]

• What critical appraisal tool should I use for this type of study? It's a [randomized controlled trial / systematic review / qualitative study / cohort study].

• Explain step-by-step how to critically appraise a scientific article, and show how to apply that process to this paper:

[Paste citation or summary]

• Use the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist to assess the methodological quality of the following [type of study]:

[Insert abstract or key information]

• Generate a completed JBI critical appraisal checklist for a [cohort study / qualitative research / case series] using the following article:

[Insert article]

• Summarize the strength of the evidence in this article using GRADE criteria: risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision, and publication bias.

[Insert abstract or results section]

• Using the GRADE framework, classify the quality of evidence and strength of recommendation for the following clinical practice guideline:

[Insert guideline or summary]

• Apply the CASP checklist to this randomized controlled trial and summarize the results of each question.

[Insert study citation or abstract]

• Give a teaching-friendly explanation of how to use the CASP checklist for evaluating a qualitative study. Include examples if possible.

• Apply the AMSTAR 2 checklist to this systematic review and determine if it is high, moderate, low, or critically low quality.

[Insert systematic review details]

• Explain each domain of the AMSTAR 2 tool in simple terms and show how it is applied in practice.

• Use the SIGN methodology to critically evaluate the following clinical trial for its inclusion in guideline development:

[Insert article summary or results]

• Explain how SIGN levels of evidence differ from GRADE, and when each should be used.

• Compare the appraisal of the same study using JBI, CASP, and GRADE frameworks. Identify key differences in focus, scoring, and conclusions.

[Insert article]

Tip: These prompts can be used directly in ChatGPT or GPT-4 to train students, conduct systematic reviews, or evaluate clinical articles in your daily practice.