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Critical appraisal of a research article

Decide whether a specific study supports its own conclusion — and be able to say why in a seminar.

Journal clubs, article discussion assignments, and before citing anything you have only read the abstract of.27 fields

How this document is used well

Appraisal is not summary. A summary says what the authors did and found; an appraisal says whether what they did supports what they claim. Most people asked to appraise a paper produce a summary with two sentences of hedging at the end.

The six questions, in order

  1. 1What question was asked, and is it worth asking?
  2. 2What was the comparator? This changes the effect size more than the intervention does.
  3. 3Who was studied, who was excluded, and who is missing?
  4. 4What could have produced this result other than the intervention?
  5. 5How large is the effect, how precisely is it estimated, and does it matter clinically?
  6. 6Do the conclusions stay within what the design supports — particularly in the abstract?

Complete it

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Shows why each item is asked
The paper
Method
Was allocation genuinely random and concealed?
Was the study registered, and does the reported primary outcome match the registered one?
Results
Were adverse events or deterioration reported?
What else could explain this?
Your verdict
Do the conclusions follow from the design and the data?*
Does the abstract match the results?

Papers frequently hedge correctly in the results and state a causal claim in the abstract — the part that gets read and cited.

11 required fields outstanding: Full citation; Design; The research question, in your words …

Educational use only

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Before you begin

What Praxical.Psych is, and is not

Praxical.Psych is an educational tool. It teaches the theory, evidence base and clinical method of psychotherapy at the level of an advanced survey course, and it lets you rehearse a complete session in a simulator.

It is not medical, clinical, psychological or legal advice. It cannot diagnose or treat anyone, and it does not state the law where you practise — requirements differ by jurisdiction and change. Nothing here creates a clinician–patient or solicitor–client relationship.

  • Every patient, transcript and case in this app is fictional — a composite written for teaching. None depicts a real person.
  • Praxical.Psych is not therapy, not a substitute for supervision, and not a credential. Competence to practise comes from training, supervised hours and licensure.
  • Scores from the instruments here are for learning how they behave. They are not a diagnosis and not a risk assessment, and must not inform a decision about a real person.
  • Do not enter real patient information. Everything you type stays in this browser, but that is not the same as a compliant clinical record system.
If you are in crisis

In the US and Canada, call or text 988. In the UK and Ireland, call 116 123 (Samaritans). Elsewhere, find a local line at findahelpline.com. In immediate danger, use your local emergency number.

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