What quality assessment tool should I use for studies included in my review?
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
- JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal tools for quality assessment of a wide variety of study designs. - AMSTAR Checklist
A 16-question measurement tool to assess systematic reviews - AHRQ Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews
The AHRQ Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, provides detailed information on selecting eligibility criteria, searching the literature, data extraction, quality assessment, and other steps in the creation of a systematic review. - CASP - Systematic Review
A checklist for quality assessment of systematic review from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme - Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
Checklists for quality assessment - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs.
Clinical Practice Guidelines
- National Guideline Clearinghouse Extent of Adherence to Trustworthy Standards (NEATS) Instrument
A 15-item instrument using a scale of 1-5 to evaluate a guideline's adherence to the Institute of Medicine's standard for trust worth guidelines - AGREE-II Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation
The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument evaluates the process of practice guideline development and the quality of reporting
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)
- Cochrane Risk of Bias (ROB) 2.0 Tool
Templates are tailored to randomized parallel-group trials, cluster-randomized parallel-group trails (including stepped-wedge designs), and randomized cross-over trails and other matched designs. - CASP- Randomized Controlled Trial Appraisal Tool
A checklist for RCTs created by the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) - The Jadad Scale
The Jadad scale assesses the quality of published clinical trials based methods relevant to random assignment, double blinding, and the flow of patients. - CEBM-RCT
A critical appraisal tool for RCTs from the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM) - JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal tools for quality assessment of a wide variety of study designs. - Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
Checklists for quality assessment - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs.
Cohort Studies
- CASP- Cohort Studies
A checklist created by the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) to assess key criteria relevant to cohort studies - JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal tools for quality assessment of a wide variety of study designs. - The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses
Validated tool for assessing case-control and cohort studies. - Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
Checklists for quality assessment - STROBE Checklist
A checklist for quality assessment of case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs.
Case-Control Studies
- CASP- Case Control Study
A checklist created by the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) to assess key criteria relevant to case-control studies - STROBE Checklist
A checklist for quality assessment of case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies - Tool to Assess Risk of Bias in Case Control Studies by the CLARITY Group at McMaster University
A quality assessment tool for case-control studies from the CLARITY Group at McMaster University - Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
Checklists for quality assessment - The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses
A validated tool for assessing case-control and cohort studies. - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs. - JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal tools for quality assessment of a wide variety of study designs.
Cross-Sectional Studies
- STROBE Checklist
A checklist for quality assessment of case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs.
Diagnostic Studies
- CASP- Diagnostic Studies
A checklist for diagnostic studies created by the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) - QUADAS-2
A quality assessment tool developed by a team at the Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences at the University of Bristol - JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal tools for quality assessment of a wide variety of study designs. - Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
Checklists for quality assessment
Economic Studies
- Consensus Health Economic Criteria (CHEC) List
19 yes-or-no questions, one for each category to assess economic evaluations - CASP- Economic Evaluation
A checklist for quality assessment of economic studies by the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme - Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
Checklists for quality assessment - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs. - JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal tools for quality assessment of a wide variety of study designs.
Mixed Methods
- McGill Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) 2018 User Guide
See full site for additional information, including FAQ's, references and resources, earlier versions, and more. - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs.
Qualitative Studies
- CASP- Qualitative Studies
10 questions to help assess qualitative research from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme - LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools
A series of critical appraisal tools from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Contains tools for a wide variety of study designs, including prospective, retrospective, qualitative, and quantitative designs. - JBI Critical Appraisal Tools
Critical appraisal tools for quality assessment of a wide variety of study designs.
Other Study Designs
- NTACT Quality Checklists
Quality indicator checklists for correlational studies, group experimental studies, single case research studies, and qualitative studies developed by the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT). (Users must make an account.)