Appraising Research Papers for Beginners – Quantitative

The library offers a number of virtual one-to-one or small group training sessions. To book your place on a course contact the Library.

Not all published research is reliable! If you want to be confident reading and utilising published research you need to understand its content and be able to objectively assess its quality.

Run as two separate training sessions (either quantitative or qualitative), the appraising research papers for beginners sessions will equip learners with the basic theory and knowledge of how to appraise quantitative (randomised controlled trial) or qualitative research papers using a mixture of presentations and practical group work.

Learners are required to read a prescribed research paper in advance of attending the session. A copy of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist will be supplied.  No prior knowledge of critical appraisal or statistical concepts is required.

The session covers the following:

• Overview of the critical appraisal process
• Key features of qualitative/quantitative research
• Interpreting statistics (for quantitative research)
• Using the CASP checklists to appraise research papers