My Subject: Mental Health: Help with writing & critiquing

Critical appraisal of the evidence

Critical appraisal is the process of evaluating and interpreting evidence by systematically considering its validity, results and relevance. The following resources should provide a useful introduction to this process:

Understanding the different sections of a research article
This will guide you through the separate sections that usually make up a research article: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and references.
NICE Glossary
The NICE glossary has a searchable A-Z list of research terms with their definitions.
Mixed methods research
An explanation of mixed methods research on the 'Understanding Health Research' site.

Articles about critiquing research:

Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1: quantitative research Coughlan, M., Cronin, P. and Ryan, F. (2007) British Journal of Nursing, 16(11), pp 658 - 66
Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 2: qualitative research Ryan, F., Coughlan, M. and Cronin, P. (2007) British Journal of Nursing, 16(12), pp 738 - 744
Understanding research: 3 Critiquing findings and conclusions Baxter, H. (2001) Journal of Wound Care,10(9), pp 376 - 379
A beginner’s guide to appraising a qualitative research paper
Quantitative research: An overview
Mixed methods studies: A guide to critical appraisal
Appraisal Tools