About the Critically Appraising the Evidence Base programme

The critical appraisal programme has been designed to enable the healthcare workforce (clinical and non-clinical) to build confidence in the critical appraisal process when applying and evaluating research.

As the next step to research review, critical appraisal is the process of assessing the reliability, importance, and applicability of evidence. It can be applied to a range of written work such as formal research projects, studies and professional development to check validity and determine value.

This programme aims to support NHS colleagues with understanding the different methods and tools to carry out critical appraisal of research, through 8 bite-sized modules.

By the end of the programme, learners will be able to:

• describe the following terms; critical appraisal, bias, internal validity and external validity
• distinguish between different types of study designs and their strengths and limitations
• assess the appropriateness of methods used to conduct a randomised controlled trial, systematic review, diagnostic study and qualitative study
• interpret commonly reported results found in clinical papers
• identify different types of critical appraisal tools and their strengths and limitations

Applicable to health and care staff at all levels, this elearning may be ‘dipped into’ for reference or completed as a whole to obtain a certificate.

About the elearning sessions

This elearning programme includes 8 sessions.

1. Introduction to Critical Appraisal
2. Introduction to Health Inequalities
3. Introduction to Critical Appraisal of Randomised Controlled Trials
4. Introduction to Interpreting Results for Critical Appraisal
5. Introduction to Critical Appraisal of Systematic Reviews
6. Introduction to Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Studies
7. Introduction to Critical Appraisal of Diagnostic Studies
8. Introduction to Critical Appraisal Tools

The sessions are short, with each topic taking approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Each session includes reference links to further resources should learners choose to check their understanding throughout the programme.

More information

Critical appraisal skills are essential tools for healthcare professionals working in both clinical and non-clinical roles. Development of these skills across the healthcare workforce contributes to the ambition of Knowledge for Healthcare ensuring that NHS bodies, their staff, learners, patients and the public use the right knowledge and evidence, at the right time, in the right place, enabling high quality decision-making, learning, research and innovation, to achieve excellent healthcare and health improvement.

Sessions may be completed in any order, though to get the most out of the programme, we suggest completing the sessions in the order listed above.

Many healthcare professionals will have access to local NHS knowledge and library specialists who will be able to offer additional advice and assistance regarding the development of critical appraisal skills. To find your nearest service see www.hlisd.org

This critical appraisal elearning was developed by the NHS Knowledge for Healthcare Learning Academy in partnership with recognised subject matter experts.

How to access

Available to all

The Critically Appraising the Evidence Base programme is freely available to access.

Please note your progress and completion of sessions will not be recorded and you will not be able to generate a record of completion. If you require evidence of learning, please register, and then log in to access this programme on the elfh Hub.

If you already have an account with elfh, then you can enrol on to the Critical Appraisal programme by logging in to the elfh Hub, selecting My Account > Enrolment and selecting the programme. You can then access the programme immediately in the My elearning section.

To access any elfh programme, you will need an elfh account. If you do not have one, then you can register by selecting the Register button below.

Register >

To view the Critically Appraising the Evidence Base programme, select the View button below.  If you already have an account with elfh, you will also be able to login and enrol on the programme from the View button.

View >

If you already have an account with elfh, then you can enrol on to the Critical Appraisal programme by logging in to the elfh Hub, selecting My Account > Enrolment and selecting the programme. You can then access the programme immediately in the My e-Learning section.

NHS healthcare staff in England – ESR

The Critically Appraising the Evidence Base programme is also available to NHS healthcare staff via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). Accessing this e-learning via ESR means that your completions will transfer with you throughout your NHS career.

Not an NHS organisation?

If you are not an NHS health or care organisation and therefore do not qualify for free access elfh Hub, you may be able to access the service by creating an OpenAthens account.

To check whether or not you qualify for free access via OpenAthens, you can view the eligibility criteria and register on the ‘OpenAthens’ portal.

Registering large numbers of users

If you are a HR, IT or Practice Manager and would like to register and enrol large numbers of staff within your organisation for access onto the Critically Appraising the Evidence Base programme, please contact elfh directly.

Organisations wishing to use their own LMS

For HR departments wanting to know more about gaining access to courses using an existing Learning Management System please contact elfh directly to express interest.

More information

Please select the following link for more information on how to use the elfh Hub.

Select here for more information on the authorisations process to run reports on the learning activity of staff.

Select the following link for more information about CPD points.