FAQs

We use the Eventbrite booking system for our stand alone workshops, however you are also welcome to contact us if you would like to pay by organisation (we will require a PO number and invoice address). If your organisation would like to send multiple participants onto a workshop we can also offer a discounted rate.

In terms of using the CASP checklist, we have a creative commons license for these, so we are happy for you to use them in your work as long as they are attributed. Please see our web page here for how to reference them.

As these tools were designed as pedagogic tools – for use in learning how to appraise in small groups, we do not assign a scoring system. We would advise that if you can’t answer ‘yes’ to the first 2/3 questions, then the evidence may be of poor quality. Classifying quality (or risk of bias) as high, moderate or low, based on the CASP tool would be perfectly acceptable.

The dominant opinion these days is that scores can be misleading, and it is better to report the actual domains where there are biases.

The CASP checklists were developed as a pedagogic teaching tool, for use within our workshop settings. They would be used to show the process of how to critically appraise and the sorts of questions people should be aware about – therefore increasing their critical thinking. They are usually used within small and large group work, with discussion. therefore, they were never formally validated. In a workshop setting we would usually point out that the 1st 2/3 questions are ‘screening’ questions, and if the answer is no to those, then generally the paper is not worth looking at.

The checklists were created in 1993 in response to the need for developing skills in health care staff to meet the challenge of Evidence Based Medicine. The workshop format was developed by trial and error with willing guinea pigs! The core CASP checklists (randomised controlled trial & systematic review) were based on JAMA ‘Users’ guides to the medical literature 1994 (adapted from Guyatt GH, Sackett DL, and Cook DJ), and piloted with health care practitioners.

For each new checklist (e.g qualitative) a group of experts were assembled to develop and pilot the checklist and the workshop format with which it would be used. These checklists were not officially validated as such, because they were designed to be used as teaching aids. We have compiled a bibliography which is available to download from our website.

Once you have purchased an online learning module, you will receive access for the following 12 months.