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A Guide to Terminology |
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| Major components of evidence |
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| Term |
Definition |
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| Quality |
The extent to which studies are protected from bias |
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| Quantity |
The number of studies and the number of patients |
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| Consistency |
The extent to which different studies found similar results |
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| Robustness |
The extent to which minor alterations in the data do not change conclusions drawn from that data |
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| Magnitude of effect |
The effect size |
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| Quantitative and qualitative conclusions |
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| Type of conclusion: |
Quantitative |
Qualitative |
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| Clinical interpretation: |
How well does it work? |
Does it work? |
| Type of rating: |
Stability |
Strength |
| Interpretation of rating: |
Confidence that future evidence will not indicate a different effect size |
Confidence that future evidence will not indicate a different direction of effect |
| Possible ratings: |
High, Moderate, Low, or Unstable |
Strong, Moderate, Weak, or Inconclusive |
Treadwell et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2006 6:52 doi:10.1186/1471-2288-6-52 |
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