Table 2

Appraisal tool for quantitative papers

What was the response rate?

What question is the study aiming to answer?

Was the survey specifically designed with this question in mind?

Does the survey measures used allow this question to be answered clearly?

Is the population surveyed described clearly?

How was the survey carried out?

Is the denominator reported?

Are the measures reported objective and reliable?

Are these the most appropriate measures for answering the study question?

If the study compares different subgroups from the survey, were the data obtained using the same methods from these different groups?

How was the survey carried out?

Is the survey method likely to have introduced significant bias?

Have ethical issues been taken into account?

Is the study large enough?

Is there adequate description of the data?

Is there evidence of multiple statistical testing or large numbers of post hoc analyses?

Are the statistical analyses appropriate?

Is there evidence of any other bias?

Lally et al. BMC Medicine 2008 6:7   doi:10.1186/1741-7015-6-7