Understanding Health Research
Understanding Health Research: A Tool for Making Sense of Health Studies "is a tool designed to help people understand and review published health research to decide how dependable and relevant a piece of research is". The Review a Study module guides you through a series of questions about a piece of research you have found, and helps you to evaluate the quality of the research.
evaluating information
Evaluate information
Use the CRAP test to evaluate any resources you want to use in your assessments.
Criteria | Ask Yourself | Example |
Currency |
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History of educational theories - older resources may be appropriate vs Social media in education - older resources may not be appropriate |
Reliability |
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A satirical news website (e.g. Betoota Advocate) vs A not for profit media group sourcing content from academics and researchers (e.g. The Conversation) |
Authority |
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An article written by a self-appointed expert that appears on a blog vs A peer reviewed article written by a team of university academics |
Purpose |
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A webpage on diabetes from a pharmacy company that produces drugs to treat diabetes. They may have a vested interest. vs Diabetes information from a government website such as Australian Institute of Health & Welfare (AIHW). They have no vested interest. |
Peer Review
Find Peer reviewed articles
Articles published in peer reviewed or refereed journals have been through a formal approval process. This process is intended to ensure that the article is:
- accurate
- well-researched
- contributing to the body of knowledge in the field
To find peer reviewed articles:
- Select to show only peer reviewed journals in Primo Search
- Limit to peer reviewed or scholarly journals in journal databases
However, as these options are just an indication of peer review status the definitive way to find out if your article has been peer reviewed is to use Ulrichsweb Global Periodicals Directory.
Evaluate internet resources
The website domain provides you a hint as to the reliability of the website at which you are looking.
.edu (educational institution) .gov (government) |
These are more likely to be reliable and unbiased. |
.org (non-profit organisation) .asn (non-commercial organisation) |
Sometimes these organisations may show a bias toward one side of a topic. |
.com (commercial site) .net (network) |
Critically evaluate these sites as they may be unreliable.
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