Scientific Literature: Critical Reading

• The presentation is a guide for investigation presented by Alicia Ortiz
• Created by Centro Borcelle, the presentation was made in October 2030

Critical Reading of Scientific Literature

• Critical reading is the process of systematically evaluating scientific literature by interpreting the evidence, considering its validity, and determining its relevance
• Verifying validity and utility help to incorporate the results into patient care, which improves quality of assistance.

Steps of Evidence-Based Practice

• Identify the problem
• Locate the best evidence in scientific literature
• Critically read articles
• Apply the results in clinical practice
• Evaluate the results

Structure of a Scientific Article

• Identification and summary includes the title, authors, location, and summary
• Introduction covers the current state, previous research, purpose, and argument
• Materials and methods include the design, subjects, variables, sample size, and statistical analysis plan
• Results consist of the description of outcomes, statistical significance, clinical significance, and differences between study groups
• Discussion contains the summary, ideas for future studies, limitations, unpredicted findings, comparisons, and interpretation
• References acknowledge the exact, specific, and verifiable referencess

Article Critical Assessment Guides

• The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) is to assess scientific literature
• Critical reading is essential in England and Spain
• In Spain it is also known as CASPe and is within Red CASPe
• The program uses guidelines developed by the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group from the University of McMaster and focuses on the validity, results, and clinical applicability of the study
• There are other guides to evaluate studies, such as CONSORT for clinical trials, QUORUM for systematic reviews, and AGREE for clinical practice guidelines

Phase 1: Initial Approach and Article Selection

• Identifying relevant articles and assessing their initial validity
• This considers the publishing journal, article title (if it is relevant), and the abstract's information on the study's goal, design, contributors, care, conclusions etc
• Determining validity for clinical application and usefulness in a specific clinical case

Phase 1: Article Selection Criteria

• Locate relevant articles addressing the subject
• The credibility is impacted by the journal review process
• The title needs to reflect the relevance to the subject
• Abstracts need to have an overview including the objective, study design, subject characteristics, treatment, and results/conclusions
• An initial assessment should respond to if, the article seems plausible, can results applied to a case, and is it useful?

Phase 2: Second Approach

• Ask questions to determine the article's ability to reliably answer the question
• In depth analysis of the study's approach to determine article quality
• Each type of clinical question and reasoning uses different study design
• Some examples are Etiology of a circumstance, diagnostic procedures, clinical and prognostic courses, and validity/the effects of an intervention

Phase 3: Third Approach

• A meticulous analysis of the materials and process

• Necessary points that need to be correct for all studies are:

• Definition

• Appropriateness of the design

• Appropriate selection criteria

• Sample size

• Error and bias

• Conclusion

• Verify validity by analyzing the results and precision

• The acquired results depend on the question it answers and type of design used

What is Scientific Research?

• Scientific research is the process that searches for answers and solutions to solve problems
• Relies on observation, experimentation, and data analysis

Parts of a Scientific Investigation

• Abstract includes an objective, method, and conclusion
• Introduction needs to have a purpose for research that lacks literature on the topic

Parts of a Scientific Investigation continued

• Problem Statement is a brief review of the current state of research
• Theoretical Framework uses revised studies, scientific articles, virtual research, scientific magazines, etc
• Methodology establishes research on the topic
• Results have the findings of the study and analysis versus other studies

Parts of a Scientific Investigation conclusion

• Conclusion responds to the objectives of the study
• References are all the sources of the study

Types of Investigation

• Basic Research generates new and essential knowledge
• Applied Research applies current knowledge
• Descriptive Research describes and identifies a phenomena
• Experimental Research tests a theory and evaluates it

Characteristics of Scientific Research

• Objectivity should be avoided for bias
• Thorough systematic rigor
• Following the scientific method involving observation, hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion
• Verifiability by being able to reproduce results

Literature Review

• Academic investigation on a particular subject that provides general information
• Examines and summarizes existing studies to have a clear understanding
• Highlights areas without research while summarizing knowledge

Types of Literature Reviews

• Systematic reviews
• Narrative reviews
• Meta-analysis
• Umbrella reviews
• Descriptive reviews
• Scope reviews
• Critical reviews
• Realistic reviews

Systematic Reviews

• Analyzes published studies on a topic
• There is a structured plan with investigation parameters
• Objective responds to a clinical question and identifies studies with relevant findings
• The PRISMA criteria should be followed

What is PRISMA?

• PRISMA is a guide to presenting systematic reviews
• PRISMA stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis
• Key elements include the checklist, flowcharts, and focus on transparency to improve reproducibility

What is a Meta-Analysis?

• Meta-analysis uses statistics to combine results
• Steps to use it are identifying an issue, reviewing material, setting benchmarks, retrieving data, doing data analysis, interpret results, and publish analysis

Structure of a Literature Review

• Introduction is the presentation of questions with key ideas

• Body is organization, themes, and highlighting gaps

• Conclusion summarizes findings and importance

• Structure makes synthesis, evaluation, and comparison easy and helps you contribute to knowledge

Literature Review Structure Questions

• What context should be given?
• What methods of searching should be used?
• How should the findings be organized to highlight study significance?
• How do you incorporate logic through clear headings?

Literature Review Quick Reminders

• A transition from section to section can ensure cohesion
• Critical evaluation of the studies should have an awareness of sources
• Focus must be on research topics
• Conclusion should analyze effects