Assessing the quality of research.

Glasziou, Paul; Vandenbroucke, Jan; Chalmers, Iain

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7430.39

Cited by 391Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsHealth Sciences Research and EducationDelphi Technique in Research

Assessing the quality of research.

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Glasziou, Paul, Vandenbroucke, Jan, Chalmers, Iain·2004·BMJ

DOI 10.1136/bmj.328.7430.39PMC PMC313908

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Abstract

Inflexible use of evidence hierarchies confuses practitioners and irritates researchers.

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Much of clinical or public health knowledge comes from observational research.
“However, much of clinical or public health knowledge comes from observational research [ 1 ].”
From Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): Explanation and Elaboration (2007) · cites this paper as [1]
In “Different types of question require different types of evidence” (page not specified), the paper says clinical practice relies on varied evidence and that non-randomised cohort studies can provide good estimates of prognosis. This supports observational research as a source of clinical knowledge, but the paper does not establish that much clinical or public health knowledge comes from it. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Many questions in medical research are investigated in observational studies.
“Many questions in medical research are investigated in observational studies [1].”
From The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for Reporting Observational Studies (2007) · cites this paper as [1]
The widely accepted approach to evidence-based review of global literature was augmented by developing an additional six lines of evidence derived from data analyses suitable for ecological restoration.
“We have augmented the widely accepted approach to the evidence-based review of global literature (Glasziou et al. 2004, Suter et al. 2010, Greet et al. 2011, Norris et al. 2012) by developing an additional six lines of evidence derived from data analyses suitable for ecological restoration.”
From Evidence‐based evaluation of the cumulative effects of ecosystem restoration (2016) · cites this paper as Glasziou et al. 2004
Much biomedical research is observational.
“Much biomedical research is observational.”
From The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies (2014) · cites this paper as [1]

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Untitled work
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007) · PLoS Medicine

Authors: Glasziou, P., Vandenbroucke, J., & Chalmers, I.
Affiliations: University of Oxford (GB)
Leiden University (NL)
James Lind Institute (CH)
Corresponding author: Glasziou, Paul
ORCID: Glasziou, Paul
Vandenbroucke, Jan
Chalmers, Iain
Venue: BMJ
Publisher: BMJ
Published: 2004-01-01
Volume: 328
Issue: 7430
Pages: 39-41
ISSN: 0007-1447 (ISSN-L)
0959-8138
1468-5833
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.328.7430.39
PMC: PMC313908
OpenAlex: W1976541880
Cited by: 391
References: 77
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 20
FWCI: 44.88
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: bronze
doi.org
Licence: www.bmj.com/company/legal-information/terms-conditions/legal-information/tdm-licencepolicy (tdm)
Locations: BMJ (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Delphi Technique in Research
Keywords: research quality assessment, evidence hierarchy, evidence-based practice, clinical research evaluation
MeSH terms: Research Design, Review Literature as Topic, Risk Assessment, Evidence-Based Medicine, Biomedical Research

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