Reading the research
Every paper summary on this site carries labels — a certainty rating, a study design, a handful of numbers. This section explains what each one means, and what it should change about how you read the result.
If you read five, read these.
Every paper on this site carries one of three words: moderate, low, or very low. Here is where each comes from, what it does not mean, and what it should change about how you read the summary underneath it.
QUESTIONS IT ANSWERS
Every guide, by topic.
Why a summary is rated moderate, low or very low — and why nothing is ever rated high.
Moderate certainty · Low certainty · Very low certainty
Whether a score moved further than the measurement error, and further than the patient would notice.
MCID · MDC · Minimal detectable change
What a pilot, a feasibility study, a case report and a protocol are each for.
Pilot study · Feasibility study · Case report
Which kind of review can answer a clinical question, and how much weight it carries.
Scoping review · Systematic review · Meta-analysis
What a study of experience is designed to find, and why it never rates above very low.
Qualitative study · Grounded theory · Thematic analysis
Whether an assessment measures what it claims, in the people you are using it on.
Reliability · Validity · ICC
What a null result, a confidence interval and an underpowered trial actually tell you.
No significant difference · Statistical power · Confidence interval
INDEX · A–Z · 33 TERMS
Look up a label.
The labels printed on summaries, each pointing at the guide that explains it. This is the part of the page built to grow.
CAN'T FIND A LABEL? SEARCH ABOVE — THE INDEX COVERS EVERY LABEL THE GUIDES EXPLAIN.