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Critically assessing the radiology literature
1Department of Radiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, 325 Ninth Avenue, Box 359728, Seattle, WA 98104, USA. craige@u.washington.edu
Abstract:
To practice evidence-based radiology, knowledge of how to critically assess the literature is vital. This article outlines how to evaluate the radiology literature by asking these questions: Is it true?, Is it relevant?, and Is it sufficient? Clinical examples are used to explain several important causes of bias, as well as to clarify how these biases can affect the relevance of a particular study to a given clinical situation. Finally, discussion centers on the strength of evidence for both positive and negative findings in a research study.
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