EDITORIAL
EBN notebook
Accessing pre-appraised evidence: fine-tuning the 5S model into a 6S model
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The application of high-quality evidence to clinical decision making requires that we know how to access that evidence. In years past, this meant literature searching know-how and application of critical appraisal skills to separate lower from higher quality clinical studies. However, over the past decade, many practical resources have been created to facilitate ready access to high-quality research. We call these resources "pre-appraised" because they have undergone a filtering process to include only those studies that are of higher quality and they are regularly updated so that the evidence we access through these resources is current.
To facilitate use of the many pre-appraised resources, Haynes proposed a "4S" model,1 which he then refined into a "5S" model.2 The 5S model begins with original single studies at the foundation, and building up from these are syntheses (systematic reviews such as Cochrane reviews), synopses (succinct descriptions of selected individual studies
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