*More specific guidelines can be found by searching for particular diseases or conditions (e.g acne, rosacea, etc.) or health initiatives/organizations.
Before using any information you should critically evaluate source, especially if it is from a website. Consider:
Ask yourself whether the resource you found applies to your clinical question. To evaluate it, you can use the PICO framework:
P | Patient/Problem | How would you describe a group of patients similar to yours? What are the most important characteristics of the patient? |
I | Intervention/Exposure/Prognostic Factor | What main intervention are you considering? What do you want to do with this patient? |
C | Comparison | What is the main alternative being considered, if any? |
O | Outcome | What are you trying to accomplish, measure, improve or affect? |
Once you've chosen a resource to use in your research, you need to delve into the details of the article in order to figure out whether it's an applicable and reputable source. The resources listed below can help you with the critical appraisal process.