Looking at the Literature:

Be as rigorous as you can for your clients well being, but not so rigorous that you don’t get the project done. There are some basic questions you should keep in mind as you decide which information to pay attention to while you develop guides to patterns of care for client groups, or other such tools for care or system management .

When selecting the references you are going to use, pay attention to:

     How recent is this article? Is it still current?

     Do you and your colleagues consider the source to be reliable?

     Has the article been reviewed (see "Good Sites to Help You in Reviewing Literature"); if your team has not reviewed it, has it been reviewed be a reliable source (e.g. Cochrane Collaboration?) Does research described meet the criteria of such review processes?

     Use the internet, but be careful about the sites you access for information. University sites and professional organizations are more apt to have peer reviewed, reliable information. Some are listed in the next section.
 

Good Sites to Help You in Reviewing Literature

     The Cochrane Collaboration at www.cochrane.org

     SIGN 50: A guideline developers' handbook; SIGN Publication No. 50, Published February 2001, Last updated October 2002

http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fulltext/50/index.html

     SIGN 50: A guideline developers' handbook, Annex A , "AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation in Europe) appraisal criteria", at http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fulltext/50/annexa.html

     The AGREE Collaborative

http://www.agreecollaboration.org/

For more information contact

Judith Weinstein
The Brondesbury Group
144 Front Street West, Suite 650
Toronto ON M5J 1G2
Phone: 416-585-2414 ; 1-800-530-7195
judith.weinstein@brondesbury.com