Critical appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context. Here are online courses, websites and checklists to help you appraise the material you have retrieved.
Just because material has been published in a journal or appears on a wesbite, this does not mean it is suitable for your purpose. The Open University, in its SAFARI guide to information skills, suggests the following criteria, which you can use for the web and for printed material:
PROMPT
Presentation - is the information presented in a clear and readable way? Are there relevant diagrams and photographs? Is it written objectively or is it emotive?
Relevance - is it relevant and appropriate for your needs? Does it cover the countries or regions which interest you? Does it cover all aspects of your topic?
Objectivity - is it balanced or is there some bias? Can you easily establish who the authors are and what their authority might be? Are there vested interests behind the website? Is it trying to sell you something?
Method - how was the information gathered together? Are the methods clearly stated? Ask yourself basic questions about sample size, use of control groups. questionnaire design etc.
Provenance or Authority - who or what originated the information and are they reliable sources? Are the authors acknowledged experts in this area? What else have they published on this topic? Do you they belong to well-known institutions? If you're looking at a journal article, is it from a peer-reviewed journal? If it is a website, did you find the link on a trusted site, such as NHS Evidence or a professional body or a university?
Timeliness - is the information up-to-date and can you tell if it has been superseded? Is it clear when the website was produced?
Grey literature has not been through any sort of peer review process. Therefore it is particularly important that you evaluate material very carefully to decide whether to use it.
The AACODS checklist is designed to enable evaluation and critical appraisal of grey literature.
A Authority
A Accuracy
C Coverage
O Objectivity
D Date
S Significance.
It was prepared at Flinders University and there is a very helpful annotated checklist available.