Assessment of study quality gives an indication of the strength of the evidence provided by your review. It helps determine whether the studies are vigorous enough to guide treatment, prevention, diagnostic or policy decisions.

Quality assessment of any study is likely to consider:

• Appropriateness of study design to the research objective
• Risk of bias
• Other issues related to study quality
  • Choice of outcome measure
  • Statistical issues
  • Quality of reporting
  • Quality of the intervention
  • Generalizability

From: Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York (2008) Systematic Reviews: CRD's Guidance for Undertaking Reviews in Health Care.