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1LITERATURE ANALYSIS FORM (LAF): for a Literature Review* or Meta-Analysis

(* = either Systematic or Traditional) Short Version of the LAF: for use in Case Presentation Seminars

STUDENT PRESENTER: _________________________________ Date of Presentation: ___/____/____ ARTICLE TITLE:_________________________________________________________________________________________AUTHOR(S): ______________________________________________________________________________ JOURNAL REFERENCE:____________________________________________________________________

THE RESEARCH QUESTION 1. Write the Research Question that this reviewed collection of original studies were addressing. (include a clear statements of the; 1) Indep Var, 2) Dep Var, and 3) Relevant Population/Study Characteristics) [TIP: use the 2 ”H0 Format” slides from the SAPL Skills Clue Sheet as a model to create your answer to this question] These studies were conducted to determine whether _______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

TYPES OF STUDIES that were Included in this Review or Meta-Analysis 2. Classify the studies as either: (circle only one option below if all the studies were of ‘one type’, …but, if more than ‘one type’ of study was summarized in the report, write the # of articles of each specific type of study on the short line before each study type below) [TIP: use the “4 Questions to ID type of Epidemiologic Study’ slide from the SAPL Skills Clue Sheet] ___ Lab Study Analytical Epi Experimental Epi ___ Cross-sectional ___ Randomized Clinical ___ Case History ___ Case Control Trial (RCT) ___ Retrospective Cohort ___ Other type of clinical ___ Descriptive Epi ___ Prospective Cohort trial 3. Amongst the articles included in this Review or Meta Analysis, how many of the specific articles included had the following levels of “inherent potential to make a statement of causation”: (on the short line before each below answer, write the # of articles with that level of ‘inherent potential for a statement of causation’) [TIP: use “Cylinders of Causation” slide on SAPL Clue Sheet] # ___ very strong ___ strong ___ moderate ___ nonexistent

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RESULTS: 4. Summarize the findings on this ‘reviewed set of studies’ as drawn by the author(s): _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 5. Were the findings, as reported, of practical/clinical importance? __ Yes __ No DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION 6. Does the discussion proceed logically based on ‘set of studies’ presented? ___ Yes ___ No 7. Does the author state that ‘cause and effect’ is proven by this set of studies? __ Yes ___ No 8. In your opinion is this claim justified by: __ the data analysis….and/or __ the research methods 9. Do the author(s) avoid generalizing beyond the limitations of the project? __ Yes __ No UTILITY of this article and its findings for your dental practice 10. What is the effect of the ‘eligibility criteria’ used to select the set of original studies in this report? (select one choice) ___ so restrictive that I cannot see any ‘generalizability’ back to patients in my practice at all ___ somewhat restrictive so I would have be ‘intelligently selective’ as to whom I generalize

these findings (write out details on ‘to whom you could generalize these findings in #12 below) ___ given the ‘eligibility criteria’ as stated, I could apply these findings to all patients in my practice 11. State specifically how (and for whom) you would incorporate these findings into your practice. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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LITERATURE ANALYSIS FORM (LAF): for a Published Original Study

Short Version of the LAF: for use in Case Presentation Seminars

STUDENT PRESENTER: _______________________________ Date of Presentation: ___/____/____ ARTICLE TITLE:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR(S): ___________________________________________________________

JOURNAL REFERENCE: _________________________________________________

THE RESEARCH QUESTION 1. Write the Null Hypothesis (either as implied or explicitly stated), if the study has one. (include a clear statements of the 1) Indep Var, 2) Dep Var, and 3) Relevant Population/Study Characteristics) ____ There is no Null Hypothesis associated with this study. …OR….write the implied H0 below: [TIP: use the 2” H0 Format” slides from the SAPL Skills Clue Sheet as a model to create your answer to this question] There is no difference between _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

TYPE OF STUDY 2.. Classify the study as either: [TIP: use the “4 Questions to ID type of Epidemiologic Study’ slide from the SAPL Skills Clue Sheet] ___ Lab Study Analytical Epi Experimental Epi ___ Cross-sectional ___ Randomized Clinical ___ Case History ___ Case Control Trial (RCT) ___ Retrospective Cohort ___ Other type of clinical ___ Descriptive Epi ___ Prospective Cohort trial 3. Check the key study design elements that justify your ‘above classification’: __ presence of a Null Hypothesis, i.e., a research question with Indep & Dep variables __ dichotomized study sample on either: __ Indep Var…or __ Dep Var….or __ Neither __ study is either: __ a retrospective study……or __ a prospective study __ yes, subjects assigned to group by investigator? 4. The inherent potential for this type of epidemiologic study to make a statement of causation is: [TIP: use “Cylinders of Causation” slide on SAPL Clue Sheet] ___ very strong ___ strong ___ moderate ___ nonexistent

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ISOLATING THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (Eliminating Potential Confounding Variables) 5. Did the study design ‘isolate the independent variable’ by 1 or more techniques? __Yes __ No If ‘yes’, check appropriate ‘specific techniques used’ ….and list 1-3 potential confounders controlled that were ‘controlled for’ by the use of that specific technique: [Tip: use the “Isolating the Independent Variable” slide from the SAPL Skills Clue Sheet] Specific Technique list 1-3 Potential confounders ‘controlled for’ by this ‘technique’ ___ used a control group __________________________________________________ ___ eligibility criteria __________________________________________________ ___ ‘adjusted’ statistical analyses __________________________________________________ ___ other: ____________ __________________________________________________ (specify) RESULTS 6. Were the statistical tests used appropriate for the level of measurement? __ Yes __ No __ none used 7. Were the findings, as reported, of statistical significance? __ Yes __ No __ not stated 8. Were the findings, as reported, of practical/clinical importance? __ Yes __ No 9. In this study as published, which error (� or �) is of primary concern to you as a reader? __ � error only __ � error only ___ both 10. Were the findings ‘true/real findings’? ….or do the findings reflect an � or � error, i.e, are, in fact, due to chance alone? ____ they are ‘true/real findings’ ____ they were ‘due to chance alone’ (i.e., reflect an � or � error) ____ one cannot know this DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION 11. Does the discussion proceed logically based on the data presented? ___ Yes ___ No 12. Does the author claim ‘cause and effect relationship’? __ Yes ___ No 13. In your opinion is this claim justified by: __ the data analysis….and/or __ the research methods 14. Do the author(s) avoid generalizing beyond the limitations of the project? __ Yes __ No UTILITY of this article and its findings for your dental practice 15. State whether you would incorporate findings of this article into your dental practice. __ yes __ yes, but __ no __ no, but 16. State specifically how (and for whom) you would incorporate these findings into your practice. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________