Critical Appraisal: Managing your Literature

Reference management software can be a lifesaver for organizing your reference list and putting citations into the correct format. Currently, AHS permits the following three options which can be requested through the IT Service Hub:

• EndNote Basic & Desktop
• Mendeley
• Zotero

Different tools have different advantages – the right one for you will depend on the complexity of your project, how you plan to use the tool, and whether you need to collaborate and share. Check out the Citation Management FAQ for more information.

Keeping track of your literature searches and literature are key to the critical appraisal process.  Tracking allows you to easily update your literature searches, supports transparency and enables others to assess the trustworthiness of your findings.

• You can use specific reference management use tools to organize your references and help with sorting as you critically appraise materials
• Sometimes, a simple spreadsheet or word table is sufficient to keep track of your searches and literature you appraise 
• You can use PRISMA guidelines and tools to ensure you are keeping track of important information that people will expect to see in any reports, for instance see the PRISMA-S checklist.

For more about how to document searches, see this example.

There are THREE levels of screening to carry out.