Quantitative Assessment
Assessment is by means of a 3,000-word essay divided into two equally weighted (50% each) sections – Sections A and Section B – of 1,500 words each. The assessment will assess your understanding of epidemiological principles and terminology, and your ability to apply these to interpret and critically appraise quantitative health research.
Section A will be a critical appraisal worksheet on a research paper and Section B will be the design of an epidemiology study to address an important public or environmental health problem. The assessment marking will be structured using the descriptors shown on page 12 of this handbook.
Prepare your essay in a Word document and format it with 1.5 or 2 line spacing with normal margins. pay attention to the word count limit for each section as no words will be marked beyond the word count limit. Please do not include any further appendices.
SECTION A: (50% of the marks; 1,500 words maximum)
Critically appraise the seen paper on a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Answer each numbered question with a ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘can’t tell’, but please note that marks are only awarded for explanations and arguments sustaining your summary answer, not for the answer itself.
1. Did the review address a clearly focused question?
HINT: An issue can be ‘focused’ in terms of the population studied, the intervention given or the outcome considered. 4 marks
2. Did the authors look for the right type of papers?
HINT: ‘The best sort of studies’ would address the review’s question and have an appropriate study design. 4 marks
3. Do you think all the important, relevant studies were included?
HINT: Look for which bibliographic databases were used, follow up from reference lists, personal contact with experts, unpublished as well as published studies, non-English language studies. 5 marks
4. Did the review’s authors do enough to assess quality of the included studies?
HINT: The authors need to consider the rigour of the studies they have identified. Lack of rigour may affect the studies’ results. 5 marks
5. Have the study results been properly quantitatively combined in a meta-analysis?
HINT: Consider whether results were similar from study to study, results of all the included studies are clearly displayed, results of different studies are similar, reasons for any variations in results are discussed. 4 marks
6. What are the overall results of the review? Are they clearly stated or illustrated and are relevant results included? How precise are the results?
HINT: Consider if you are clear about the review’s ‘bottom line’ results, what these are (numerically if appropriate), how were the results expressed (relative risk, odds ratio, etc). Look at the confidence intervals, if given. 10 marks
7. Can the results be applied to your local population?
HINT: State your local population (e.g., Bristol, New Delhi, Yaoundé, etc). Consider whether the participants covered by the review could be sufficiently different to your population to cause concern and whether your local setting is likely to differ much from that of the review. 3 marks
8. Were all important outcomes included in the analysis?
HINT: Consider whether there is other information you would like to have seen 5 marks
9. Are the authors’ conclusions justified by the results presented?
HINT: Consider whether the authors’ conclusions are appropriately informed by the results they have presented. 6 marks
10. Should practice or policy change because of this study?
HINT: Consider how convinced you are about the validity of the results of the review in informing practice or policy. 4 marks
