Table 4 Quality assessment items derived from CASP checklist

1.

Was the research design appropriate to address the aims of the research?

2.

Was the recruitment strategy appropriate to the aims of the research?

3.

Were the data collected in a way that addressed the research issue? [This was adapted to 2 sub questions ‘was the data collection clearly described’ (as without this it is not possible to answer whether data collection is appropriate or not) and ‘was the data collected in an appropriate way to address the research question?’]

4.

Has the relationship between researcher and participants been adequately considered?

5.

Have ethical issues been taken into consideration?

6.

Was the data analysis sufficiently rigorous? This includes whether the analysis process is clearly described

7.

Is there a clear statement of findings?

8.

How valuable is the research?

[this has been incorporated into the ‘Reviewer’s main conclusions’ – see Table 5, and Additional file 2]