Table 1 A Guide to Terminology
From: A system for rating the stability and strength of medical evidence
Major components of evidence | ||
|---|---|---|
Term | Definition | |
Quality | The extent to which studies are protected from bias | |
Quantity | The number of studies and the number of patients | |
Consistency | The extent to which different studies found similar results | |
Robustness | The extent to which minor alterations in the data do not change conclusions drawn from that data | |
Magnitude of effect | The effect size | |
Quantitative and qualitative conclusions | ||
Type of conclusion: | Quantitative | Qualitative |
Clinical interpretation: | How well does it work? | Does it work? |
Type of rating: | Stability | Strength |
Interpretation of rating: | Confidence that future evidence will not indicate a different effect size | Confidence that future evidence will not indicate a different direction of effect |
Possible ratings: | High, Moderate, Low, or Unstable | Strong, Moderate, Weak, or Inconclusive |