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Table 4 Criteria for good measurement properties & certainty of evidence according to the modified GRADE method

From: Identification of tools used to assess the external validity of randomized controlled trials in reviews: a systematic review of measurement properties

Tool or dimension Content validity Internal consistency Reliability Measurement error Criterion validity Construct validity
“Applicability”-dimension of LEGEND [77]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Low      
“Applicability”-dimension of Carr´s evidence-grading scheme [63]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Bornhöft´s checklist [78]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Cleggs´s external validity assessment [64]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Clinical Applicability [66]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Clinical Relevance Instrument [79, 80]
CGMP (?)   (-)    
GRADE Moderate   Moderate    
Clinical Relevance according to the CCBRG [81]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Moderate      
Clinical relevance scores [68]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Estrada´s applicability assessment criteria [82]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
External Validity Assessment Tool (EVAT) [83]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Low      
“External validity”-dimension of the Downs & Black Checklist [22, 84]
CGMP (?) (?) (±)a (?)   (-)
GRADE Moderate Very Low Moderate Very Low   Very Low
“External validity”-dimension of Foy´s quality checklist [65]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
“External validity”-dimension of Liberati´s quality assessment criteria [69]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
“External validity”-dimension of Sorg´s checklist [71]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
“External validity”-criteria of the USPSTF manual [73, 84]
CGMP (?)   (+)    
GRADE Very Low   Very Low    
Feasibility, Appropriateness, Meaningfulness and Effectiveness (FAME) scale [70]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Generalizability, Applicability and Predictability (GAP) checklist [76]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Gartlehner´s tool [86, 87]
CGMP (?)   (-) (?) (+)  
GRADE Very Low   Moderate Very Low Very Low  
Green & Glasgow´s external validity quality rating criteria [88, 90, 91]
CGMP (?)   (+)    (-)
GRADE Very Low   Very Low    Very Low
“Indirecntess”-dimension from the GRADE Handbook [48, 92, 93]
CGMP (?)   (-)    
GRADE Moderate   Very Low    
Loyka´s external validity framework [75]
CGMP (?)    (?)   
GRADE Very Low    Low   
modified “Indirectness” of the Checklist for GRADE [94, 95]
CGMP (?)   (-)    
GRADE Low   Very Low    
External validity checklist of the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Handbook [74]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
revised Graphical Appraisal Tool for Epidemiological Studies (GATE) [72]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Rating of Included Trials on the Efficacy-Effectiveness Spectrum (RITES) [47, 97]
CGMP (+)   (+)    (+)
GRADE Moderate   Very Low    Low
“Selection Bias”-dimension (Section A) of EPHPP [98, 99]
CGMP (?)   (-)    (+)
GRADE Moderate   Low    Very Low
Section C of the CASP checklist for RCTs [100]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
Whole Systems research considerations´checklist [67]
CGMP (?)      
GRADE Very Low      
  1. Abbreviations: CCBRG Cochrane Collaboration Back Review Group, CGMP criteria for good measurement properties, EPHPP Effective Public Health Practice Project, GRADE Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation, LEGEND Let Evidence Guide Every New Decision, NICE National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, USPSTF U.S. Preventive Services Task Force;
  2. Criteria for good measurement properties: (+) = sufficient; (?) = indeterminate; (-) = insufficient, (±) or inconsistent
  3. Level of evidence according to the modified GRADE approach: high, moderate, low, or very low evidence.Note: the measurement properties “structural validity” and “cross-cultural validity” are not presented in this table, since they were not assessed in any of the included studies
  4. Fields left blank indicate that those measurement properties were not assessed by the study authors
  5. a please refer to Table S4 for more information on reliability of the “external validity”-dimension of the Downs & Black checklist
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BMC Medical Research Methodology

ISSN: 1471-2288

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