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Level of evidence
(LOE) Description
This level of effectiveness rating scheme is based on the following: Ackley, B. J., Swan,
B. A., Ladwig, G., & Tucker, S. (2008). Evidence-based nursing care guidelines:
Medical-surgical interventions. (p. 7). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.
Research study designs
Different types of clinical questions are best answered by different types of research
studies. You might not always find the highest level of evidence (i.e., systematic review
or meta-analysis) to answer your question. When this happens, work your way down to
the next highest level of evidence.
This table suggests study designs best suited to answer each type of clinical question.
Cohort Study: Identifies two groups (cohorts) of patients, one which did receive
the exposure of interest, and one which did not, and following these cohorts
forward for the outcome of interest.
Use the TRIP database to find unfiltered and filtered information sources online.
Sources:
Greenhalgh, Trisha. How to Read a Paper: the Basics of Evidence Based
Medicine. London: BMJ, 2000.
Glover, Jan; Izzo, David; Odato, Karen & Lei Wang. EBM Pyramid. Dartmouth
University/Yale University. 2006.
Levels of Evidence
The following organizations describe levels of evidence: