How to use a CASP Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) Checklist

Oftentimes users are signposted to CASP to use our free checklists in order to appraise a piece of evidence, but perhaps you are new to reading research and need some help to know how to use these checklists.

This module will guide you through the questions in the CASP Randomised Controlled Trials checklist and show you the key pointers to look for when reading a paper, and what the questions mean in each section. 

Course details at a glance

• Training method: Online training. Learners can progress at their own pace.
• Duration: This course is approximately 2 hours; this includes reading the research paper that you will be appraising using the CASP checklist.
• Access to module: Access is 12 months from the date purchase, and you can revisit the content at any time within this.
• Certification: On completion of the course, you will automatically receive a certificate of completion which you can keep in your CPD record.
• Cost: £15 (inc. VAT)

Training Course Syllabus

The “How to Use A CASP Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) Checklist” course covers:

• Helping you become familiar with the CASP randomised controlled trial (RCT) checklist. 
• Supporting you in appraising a randomised controlled trial paper using the CASP checklist. We explain why each question is important to the critical appraisal of a randomised controlled trial and the main issues you need to consider when answering each question.
• Helping you identify whether the results of a randomised controlled trial are generalisable. We look at the challenges involved in assessing whether the results of a randomised controlled trial are generalizable and robust enough to be used in routine practice with your local population. We illustrate how to use the CASP RCT checklist, we answer each question using information from the critical appraisal of a paper in the published literature.
• Increasing your confidence about using critical appraisal to decide whether the results of a randomised controlled trial paper are robust enough to be used in routine practice.

Who should attend this training course?

Health professions use research evidence in their professional practice, in professional and personal decision making, and policy & guidelines development.

• Anyone who must make decisions about someone’s care in their job or personal life.
• Health & Healthcare workers
• Dentists
• Allied Care Professionals
• Students
• Veterinary
• Policy makers
• Journalists
• Third sector workers
• Researchers

Testimonials

“The duration of the videos was short and split into various sections. This helped with following through easily and maintaining concentration.”

Student

“Easy to follow, liked the narration and could rewind if needed”

ST8 Paediatric Emergency Medicine Trainee

“Useful to refer to example of a real paper with walk-through of the checklist”

Medical Doctor/PhD student

“Specific things to think about when critically analysing a paper. Breaking down the questions into manageable chunks - i.e., whether a paper is 'methodologically sound'”

Audiology Trainee

“Online and any time on demand available, cost effective”

Surgery Registrar

“Good refresher with additional items to consider. Clear and concise”

Physiotherapist

About your trainer

• Erica Ison is the lead for the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme at OAP Ltd. She is an experienced trainer/facilitator in a range of fields and has worked with a variety of people from health and care professionals and third sector personnel to politicians, students, and members of the public.
• Erica carries out CASP Face to Face, Virtual and commissioned workshops.
• Erica designs and develops not only training and skills development courses, tailored for local, national, and international audiences, but also tools, checklists, and frameworks to support healthcare professionals in decision-making.
• Erica has experience in using the identification of unwarranted variation to increase value in the delivery of health services. Edited the NHS Atlases of Variation in Healthcare series since the first compendium Atlas appeared under the Quality Innovation Improvement & Prevention (QIPP) Right Care programme in 2010. Since then, she has overseen the writing, editing and production of three compendium atlases and six specialist Atlases including two editions of the Diagnostics Atlas and two of the Liver Disease Atlas.

Why learn with CASP?

• CASP training, workshops and resources help participants put knowledge into practice by learning how to systematically formulate questions, find research evidence, appraise research evidence and act on what they find.
• The philosophy of CASP has always been about sharing knowledge and understanding, working in ways that are non-hierarchical, multidisciplinary and using problem-based approaches. This ensures that it is accessible and has practical day-to-day application.
• The CASP programme has been running since 1993 and has 30 years of significant and unrivalled expertise in the delivery of training to healthcare professionals, from a wide variety of professions and disciplines. We are continuing to evolve into new ways of making our workshops accessible to those across the world, including transferring our workshop content to online learning so that participants can pace their study at their own time, having access from wherever they are.
• CASP has 8 critical appraisal tools, designed to be used when reading research. These include tools for systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, case control studies, economic evaluations, diagnostic studies, qualitative studies and clinical prediction Rule.
• Our checklists are free to download from the CASP website and can be used by anyone under the Creative Commons License, and are used by healthcare organisations and universities world-wide, with over 400,000 downloads per year.

Ready to get started?

Gaining access to the “How to use a CASP Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) Checklist” training course is quick and easy. Simply choose one of the options below:

Start this training course now
Purchase our RCT Module Bundle