Document Type
Article
Version
Author's Final Manuscript
Publication Title
Research on Social Work Practice
Volume
19
Publication Date
1-1-2009
Abstract
Objective
The goal of this study is to advance an approach to the assessment of the quality of studies considered for inclusion in systematic reviews of the effects of social-care interventions.
Method
To achieve this objective, quality is defined in relation to the widely accepted validity typology; prominent approaches to study quality assessment are evaluated as to their adequacy.
Results
Problems with these approaches are identified.
Conclusion
A formal, yet explicit, multidimensional approach to assessment grounded in substantive issues relevant to the intervention and the broader context in which it is embedded is promoted. Uncritical and exclusive use of indicators of study quality such as publication status, reporting quality, and single summative quality scores are rejected.
Publisher's Statement
© 2009 by SAGE Publications.
Citation
Wells, Kathleen, and Julia H. Littell. "Study Quality Assessment in Systematic Reviews of Research on Intervention Effects." Research on Social Work Practice 19, no. 1 (2009): 52-62, doi: 10.1177/1049731508317278.
DOI
10.1177/1049731508317278.