The written assignment will contain the following outlined elements (Crombie, 2022): Critical Questions for Bias Were efforts made to improve data quality and were these methods transparent and reproducible? Could the process of selecting treatments for patients bias the estimates of effect size? Was the control treatment chosen to minimize confounding by indication? Were efforts made to reduce or adjust for confounding? Could loss to follow-up be a problem? Could selective reporting of outcomes have occurred? o Important Questions for Bias ▪ Was the study registered or was a protocol published? ▪ Was the study hypothesis testing or exploratory? ▪ Were the same inclusion and exclusion criteria used for the intervention and control groups? ▪ Are the measurements likely to be valid and reliable? ▪ Could missing data be a problem? ▪ Are the statistical methods appropriate? ▪ Was the length of follow-up adequate? ▪ Did the analysis allow for the passage of time? ▪ Could immortal time bias be a problem? ▪ Are all the main findings discussed? ▪ Was there data dredging? ▪ Could selective reporting of outcomes have occurred? ▪ Has spin been used to mislead? ▪ Could conflict of interest have influenced the findings? ▪ Was there industry involvement in the study? o Indicative Questions of risk of Bias ▪ Are the study aims focused? ▪ Was the sample size justified and achieved? ▪ Was the study prospective or retrospective in design? ▪ How are null findings interpreted? ▪ Is the discussion of study limitations helpful? o Questions of value ▪ Were the participant characteristics and the research setting adequately described? ▪ Was the outcome measures important to patients or the general public? ▪ Was precision assessed? ▪ How plausible are the main findings? ▪ How do the results compare with previous reports? o How would you apply this information in the management of the patient (Crombie, 2022)?