Title
Instructions for using the MInCir scale to assess methodological quality in diagnostic accuracy studies
Other title
[Instrucciones para utilizar la escala MInCir para valorar calidad metodológica de estudios de diagnóstico o pruebas diagnósticas]
Date Issued
01 March 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Universidad de La Frontera
Publisher(s)
Universidad de la Frontera
Abstract
Globally, the assessment of methodological quality (MQ) in biomedical research is an area of dynamic development over recent years. Understood as a complex and multidimensional construct, various groups have proposed tools for its assessment. Our team has designed and validated scales to assess MQ of therapy and prognosis studies. However, as with other instruments, it is necessary to specify in detail how it is applied, in such a way as to be able to standardize the measurements made with this instrument. A detailed description is presented of the 3 domains (type of research design [single item domain], size of population studied [single item domain], and methodology [7 items]) and 9 items comprising the scale, specifying for each item how to assess the characteristics and score articles of diagnostic accuracy studies. The application of this instrument requires critical evaluation of each of the items to assign the respective score, which sum to give a total score of between 9 and 45 points. The cut-off point to define the construct MQ (dichotomous) for this type of study is 20 points. This article provides an application guideline that may help to improve inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of the MInCir MQ scale for diagnostic accuracy studies. The aim of this article is to provide a guideline for the standardized application of the MInCir MQ scale for diagnostic accuracy studies.
Start page
78
End page
84
Volume
34
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias socio biomédicas (planificación familiar, salud sexual, efectos políticos y sociales de la investigación biomédica)
Epidemiología
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84966552668
Source
International Journal of Morphology
ISSN of the container
07179367
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus