Research assignment

The Gonococcal and Chlamydial Infections guidelines were evaluated using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE).  The purpose of the AGREE instrument is to judge the quality of practice guidelines and how the guidelines are reported. Using AGREE, evaluators use a Likert scale to rank guidelines from 1 to 4 on 23 questions. The 23 questions fall into 6 domains:

1.    Scope and Purpose (1-3) 2.    Stakeholder involvement (4-7) 3.    Rigor of development (8-14) 4.    Clarity and Presentation (15-18) 5.    Applicability (19-21) 6.    Editorial Independence (22-23)

A score of 4 indicates that the reviewer strongly agrees that the guidelines answer the question while a score of 1 indicates that the reviewer strongly disagrees that the guidelines answer the question. These are subjective reviews; therefore, 4 reviewers are recommended. Based on the rankings, evaluators decide if the guideline is effective and can be used in practice, if the guideline is potentially effective with more research, or if the guideline is ineffective.