Table 1

An example of a typology of evidence (example refers to social interventions in children) (adapted from Muir Gray²⁴)

Research question	Qualitative research	Survey	Case-control studies	Cohort studies	RCTs	Quasi-experimental studies	Non experimental evaluations	Systematic reviews
Effectiveness
Does this work? Does doing this work better than doing that?				+	++	+		+++
Process of service delivery
How does it work?	++	+					+	+++
Salience
Does it matter?	++	++						+++
Safety
Will it do more good than harm?	+		+	+	++	+	+	+++
Acceptability
Will children/parents be willing to or want to take up the service offered?	++	+			+	+	+	+++
Cost effectiveness
Is it worth buying this service?					++			+++
Appropriateness
Is this the right service for these children?	++	++						++
Satisfaction with the service
Are users, providers, and other stakeholders satisfied with the service?	++	++	+	+				+