The AACODS checklist is a checklist designed for the evaluation and critical appraisal of grey literature. It covers the following areas:
- Authority: who is responsible for the content?
- Accuracy: is the content clear and consistent?
- Coverage: what is the scope?
- Objectivity: what are the underlying biases (stated or unstated)?
- Date: how current is the content?
- Significance: is the resource meaningful, representative, or impactful?
DARTS is another tool that can be used to evaluate grey literature, and can easily be adapted into a spreadsheet for tracking purposes.
- Date: when was the content last updated?
- Author: who created the content?
- References: are there valid references to other content?
- Type: what is the purpose of the content? Where is it featured?
- Sponsor: is the content sponsored, and by whom?
QUality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST) is a 28-point system for evaluating online health information, and can be useful for comparing a large number of resources.
- Authorship: 0 (no indication), 1 (some indication), 2 (author's name and qualification listed)
- Attribution: 0 (no references), 1 (some references; may not be credible studies), 2 (reference to at least one identifiable scientific study), 3 (references to identifiable scientific studies in >50% of claims)
- Conflict of interest: 0 (endorsement of related intervention or treatment), 1 (endorsement of educational products/services), 2 (unbiased)
- Currency: 0 (no date present), 1 (dated 5 years or older), 2 (dated within 5 years)
- Complementarity: 0 (no support of patient-physician relationship), 1 (support of patient-physician relationship)
- Tone: 0 (author fully and unequivocally supports claims, using strong language), 1 (author mainly supports claims with more cautious language, but does not discuss limitations), 2 (author's claims are cautious and balanced, and discusses limitations/contrasting findings)