1a |
Systematic review (with a homogeneity of RCTs) |
1b |
Individual RCT with narrow confidence interval |
2a |
Systematic review (with homogeneity of cohort studies) |
2b |
Individual cohort study (including low quality RCT) |
2c |
Outcomes research; Ecological studies |
3a |
Systematic Review (with homogeneity of case-control studies) |
3b |
Individual case-control study |
4 |
Case-series (and poor-quality cohort and case-control studies) |
5 |
Expert opinion without explicit critical appraisal, or based on physiology, bench research, or “first principles” |