CAMELOT – an evidence-based tool for assessing methodological limitations of primary qualitative research

CAMELOT will support review authors in assessing the methodological strengths and limitations of primary qualitative research. CAMELOT is tailor-made to support authors of qualitative evidence syntheses and is compatible with GRADE-CERQual.

Why is CAMELOT important? 

In an era where findings from qualitative evidence syntheses are increasingly used in shaping decision making around health and social care policy and practice, the importance of assessing the evidence cannot be overstated. Assessing methodological limitations of included studies is crucial to the overall assessment of evidence.

Existing tools are either not specifically intended for use within qualitative evidence synthesis or GRADE-CERQual and few are evidence-based.

Addressing a critical gap

CAMELOT fills an important gap for review authors, being purposefully designed for use in qualitative syntheses and tailored to meet the needs of GRADE-CERQual.

Lead author, Heather Munthe-Kaas, from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, highlights “CAMELOT is the first tool that uses a qualitative approach to assessing the methodological limitations of qualitative research. The focus of CAMELOT is on fit between the research question and context and the design and conduct of the study. This will help review authors to be more considerate in identifying methodological concerns. This is a new approach and we encourage those keen to use CAMELOT to find additional guidance and examples on www.camelotapproach.com and to provide feedback on their experiences.”

Target audience

While the paper is intended primarily for those undertaking qualitative evidence syntheses, its versatility allows anyone interested in evaluating qualitative research to utilize this innovative tool.

For more information contact heather.munthe-kaas@fhi.no or visit www.camelotapproach.com.