Your pathway through EPOCH resources to help prioritise best evidence for decision-making and research.
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The 6S Pyramid Guided Search is an evidence-based practice tool that presents a course of action for the busy practitioner who wants to search EPOCH resources for the highest quality research most relevant to their issue of interest, quickly and efficiently.
We recommend you clearly define your clinical/research question or problem before using this tool.
About EPOCH resources
EPOCH resources provide two broad types of health research:
Filtered research
Also called secondary or pre-appraised research. This is synthesised or summarised evidence drawing from evaluated primary, single studies on a topic.
Examples of filtered research are evidence summaries, guidelines, systematic/scoping reviews and meta-analyses.
Unfiltered research
Also called primary research. This body of evidence consists of original, single studies that require critical appraisal or evaluation by the reader.
Examples of unfiltered research are controlled trials, cohort studies, qualitative studies, and case-control studies.
The 6S Pyramid model
The 6S Pyramid model arranges all available research into a six-level hierarchy. The bottom level represents unfiltered, primary research.
As you move up through the five levels of filtered research, the methodological quality of evidence and its ability to guide practitioner action increases.
Using the Guided Search
Guide your decision-making or research by starting at the highest possible level of the 6S Pyramid to check if the body of evidence on your topic is synthesised and appraised in an EPOCH resource.
Work down the 6S Pyramid through the different levels of filtered research and search for primary single studies as the last option.
*Filtered Research pre-appraises primary research but it is recommended that an appraisal checklist is used to verify the quality of Guidelines and Systematic Reviews.
This Guide adapts
- DiCenso, Bayley and Haynes. (2009). Accessing preappraised evidence: Fine-tuning the 5S model into a 6S model. Annals of Internal Medicine, 151(6), JC3.
- McMaster University Health Sciences Library. (2022, July 26). Resources for evidence-based practice: The 6S pyramid. McMaster University. https://hslmcmaster.libguides.com/ebm