Meta-Analysis / Systematic Review
What are meta-analyses and systematic reviews and why are they important?
Key Points
- Systematic reviews and meta-analysis are tools used to provide up-to-date information comparing medical or scientific interventions, standards of practice, and more, to provide higher levels of evidence tailored for clinical use.
- Cochrane Library and Campbell Collaboration are the recognized bodies who are involved in training, synthesis and database of systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Before writing systematic review and meta-analysis, one should understand the prerequisites, should be adequately trained, and work as a team.
Helpful Links, Videos and Online Courses
Overview
- What are systematic reviews?
- Cochrane Library guide to understanding systematic reviews, including videos.
- Chapter 1: Starting a review
- This lesson from Cochrane Training explains what systematic reviews are, why researchers should create one, and prerequisites for clinicians who write them.
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: all issues
- This database from Cochrane contains lists all systematic reviews and meta-analysis by year, intervention, protocol, and more.
- PROSPERO: International prospective register for systematic reviews
- This webpage by the National Institute for Health Research provides protocols for submitting systematic reviews to PROSPERO.
- Authoring tools – The Campbell Collaboration
- This website from the Campbell Collaboration provides numerous tools for online systematic reviews.
Videos
- What are systematic reviews?
- A short, 3-minute video from Cochrane explaining the basics of systematic reviews, and how interventions are compared to determine efficacy.
Relevant Publications
- Ahn, E. & Kang, H. (2018). Introduction to systematic review and meta-analysis. Korean Journal of Anesthesiology, 71(2), 103-112.