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Resources > Systematic Reviews

General

The Annals of Internal Medicine's articles:

• Systematic Reviews: Synthesis of Best Evidence for Clinical Decisions
• Systematic Reviews: Critical Links in the Great Chain of Evidence
• Using Numerical Results from Systematic Reviews in Clinical Practice
• Systematic Reviews: Locating and Appraising Systematic Reviews
• How Consumers and Policymakers Can Use Systematic Reviews for Decision Making
• The Relation between Systematic Reviews and Practice Guidelines
• Quantitative Synthesis in Systematic Reviews
• Integrating Heterogeneous Pieces of Evidence in Systematic Reviews

How to read a paper: Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses)

by Trisha Greenhalgh in The BMJ.

The HTA publications list includes relevant articles which can be ordered or downloaded in pdf format.

The Cochrane Library

Searchable database for full-text completed reviews carried out by the Cochrane Collaboration.

The Campbell Collaboration

The Campbell Collaboration (C2) is a non-profit organisation.  It aims to prepare and maintain systematic reviews of studies on the effects of social and educational policies, as well as practice and publish them electronically. 
Its library consists of the following databases:
C2-SPECTR (C2 Social, Psychological, Educaiton and Criminological Trials Registry). 
Has nearly 12,000 randomised and possibly randomised trials which act as possible contents for the Collaboration's systematic reviews.
C2-RIPE (the C2 Reviews of Interventions and Policy Evaluations)
Provides access to reviews and review related documents.

The Joanna Briggs Institute

An international research collaboration based on an initiative between the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide University.
The JBI Systematic Reviews Database specialises in nursing and midwifery and lists systematic reviews by title.

Undertaking Systematic Reviews of Research on Effectiveness

NHS CRD's Guidance for those Carrying Out or Commissioning Reviews. CRD Report Number 4 2001

Tutorials

ScHARR Introduction To Systematic Reviews

A guide covering every step of systematic reviews. Available as a downloadable Word file.

Systematic Reviews: What Are They and Why Are They Useful?

Another guide from ScHARR.

Meta-Analysis

The BMJ's series of six articles examining the procedures in conducting reliable meta-analysis in medical research :

• Meta-analysis: Potential and Promise
• Meta-analysis: Principles and Procedures
• Meta-analysis: Beyond the Grand Mean?
• Meta-analysis: bias in location and selection of studies
• Meta-analysis: Spurious Precision?
• Meta-analysis: Unresolved Issues and Future Developments
  

Meta Analyses Tutorial

From the Michigan State University EBM course. Includes: the steps in performing a meta-analysis: identification, selection, abstraction, and analysis; distinguishing between random and fixed effects models when reading a meta-analysis; evaluating the validity of a meta-analysis.

Software

Meta-analysis in Practice

From the University of Leicester. This site provides information concerning software for meta-analysis.

RevMan

RevMan is the Cochrane Collaboration's program for preparing and maintaining Cochrane reviews.
RevMan allows you to enter protocols, as well as complete reviews, including text, characteristics of studies, comparison table, and study data. It can perform meta-analysis of the data entered, and present the results graphically using MetaView. Downloadable from a number of sources.



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