Systematic Reviews

Question 1

what is a systematic review

Answer 1

type of literature review which uses systematic methods to collect secondary data, critically appraise research studies and synthesise studies

Question 2

what are the advantages of single studies

Answer 2

saves reader time
provide reliable evidence
resolve inconsistencies
identify gaps
identify when questions have been fully answered
explore difference between studies

Question 3

what are the key characteristics of systematic reviews

Answer 3

well formulated question
comprehensive data search
unbiased selection and abstraction processes
assessment of papers
synthesis of data

Question 4

why are systematic reviews important

Answer 4

reduce large quantities of information into manageable portions
formulate policy and develop guidelines
efficient use of resources
increased power/precision
limit bias and improve accuracy

Question 5

what is the process of a systematic review

Answer 5

well formulated question
comprehensive data search
unbiased selection and abstraction process
assessment of papers
synthesis of data

Question 6

what is used to help formulate a question

Answer 6

PICO

Question 7

what is used to ensure comprehensive data search

Answer 7

electronic databases
reference lists
hand searching
language
sources of studies

Question 8

how do we ensure unbiased selection and abstraction processes

Answer 8

select relevant papers
data extraction to a predefined data extraction form
conducted by 2 reviewers
clear description of exclusion criteria

Question 9

what is assessed when assessing papers

Answer 9

how well studies were designed and conducted

Question 10

what does reliability depend on

Answer 10

methodological quality of included studies
quality of systematic review itself

Question 11

what are significant statistically positive results more likely to do (reporting bias)

Answer 11

be published
published quicker
published in english
be cited by others

Question 12

what tools are used for quality assessment

Answer 12

composite scales
component approach

Question 13

what must be considered as having a potential risk of bias

Answer 13

sequence generation
allocation concealment
blinding
incomplete outcome data
selective outcome reporting

Question 14

what does meta-analysis do

Answer 14

integrate findings, pool data and identify trend
calculate treatment effect based on pooled data
estimate common treatment across studies

Question 15

what are the advantages of meta-analysis

Answer 15

increase in power
improvement in precision
ability to answer questions not posed by individual studies

Question 16

when should meta-analysis be undertaken

Answer 16

when minimal differences in characteristics across studies
same outcome measure
data in each study available

Question 17

what types of data are there

Answer 17

dichotomous
continuous

Question 18

what is used to visually display results

Answer 18

forest plots

Question 19

what is a fixed effect

Answer 19

assumes that studies are so similar that the answers are the same

Question 20

what is a random effect

Answer 20

assumes that studies are slightly different so answers will be slightly different

Question 21

what system is used to establish how certain you are in the results of meta-analysis

Answer 21

GRADE

Question 22

what does the GRADE system stand for

Answer 22

grading of
recommendations
assessment
development
evaluation

Question 23

what are the 5 factors which lower quality

Answer 23

high or unclear risk of bias
inconsistency between studies
indirectness
imprecision
publication bias

Question 24

what is used to improve reporting standards

Answer 24

CONSORT
EQUATOR
COMET