An introduction to systematic reviews of interventions

Dr Catriona McDaid, Research Fellow, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York

A systematic review is an approach to addressing clearly formulated questions, using explicit methodology to minimise bias in the location, selection, critical evaluation and synthesis of research evidence. It may or may not involve quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis).

The aim of this session is to provide an introduction to the key stages involved in a systematic review: searching databases and other sources for published and unpublished research; appraising the identified studies and synthesising the evidence. Examples will be drawn primarily from the health field though the principles are generic. The session is targeted at those who have not yet conducted a systematic review and would like a general overview of the methods or those who have recently become involved. The extent of practical activities in the session is dependent upon numbers attending.