Meta-Analysis & Evidence Synthesis. 2 -

Catalog description

Systematic reviews use reproducible methods to systematically search the literature and synthesize the results of a specific topic area. Meta-analysis is a specific analytic technique used to pool results of individual studies. Systematic reviews are useful ways to establish one's knowledge in a particular field of study, and can highlight gaps in research which can be pursued in future work. They can also inform the background of a grant. This course is designed to introduce students to the methods of conducting a high quality systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. We will cover the design, methods, and analytic techniques involved in systematic reviews. These concepts will prepare students to conduct their own systematic review or evaluate the systematic reviews of others. Sessions will be lectures, labs, and presentations. Topics include developing a search strategy, abstracting key data, synthesizing the results qualitatively, meta-analytic techniques, grading the quality of studies, grading the strength of the evidence, and manuscript preparation specific to systematic reviews and meta-analysis of intervention studies. Caveat: If you would like to conduct a systematic review of your own that can be published after the course ends, you will need to have several other class members or colleagues willing to work with you on the project. The systematic review should be on a topic where you expect no more than 20-30 included studies in order to be able to complete the review soon after the course ends. Offered as CRSP 550 and PQHS 550 . Prereq: CRSP 401 , PQHS 431 , MPHP 405 , NURS 532 , or Requisites Not Met permission.