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Introduction to Systematic Reviews

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Principles and Practice of Clinical Trials

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Abstract

A systematic review identifies and synthesizes all relevant studies that fit prespecified criteria to answer a research question. Systematic review methods can be used to answer many types of research questions. The type of question most relevant to trialists is the effects of treatments and is thus the focus of this chapter. We discuss the motivation for and importance of performing systematic reviews and their relevance to trialists. We introduce the key steps in completing a systematic review, including framing the question, searching for and selecting studies, collecting data, assessing risk of bias in included studies, conducting a qualitative synthesis and a quantitative synthesis (i.e., meta-analysis), grading the certainty of evidence, and writing the systematic review report. We also describe how to identify systematic reviews and how to assess their methodological rigor. We discuss the challenges and criticisms of systematic reviews, and how technology and innovations, combined with a closer partnership between trialists and systematic reviewers, can help identify effective and safe evidence-based practices more quickly.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    Tianjing Li

  2. Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice and Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA

    Ian J. Saldanha

  3. Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Karen A. Robinson

Authors
  1. Tianjing Li
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  2. Ian J. Saldanha
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  3. Karen A. Robinson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tianjing Li .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Steven Piantadosi

  2. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Curtis L. Meinert

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Epidemiology, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    Tianjing Li

  2. The Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Trials and Evidence Synthesis, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Curtis L. Meinert

  3. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Steven Piantadosi

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Li, T., Saldanha, I.J., Robinson, K.A. (2022). Introduction to Systematic Reviews. In: Piantadosi, S., Meinert, C.L. (eds) Principles and Practice of Clinical Trials. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52636-2_194

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