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Principles of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses

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Meta-Research

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2345))

Abstract

In this chapter, we summarize the key principles involved in designing and conducting a rigorous systematic review focused on an intervention question. We provide key definitions on what systematic reviews and meta-analysis are and how they differ from other types of reviews. We cover the principles for designing a good systematic review question, research team, designing and conducting literature searches, screening and selecting studies, extracting data, assessing the risk of bias of the included studies, conducting qualitative and quantitative syntheses, and appraising the certainty of the body of evidence. Finally, we describe the best tools for reporting a systematic review and meta-analysis and for assessing its quality.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Rebecca L. Morgan & Ivan D. Florez

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia

    Ivan D. Florez

Authors
  1. Rebecca L. Morgan
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  2. Ivan D. Florez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ivan D. Florez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology University of Ioannina Medical School, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Imperial College London London, UK, Ioannina, Greece

    Evangelos Evangelou

  2. Knowledge Translation Program Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Department of Surgery and Cancer Faculty of Medicine Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology Imperial College London, UK ISSN, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Areti Angeliki Veroniki

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Morgan, R.L., Florez, I.D. (2022). Principles of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. In: Evangelou, E., Veroniki, A.A. (eds) Meta-Research. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2345. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1566-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1566-9_1

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1565-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1566-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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