Category: Article review

Article review

Article review: The Empirical Evidence of Bias in Trials Measuring Treatment Differences

The Empirical Evidence of Bias in Trials Measuring Treatment Differences, AHRQ 2014. This paper sought to assess the effect of various biases on effect estimates in randomised controlled trials.  It also looks at the implications for systematic review producers.  This alone makes it pertinent for the site as assessment of bias is a time-consuming (and therefore costly) process.  Although we should note automated methods are … Continue reading Article review: The Empirical Evidence of Bias in Trials Measuring Treatment Differences

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Article review, Autosynthesis

Article review: Designing Efficient Systematic Reviews Using Economical Allocation, Creation and Synthesis of Medical Evidence

Designing Efficient Systematic Reviews Using Economical Allocation, Creation and Synthesis of Medical Evidence. Scarpati M. RAND Corporation. 2014 At 140 pages this is a significant publication, produced as part of the Pardee RAND Graduate School dissertation series – so it’s Scarpati’s PhD thesis! The table of contents highlights the following chapters: Introduction Estimating the Value of Systematic Reviews: Osteoporosis Case Study Screening Times in Systematic Reviews … Continue reading Article review: Designing Efficient Systematic Reviews Using Economical Allocation, Creation and Synthesis of Medical Evidence

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Article review

Article review: All in the Family: systematic reviews, rapid reviews, scoping reviews, realist reviews, and more

All in the Family: systematic reviews, rapid reviews, scoping reviews, realist reviews, and more. Moher D et al. Systematic Reviews 20154:183 The journal Systematic Reviews has been responsible for a significant number of the articles on rapid review methods featured on this site.  This latest article, an editorial, is refreshing!  It helpfully restates the role of systematic reviews and highlights the methodological development: “What distinguished systematic … Continue reading Article review: All in the Family: systematic reviews, rapid reviews, scoping reviews, realist reviews, and more

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Article review, Autosynthesis

Article review: Using text mining for study identification in systematic reviews

Using text mining for study identification in systematic reviews: a systematic review of current approaches. O’Mara-Eves A et al. Syst Rev. 2015 Jan 14;4:5 I was really pleased to see this paper as it is, itself, a systematic review.  I was also pleased to see it comes from the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordinating (EPPI)-Centre – a really innovative centre of activity! … Continue reading Article review: Using text mining for study identification in systematic reviews

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Article review, Overview

Article review: Reviews: Rapid! Rapid! Rapid! …and systematic

Reviews: Rapid! Rapid! Rapid! …and systematic. Schünemann HJ et al. Systematic Reviews 2015, 4:4 This editorial introduced the series Advances in Rapid Reviews in the journal Systematic Reviews.  It gives a nice introduction to the challenges facing systematic reviewers who want to undertake reviews more rapidly.  The authors highlight the importance of using strategies to reduce bias and random error and the need for transparency. Transparency … Continue reading Article review: Reviews: Rapid! Rapid! Rapid! …and systematic

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Article review

Article review: How important are comprehensive literature searches and the assessment of trial quality in systematic reviews?

How important are comprehensive literature searches and the assessment of trial quality in systematic reviews? Egger M et al. Health Technol Assess. 2003;7(1):1-76. Over ten years old but still a really important paper.  They report a number of important findings, that could form part of a list of heuristics, for instance: The importance of trials that are difficult to find vary by speciality. Unpublished trials … Continue reading Article review: How important are comprehensive literature searches and the assessment of trial quality in systematic reviews?

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Article review, Website

Trip Rapid Review System

Systematic reviews in five minutes?  That’s the suggestion from Trip with their Trip Rapid Review System (TRRS) Conflict of Interest: I run Trip and designed the TRRS and wrote the posts I’ll link to below! The system is designed to replicate the results of a systematic review but using a number of shortcuts.  It doesn’t rely on a full search, it doesn’t critically appraise the articles.  … Continue reading Trip Rapid Review System

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Article review

Article review: Rapid Review Summit: an overview and initiation of a research agenda

Rapid Review Summit: an overview and initiation of a research agenda. Polisena J et al. Systematic Reviews 2015, 4:137 This paper is based on the discussions held by over 150 people involved in the rapid review process at a forum convened by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). The paper focuses on the initial development of a research agenda, which falls … Continue reading Article review: Rapid Review Summit: an overview and initiation of a research agenda

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Article review

Article review: How to conduct systematic reviews more expeditiously?

How to conduct systematic reviews more expeditiously? Tsertsvadze A et al. Systematic Reviews 2015, 4:160 This paper is a great overview of the current challenges/possibilities of undertaking rapid systematic reviews.  As with my last post (Two main fronts on the speeding up of systematic reviews) it supports the two main areas of activity I had discussed but adds in a third: Application of innovative technologies … Continue reading Article review: How to conduct systematic reviews more expeditiously?

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