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Systematic reviews

A brief overview of systematic reviews and resources to support producing one.

Study appraisal

Appraisal is the process of critically analysing a study for its inclusion in a systematic review. The process determines if there are any factors which may influence the outcome of the study. These factors can be termed bias. There are tools available to appraise a number of different study types available via the Equator Network - Equator (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) 

More information and links about critically appraising studies can be found in the Evidence-based practice in health sciences guide.

Boutron I, Page MJ, Higgins JPT, Altman DG, Lundh A, Hróbjartsson A. Considering bias and conflicts of interest among the included studies. In: Higgins J, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ et al, editors. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions, Cochrane; 2022.