What are the differences between a systematic review and a meta-analysis? Here are some tips to help you understand these two different yet related types of study.
This blog introduces you to funnel plots, guiding you through how to read them and what may cause them to look asymmetrical.
Students 4 Best Evidence is a blogging network by, and for, students interested in evidence-based healthcare. Learn more about the beginnings of our student community and how you can get involved.
Learn more about the Epistemonikos Foundation and its repository of healthcare systematic reviews. The first in a series of three blogs.
When you bring studies together in a meta-analysis, one of the things you need to consider is the variability in your studies – this is called heterogeneity. This blog presents the three types of heterogeneity, considers the different types of outcome data, and delves a little more into dealing with the variations.
Is this study valid? Can I trust this study’s methods and design? Can I apply the results of this study to other contexts? Learn more about internal and external validity in research to help you answer these questions when you next look at a paper.
In this blog post, Shreya summarizes a 2022 Cochrane systematic review titled ‘Anticoagulants for people hospitalised with COVID-19’, and provides a background to why this review was necessary.
This blog summarizes the concepts of cluster randomization, and the logistical and statistical considerations while designing a cluster randomized controlled trial.
What is a non-inferiority trial and how do patient, drug, and study design characteristics influence decisions of the non-inferiority threshold and clinical decisions.
This blog summarizes the concepts of Expertise-based randomized controlled trials with a focus on the advantages and challenges associated with this type of study.
Measures of variability are statistical tools that help us assess data variability by informing us about the quality of a dataset mean. This first of two blogs on the topic will cover basic concepts of range, standard deviation, and variance.
In this blog, Tessa provides her own summary of a 2018 Cochrane Systematic Review, ‘Visual inspection for diagnosing cutaneous melanoma in adults’.
In this blog, Tessa provides her own summary of a 2015 Cochrane Systematic Review, ‘Safety of topical corticosteroids in pregnancy’.
The CONSORT statement aims at comprehensive and complete reporting of randomized controlled trials. This blog introduces you to the statement and why it is an important tool in the research world.
Learn more about the measures of central tendency (mean, mode, median) and how these need to be critically appraised when reading a paper.