Introduction to Systematic Reviews and Critical Appraisal Course

THE 2012 COURSE IS NOW FULLY BOOKED. If you would like to be contacted when details of the 2013 course are released please contact:

Vanda Castle
Senior Secretary
Centre for Reviews and Dissemination 
University of York
Heslington
York 
YO10 5DD

Tel.      01904 321040
Fax.     01904 321041 
Email:  vanda.castle@york.ac.uk

Course outline

The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to systematic review methodology and critical appraisal skills.  Attention will be restricted to evaluating effectiveness in health related research.  The course will use a combination of seminars and practical sessions to introduce the following topics:

Participants

Maximum of 24 participants

Course Contents

Introduction to systematic reviews            

Overview lecture that introduces key concepts and examples

Developing the review question and your protocol

Structured discussion and group work to develop a detailed review question according to PICOS criteria

Literature searching

Introduction to key searching ideas, sources and methods

Study selection/data extraction

Introduction to software, practical exercises in study selection and data extraction decision making

Quality assessment & critical appraisal of primary studies

Introduction to key factors affecting trial results, practical session appraising example papers

Data synthesis

Overview of summary statistics, introduction to methods of narrative and statistical synthesis

Meta-analysis practical

Using RevMan to display and pool study data, exploring sensitivity analyses

Reporting a systematic review

Discussion of key criteria and balancing reporting requirements with journal restrictions

Dissemination

Case study of disseminating the results from a systematic review

Critical appraisal of systematic reviews

Practical session appraising and discussing a sample published systematic review paper

Dates

3 full days (19 – 21 November 2012)

Venue

National Science Learning Centre, University of York

Cost

£1000, with a reduced public sector rate of £650. This fee includes lunch, refreshments, and all course materials.  Overnight accommodation is not included. 

Accommodation

The fee does not include overnight accommodation.  The nearest accommodation to the venue is Franklin House, and to check availability and to book please visit the York Conferences website at the University: http://www.yorkconferences.com and click on the b&b link on their web page.