Chapter title |
Evidence-Based Decision-Making 2: Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis.
|
---|---|
Chapter number | 24 |
Book title |
Clinical Epidemiology
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Published in |
Methods in molecular biology, February 2015
|
DOI | 10.1007/978-1-4939-2428-8_24 |
Pubmed ID | |
Book ISBNs |
978-1-4939-2427-1, 978-1-4939-2428-8
|
Authors |
Bello A, Wiebe N, Garg A, Tonelli M, Aminu Bello, Natasha Wiebe, Amit Garg, Marcello Tonelli, Bello, Aminu, Wiebe, Natasha, Garg, Amit, Tonelli, Marcello |
Abstract |
The number of studies published in the biomedical literature has dramatically increased over the last few decades. This massive proliferation of literature makes clinical medicine increasingly complex, and information from multiple studies is often needed to inform a particular clinical decision. However, available studies often vary in their design, methodological quality, populations studied and may define the research question of interest quite differently, which can make it challenging to synthesize their conclusions. In addition, since even highly cited trials may be challenged over time, clinical decision-making requires ongoing reconciliation of studies which provide different answers to the same question. Because it is often impractical for readers to track down and review all the primary studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses are an important source of evidence on the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of any given disease. This chapter summarizes methods for conducting and reading systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as well as describing potential advantages and disadvantages of these publications. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Unknown | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 50% |
Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 50 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 11 | 22% |
Librarian | 5 | 10% |
Student > Bachelor | 5 | 10% |
Researcher | 5 | 10% |
Other | 3 | 6% |
Other | 8 | 16% |
Unknown | 13 | 26% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 16% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 7 | 14% |
Psychology | 4 | 8% |
Social Sciences | 4 | 8% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 2 | 4% |
Other | 9 | 18% |
Unknown | 16 | 32% |