What is systematic review?

A systematic review is a summary of the medical literature that uses explicit methods to perform a thorough literature search and critical appraisal of individual studies and that uses appropriate statistical techniques to combine these valid studies (source).

An understanding of systematic reviews and how to implement them in practice is of extraordinary importance for all professionals involved in the delivery of healthcare. Our mission is to help people reach a good understanding of systematic reviews, and to learn how to plan and conduct a systematic review. (For more detailed information you can find a useful overview of systematic review methodology which is written by Dr Pai et al. and sent to "Systematic Review Home Page".)

The majority of systematic reviews are reviews of effectiveness of therapy. Nevertheless, systematic review of diagnostic tests are also of superior importance, and directly affect the efficacy of health care.

What is this web site?

This web site is developed by "Systematic Review Study Group" of Student's Scientific Research Center (SSRC), of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).

We have collected a brief learning module and some useful links. The majority of the information available in the site is categorized to five sections (introduction, searching, critical appraisal, meta-analysis, discussion) which are among the major sections of a typical systematic review.

You are appreciated to contribute in this web site by sending your material to us. Don't hesitate to contact us! We would be glad to have your opinion about our web site as well.

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