
A Guide to Performing Systematic Reviews of Health and Disease
This practical guide to performing systematic reviews in a healthcare context provides a step-by-step approach for students and health professionals. Using free, opensource software to extract data and perform the necessary meta-analyses, this guide navigates the process of reviews, from study design and randomised controlled trials to interpreting results and reporting your findings.
Each chapter includes an overview, learning outcomes and practice questions. Aimed particularly at those who do not have an extensive statistical background, it will help enable you to confidently perform high quality systematic reviews.
Praise for A Guide to Performing Systematic Reviews of Health and Disease
‘An understanding of how treatment options are assessed and compared has never been more important for those involved in the healthcare Industry. Professor Gurusamy is a leading figure in the field of Evidence-based Healthcare and has delivered seminal systematic reviews for the Cochrane collaboration, the global leader analysing evidence base in healthcare, whilst teaching and training the next generation in systematic review methodology. With years of teaching experience Professor Gurusamy takes us through the basics of study design, an introduction to systematic reviews and how to identify an important research question. This is an essential read and step by step guide to early enthusiasts in systematic review.’
Brian R. Davidson, Professor of Surgery and Head of Surgical Intervention, Royal Free Hospital
‘This textbook on systematic reviews is an indispensable reference for novice researchers. It is didactically well-constructed, guiding readers step-by-step through essential research techniques, with a particular focus on systematic reviews. The clear explanations and structured approach make complex concepts accessible, ensuring that even beginners can confidently navigate and execute systematic reviews. A must-have resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of research methodologies.’
Stefan Bouwense, Oncological Surgeon, Maastricht UMC+
Acknowledgements
Preface
1 Introduction to Study Designs and Randomised Controlled Trials
2 Introduction to systematic reviews
3 Determine the research question
4 Select the studies
5 Extract the data
6 Analyse the data
7 Report the findings
Appendix 1: Answers to Practice Questions
DOI: 10.14324/111.9781800086586
Publication date: 27 February 2025
PDF ISBN: 9781800086586
EPUB ISBN: 9781800086609
Hardback ISBN: 9781800087781
Paperback ISBN: 9781800086593
‘This textbook on systematic reviews is an indispensable reference for novice researchers. It is didactically well-constructed, guiding readers step-by-step through essential research techniques, with a particular focus on systematic reviews. The clear explanations and structured approach make complex concepts accessible, ensuring that even beginners can confidently navigate and execute systematic reviews. A must-have resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of research methodologies./’
Dr. Stefan Bouwense, Oncological Surgeon, Maastricht UMC+
‘An understanding of how treatment options are assessed and compared has never been more important for those involved in the healthcare Industry. Professor Gurusamy is a leading figure in the field of Evidence based healthcare and has delivered seminal systematic reviews for the Cochrane collaboration, the global leader analysing evidence base in healthcare, whilst teaching and training the next generation in systematic review methodology. With years of teaching experience Professor Gurusamy takes us through the basics of study design, an introduction to systematic reviews and how to identify an important research question. This is an essential read and step by step guide to early enthusiasts in systematic review.’
Brian R. Davidson, Professor of Surgery and Head of Surgical Intervention, Royal Free Hospital
Kurinchi Gurusamy has published extensively in this field, some of which has been used to inform international or UK clinical practice guidelines. A surgeon by background, Kurinchi started publishing with the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group (CHBG) in 2006, and he soon became an Editor and since 2017, he is a Deputy-coordinating Editor of the CHBG. In this textbook, the author gives a succinct introduction to systematic reviews of interventions, that is treatments, prevention, diagnosis, and prognosis. The language is short and clear, and the reader is guided by the author through a very large number of problems and provided with tools to solve them. – Christian Gluud, Professor and Coordinating Editor of the CHBG Copenhagen Trial Unit, Denmark.
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