8th Meta-Analysis Round Introductory Course

REGISTRATION

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

You can download the detailed program below.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Lectures aim to guide participants through the main steps of preparing a meta-analysis with systematic review along the PRISMA guideline. 

The course of the 1st day starts with a brief introductory lecture summarizing the pros and cons of various scientific genres, including meta-analyses. The next lecture will focus on how to raise scientific questions, followed by others introducing various approaches to answering them. After going into the details of systematic search in and selection from the material of electronic databases, we will turn to data collection; first from a statistical aspect, then from a practical aspect. In addition, basic statistical methods for pooling data will be introduced. Since knowing numerical results should always be complemented with risk of bias assessment and all statements should be supported by the grade of evidence expressing how confident we are in the findings, we will pay close attention to these issues. 

Finnally, practical hints will be given on how to write and publish the results of a meta-analyis.

The aim of the 2nd day is to learn how to read, understand, and start systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and how to draw conclusions from the results.

Work will be carried out in small groups and guided by facilitators experienced in the steps leading to a meta-analysis. Each practice will start with a 5-minute talk summarizing the theoretical cornerstones of the subsequent tasks, and finish with a 2-minute presentation from each group followed by an interactive discussion. Please, bring your own laptop with.