{"id":3016,"date":"2017-03-30T12:55:13","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T11:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/?page_id=3016"},"modified":"2025-07-31T06:30:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T05:30:17","slug":"appraising-systematic-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/appraising-systematic-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Appraising systematic reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">Systematic reviews may or may not include a <a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/toolkit\/learn-ebm\/synthesise-the-evidence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">meta-analysis<\/a> of the primary RCTs identified. Although systematic reviews of RCTs with meta-analysis are often said to provide the most compelling evidence of effectiveness and causality, not all systematic reviews are of the highest methodological quality.&nbsp;<\/p><br \/>\r\nThere are numerous checklists available. The <a href=\"http:\/\/systematicreviewtools.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SR toolbox<\/a> is an online catalog providing summaries and links to the available guidance and software for each stage of the systematic review process including critical appraisal. Examples for systematic reviews include:<br \/>\r\n<ul><br \/>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/358\/bmj.j4008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AMSTAR 2<\/a> (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews)<\/li><br \/>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casp-uk.net\/casp-tools-checklists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CASP<\/a> systematic review checklist.<\/li><br \/>\r\n<\/ul><br \/>\r\nThe following framework forms an initial memory aid for assessing the quality of a systematic review.<br \/>\r\n<ul><br \/>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Framework-for-assessing-systematic-reviews-_Appraising-SRs_-page-in-toolkit-Google-Docs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Framework for assessing systematic reviews<\/a><\/li><br \/>\r\n<\/ul><br \/>\r\n<strong><em>Content created by BMJ Knowledge Centre<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\n<a class=\"fasc-button fasc-size-large fasc-type-glossy fasc-rounded-medium\" style=\"background-color: #bd117b; color: #ffffff;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/toolkit\/ebm-toolbox\/bibliography\/\">Read more<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Systematic reviews may or may not include a meta-analysis of the primary RCTs identified. Although systematic reviews of RCTs with meta-analysis are often said to provide the most compelling evidence of effectiveness and causality, not all systematic reviews are of the highest methodological quality.&nbsp; There are numerous checklists available. The SR toolbox is an online [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":3005,"menu_order":11,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"marketing_new.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3016","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"components":[{"choose_component":"generic","hide":"","logged_in":["yes"],"logged_out":"","grey_background":"","background_color":"","background_image":null,"title_text_color":"","title":"Appraising systematic reviews","text":"<h1 class=\"lead\">Systematic reviews may or may not include a <a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/toolkit\/learn-ebm\/synthesise-the-evidence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">meta-analysis<\/a> of the primary RCTs identified. Although systematic reviews of RCTs with meta-analysis are often said to provide the most compelling evidence of effectiveness and causality, not all systematic reviews are of the highest methodological quality.<\/h1>\r\nThere are numerous checklists available. The <a href=\"http:\/\/systematicreviewtools.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SR toolbox<\/a> is an online catalog providing summaries and links to the available guidance and software for each stage of the systematic review process including critical appraisal. Examples for systematic reviews include:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/358\/bmj.j4008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AMSTAR 2<\/a> (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews)<\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casp-uk.net\/casp-tools-checklists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CASP<\/a> systematic review checklist.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe following framework forms an initial memory aid for assessing the quality of a systematic review.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Framework-for-assessing-systematic-reviews-_Appraising-SRs_-page-in-toolkit-Google-Docs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Framework for assessing systematic reviews<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<em><strong>Content created by BMJ Digital Health<\/strong><\/em>","image":null,"qr_image":null,"circular_image":null,"button_text":"Read more","button_url":"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/ebm-toolbox\/bibliography\/","button2_text":"","button2_url":"","video_embed":"","quote":"","quote_author":"","author_job_title":"","feature_iconsimages":null,"bullets":"none","bullet_text":null,"expiration_date":null,"review_type":"normal","reviews":null,"feature_image_cards":null,"feature_icon_cards":null,"podcast_date":null,"podcast_title":"","podcast_text":"","podcast_embed_script":"","campaign_advert_link":"","monthly":{"show_monthly_tab":false,"strikethrough_price":"","price_text":"","per_month_text":"","vat_text":"","subscribe_button_text":"","subscribe_button_link":""},"annual":{"show_annual_tab":false,"packages":null,"default_price":"","default_strikethrough_price":"","default_per_year_text":"","vat_text":"","subscribe_button_text":"","subscribe_button_link":""},"advisory_panel":null,"article_list_fields":null,"subscription_tab_main_heading":"","subscription_tabs":null,"accordion_for_page":null,"embed_code":""},{"choose_component":"bulletList","hide":"","logged_in":["yes"],"logged_out":"","grey_background":[],"background_color":"","background_image":null,"title_text_color":"","title":"Related links","text":"","image":null,"qr_image":null,"circular_image":null,"button_text":"","button_url":"","button2_text":"","button2_url":"","video_embed":"","quote":"","quote_author":"","author_job_title":"","feature_iconsimages":null,"bullets":"ticks","bullet_text":[{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/what-is-ebm\/\">What is EBM?<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/how-to-clarify-a-clinical-question\/\">How to clarify a clinical question<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/writing-a-protocol\/\">Writing a protocol<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/design-the-search\/\">Searching for evidence<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/study-design-search-filters\/\">Search strategies<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/case-study-of-a-search\/\">Case study of a search<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/appraise-the-evidence\/\">Appraise the evidence<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/synthesise-the-evidence\/\">Evidence synthesis<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/what-is-grade\/\">What is GRADE?<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""},{"text_data":"<a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/info\/us\/evidence\/learn-ebm\/how-to-calculate-risk\/\">Understanding statistics: risk<\/a>","bullet_icon_url":""}],"expiration_date":null,"review_type":"normal","reviews":null,"feature_image_cards":null,"feature_icon_cards":null,"podcast_date":null,"podcast_title":"","podcast_text":"","podcast_embed_script":"","campaign_advert_link":"","monthly":{"show_monthly_tab":false,"strikethrough_price":"","price_text":"","per_month_text":"","vat_text":"","subscribe_button_text":"","subscribe_button_link":""},"annual":{"show_annual_tab":false,"packages":null,"default_price":"","default_strikethrough_price":"","default_per_year_text":"","vat_text":"","subscribe_button_text":"","subscribe_button_link":""},"advisory_panel":null,"article_list_fields":null,"subscription_tab_main_heading":"","subscription_tabs":null,"accordion_for_page":null,"embed_code":""}],"sticky_cta_text":"EBM Toolkit 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