PRISMA

Session 3: A brief introduction to systematic literature search and meta-analysis using PRISMA

PRISMA

Learning about PRISMA

Are you familiar with the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)” and the associated website?

Reading

Take a few minutes to look into the website and read the paper by Page et al. (2021) referenced below (60 minutes), paying particular attention to the checklist and flow diagrams presented.

Prisma

Optional Exercise

Pick a systematic literature search and/or meta-analysis that you are familiar with or search for one using a database of your choice (e.g., Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, PubMed). To what extent does the report follow the PRISMA guidelines?

Other Resources

The table below lists a few additional resources that may be helpful when conducting a research synthesis using PRISMA.

PRISMA The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) is used as a reporting standard in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Cochrane The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions provides many useful resources for the process of preparing and writing an evidence synthesis.
Joanna Briggs The Joanna Briggs Institute offers many useful resources concerning evidence synthesis, including overviews of different types of reviews.
Organization of systematic reviews Covidence can help you organize your research studies. You can screen abstracts and extract data in a systematic manner. Please note that the free version of Covidence has a limit on the number of records you can include in your synthesis.
Conducting a meta-analysis metafor is an easy to use R package. It can help you conduct a meta-analysis and has an extensive online documentation, including a lot of tips & tricks.

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Atkinson, L., & Cipriani, A. (2018). How to carry out a literature search for a systematic review: A practical guide. BJPsych Advances, 24(2), 74-82. http://doi:10.1192/bja.2017.3