Systematic Reviews & Evidence Synthesis

Although a review has been published as a "systematic review", it may not conform to the systematic review protocol and be demonstrably rigorous, reproducible or exhaustive. There are a number of criteria by which you can assess the quality of a systematic review.  Below are some  tools used for this purpose.

• AMSTAR Checklist: Shea BJ, Reeves BC, Wells G, Thuku M, Hamel C, Moran J, Moher D, Tugwell P, Welch V, Kristjansson E, Henry DA. AMSTAR 2: a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews that include randomised or non-randomised studies of healthcare interventions, or both. BMJ. 2017 Sep 21;358:j4008.  https://amstar.ca/Amstar_Checklist.php

• Critical Appraisal Skills Programme - CASP - https://casp-uk.net/

  • https://casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/

• Downs Black Checklist    https://jech.bmj.com/content/52/6/377

• Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool  http://mixedmethodsappraisaltoolpublic.pbworks.com/w/page/127425302/About%20the%20MMAT

        The MMAT is a critical appraisal tool that was developed for use in systematic mixed studies reviews (i.e., reviews combining     qualitative, quantitative and/or mixed methods studies).

• Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS)   http://www.ohri.ca/programs/clinical_epidemiology/oxford.asp

Grading the Strength of a Body of Evidence When Assessing Health Care Interventions for the Effective Health Care Program of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: An Update. 2013 Nov 18.Berkman ND, Lohr KN, Ansari M, et al.

In: Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2008-.

Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK174881/

Identifying approaches for assessing methodological and reporting quality of systematic reviews: a descriptive study

https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-017-0507-6