- Framework of problems / Rigorous
- Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews
- Quality of Cochrane reviews: assessment of sample from 1998
| Ref ID | 455 |
| First Author | O. Olsen |
| Journal | BMJ |
| Year Of Publishing | 2001 |
| URL | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC57800/pdf/829.pdf |
| Keywords |
• General medical • Cochrane • Spin |
| Problem(s) |
• Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews • Spin or subjective interpretation of findings • Following guidelines is no guarantee of a rigorous systematic review |
| Number of systematic reviews included | 52 |
| Summary of Findings | 29% of Cochrane reviews first published in 1998 were judged to have major problems. There were three areas of concern. Firstly, the evidence did not support the conclusions in 17% reviews. Secondly, the conduct or reporting of the reviews was unsatisfactory in 23% reviews. Thirdly, there were stylistic concerns with 23% reviews. The problematic conclusions all described the effect of the experimental treatment in terms that we judged to have been too optimistic (table 3). None of these nine reviews indicated a bias towards the control treatment. |
| Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? | Yes |
| Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? | No |