The Campbell Collaboration's systematic review of school-based anti-bullying interventions does not meet mandatory methodological standards

Ref ID 884
First Author J.H. Littell
Journal SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS
Year Of Publishing 2022
URL https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-022-01998-1
Keywords • Social care
• Campbell
• Risk of bias
• Low reporting quality
• Publication bias
• Transparency
• Protocols
Problem(s) • Methods not described to enable replication
• Undocumented or unjustified deviations to the review protocol
• Search strategy not provided
• No quality assessment undertaken or reported
• Flawed risk of bias undertaken
• Risk of bias not incorporated into conclusions of review
Number of systematic reviews included 1
Summary of Findings From a commentary that documents methodological problems in the 2021 Campbell Collaboration update of a systematic review on school-based anti-bullying interventions published in 2021. This commentary highlights the following methodological problems: (1) unexplained deviations from the protocol; (2) inadequate documentation of search strategies; (3) inconsistent reports on the number of included studies; (4) undocumented risk of bias ratings; (5) assessments of selective outcome reporting bias that are not transparent, not replicable, and appear to systematically underestimate risk of bias; (6) unreliable assessments of risk of publication bias; (7) use of a composite scale that conflates distinct risks of bias; and (8) failure to consider issues related to the strength of the evidence and risks of bias in interpreting results and drawing conclusions.
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? N/A
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? N/A