Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39038802›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of epidemiology2025

Systematic reviews of the literature: an introduction to current methods.

Romina Brignardello-Petersen, Nancy Santesso, Gordon H Guyatt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of epidemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  14. How to Conduct and Publish Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses in Dentistry.Journal of esthetic and restorative dentistry : official publication of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry ... [et al.] · 2025
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Romina Brignardello-PetersenDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact; McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Nancy SantessoDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact; McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Gordon H GuyattDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact; McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Systematic reviews are a type of evidence synthesis in which authors develop explicit eligibility criteria, collect all the available studies that meet these criteria, and summarize results using reproducible methods that minimize biases and errors. Systematic reviews serve different purposes and use a different methodology than other types of evidence synthesis such as narrative reviews, scoping reviews, and overviews of reviews. Systematic reviews can address questions regarding effects of interventions or exposures, diagnostic properties of tests, and prevalence or prognosis of diseases. All rigorous systematic reviews have common processes that include (1) determining the question and eligibility criteria, including a priori specification of subgroup hypotheses, (2) searching for evidence and selecting studies, (3) abstracting data and assessing risk of bias of the included studies, (4) summarizing the data for each outcome of interest, whenever possible using meta-analyses, and (5) assessing the certainty of the evidence and drawing conclusions. There are several tools that can guide and facilitate the systematic review process, but methodological and content expertise are always necessary.

Indexed as

Review Literature as TopicSystematic Reviews as TopicHumansMeta-Analysis as TopicResearch Designevidence synthesissystematic reviews

Identifiers

PMID39038802
PMCPMC11815505

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.