Background To our knowledge, no publication providing overarching guidance on the
conduct of systematic reviews of observational studies of etiology exists. Methods and …

7.3. 5 Inclusion criteria 7.3. 5.1 Population (types of participants) 7.3. 5.2 Exposure of interest
(Independent variable) 7.3. 5.3 Outcome (dependent variable) 7.3. 5.4 Types of studies 7.3 …

Objectives To develop a framework for the assessment of the risk of bias and confounding
against causality from a body of observational evidence, and to refine a tool to aid in …

Background Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies are frequently
performed, but no widely accepted guidance is available at present. We performed a …

Distinguishing cohort studies from case series is difficult. We propose a conceptualization of
cohort studies in systematic reviews of comparative studies. The main aim of this …

Objective To develop a study Design Algorithm for Medical Literature on Intervention (DAMI)
and test its interrater reliability, construct validity, and ease of use. Study Design and Setting …

Researchers preparing systematic reviews often encounter various types of evidence, which
can generally be categorized as direct or indirect. The former directly relates an exposure …

Aim: There currently does not exist guidance for authors aiming to undertake systematic
reviews of observational epidemiological studies, such as those reporting prevalence and …

Published research should be reported to evidence users with clarity and transparency that
facilitate optimal appraisal and use of evidence and allow replication by other researchers …

Background There is a notable lack of methodological and reporting guidance for systematic
reviews of prevalence data. This information void has the potential to result in reviews that …