Background Assessing quality and susceptibility to bias is essential when interpreting
primary research and conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Tools for …

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To review current practice in the assessment of the
quality of original observational studies included in systematic reviews. MATERIALS AND …

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the reported methodological quality of randomized
controlled trials (RCTs) reflects the actual methodological quality and to evaluate the …

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the evidence concerning bias and confounding in conducting
systematic reviews (SRs). STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Literature was identified through …

Objectives Risk-of-bias assessment is a central component of systematic reviews, but little
conclusive empirical evidence exists on the validity of such assessments. In the context of …

OBJECTIVE: Many reviews specifically aimed to assess the quality of randomized controlled
trials (RCTs). We evaluated the quality of reporting in such reviews. STUDY DESIGN AND …

Objective To synthesise evidence on the average bias and heterogeneity associated with
reported methodological features of randomized trials. Design Systematic review of meta …

Evaluating the strength or persuasiveness of epidemiologic evidence is inherently
challenging, both for those new to the field and for experienced researchers. There are a …

Background The quality of primary research is commonly assessed before inclusion in meta-
analyses. Findings are discussed in the context of the quality appraisal by categorizing …

Objective To develop ROBIS, a new tool for assessing the risk of bias in systematic reviews
(rather than in primary studies). Study Design and Setting We used four-stage approach to …