Training and Webinars

This workshop will be held over four mornings and provides authors at the beginning of the systematic review process, with an in-depth understanding of how reviews are structured. It offers an insight into the development of a protocol, introducing participants to methodology, search methods, data extraction and meta-analysis. This workshop also includes an introduction to RevMan software and its use during protocol development.

Date: 24th, 28th, 31st January & 4th February 2022

Time: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Places: 25 available for individuals who are resident on the island of Ireland

Skill level: Introductory

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision-makers and Evidence Synthesis Ireland fellows who have identified a review topic and are ready to begin working on their protocol.

Prerequisites: Have a basic knowledge of health research. Are interested in learning more on the methodology of a review. Participants are requested to install the RevMan software and bring their laptop to the workshop.

Learning outcomes: In this course participants will be enabled to:

• Understand the basic principles of a systematic review
• Identify the scope of their review
• Understand search methods and apply these methods to their search strategy
• Apply the criteria for selecting studies
• Understand the principles of creating a data collection form and data extraction
• Attain a basic understanding of principles of meta-analysis
• Identify heterogeneity and understand the methods for assessing and addressing it.

Teaching strategies: The workshop will consist of a mixture of short presentations, led by members of the Cochrane Ireland teaching faculty covering each of the stages of developing a systematic review protocol, small group activities and plenary discussions, providing participants with the opportunity to develop and refine their protocol.

Facilitators

Prof. Declan Devane, Director of ESI & Cochrane Ireland, Professor of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway.

Dr Julie Broderick, Assistant Professor in Physiotherapy, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin.

This workshop will be held over four mornings and provides authors at the beginning of the systematic review process, with an in-depth understanding of how reviews are structured. It offers an insight into the development of a protocol, introducing participants to methodology, search methods, data extraction and meta-analysis. This workshop also includes an introduction to RevMan software and its use during protocol development.

Date: 24th, 28th, 31st January & 4th February 2022

Time: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Places: 25 available for individuals who are resident on the island of Ireland

Skill level: Introductory

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision-makers and Evidence Synthesis Ireland fellows who have identified a review topic and are ready to begin working on their protocol.

Prerequisites: Have a basic knowledge of health research. Are interested in learning more on the methodology of a review. Participants are requested to install the RevMan software and bring their laptop to the workshop.

Learning outcomes: In this course participants will be enabled to:

• Understand the basic principles of a systematic review
• Identify the scope of their review
• Understand search methods and apply these methods to their search strategy
• Apply the criteria for selecting studies
• Understand the principles of creating a data collection form and data extraction
• Attain a basic understanding of principles of meta-analysis
• Identify heterogeneity and understand the methods for assessing and addressing it.

Teaching strategies: The workshop will consist of a mixture of short presentations, led by members of the Cochrane Ireland teaching faculty covering each of the stages of developing a systematic review protocol, small group activities and plenary discussions, providing participants with the opportunity to develop and refine their protocol.

Facilitators

Prof. Declan Devane, Director of ESI & Cochrane Ireland, Professor of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway.

Dr Julie Broderick, Assistant Professor in Physiotherapy, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin.

Pre-requisite: A basic understanding of searching and using databases

Background: One of the key features of all evidence synthesis is to conduct a systematic search strategy. Systematic literature searching requires that we plan and run searches in a way that ensures clarity, validity and reliability. Documenting the searching process is vital to ensure transparency and reproducibility.

Aim: This workshop provides attendees with the knowledge and skills to conduct a basic systematic search of the literature including running searches on key databases, experimenting with search filters and exploring supplementary searching.

Learning Outcomes: In this course participants will be enabled to:

• Design a basic systematic search strategy
• Use study-design search filters
• Explore supplementary search techniques
• Report the search methods

Date: 11th February 2022

Time: 09:00 – 13:30

Places: 30 available for individuals who are resident in Ireland & Northern Ireland

Skill Level: Introductory / Intermediate

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision makers, librarians, information specialists, and Evidence Synthesis Ireland fellows and teaching faculty who would like to learn more about systematic searching.

Teaching Strategies: The workshop will consist of a mixture of short presentations, small group activities with practical exercises. A short reading list/activity list will be sent to enrolled attendees in advance of the session. The number of participants for the course is limited to 30.

Facilitator: Mike Smalle,  Academic Skills Librarian, NUI Galway Library

To register, click here

Join us to learn how Canadians quickly mobilized to meaningfully involve patients, caregivers, and members of the public in the COVID-19 response to the unprecedented demand for rapid evidence synthesis in an evolving, uncertain environment. The Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Evidence Alliance was committed to including the perspectives of patients and members of the public in prioritizing topics, identifying outcomes that were important to them, interpreting the findings to make them relevant, and accessing the results in plain language, recognizing that they are the end-users of the guidelines and policies that often result from rapid reviews. Two experienced patient partners collaborated with the SPOR Evidence Alliance to co-lead and co-deliver a 10-hour course tailored to meet the unique needs of patient/public partners that included independent learning, discussion boards, and interactive, live sessions. The webinar will include the researcher who championed the course, the patient partner co-designers, and a participant.

Andrea C. Tricco is a Scientist and Director of the Knowledge Synthesis Team in the Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health & Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation. She is also a Co-Director & Adjunct Associate Professor for the Queen’s Collaboration for Health Care Quality Joanna Briggs Institute Centre of Excellence at Queen’s University. Her research program focuses on advancing the science of knowledge synthesis and responding to information needs of decision-makers. 

Maureen Smith’s commitment to evidence-based medicine and patient/citizen engagement in research stems from her lived experience with the healthcare system subsequent to a rare disease diagnosis in childhood. She is the chair of Cochrane’s Consumer Network Executive and is involved in several global Cochrane projects and advisory committees. In Canada, she is the chair of Ontario’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Support Unit’s Patient Partner Working Group and serves on the Board of Directors. She is also a member of SPOR’s Evidence Alliance. Maureen served on the Executive of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD) from 2008-2020 and Rare Disease International (2017-2020). Maureen brought the consumer perspective as a co-investigator on the e-COVID-19 living map of recommendations global initiative (June 2020-May 2021). Since August 2020, she is the citizen partnership lead for COVID-END, a global evidence network to support decision making.

Janet Gunderson is a firm believer in patient-oriented research and patient engagement in evidence synthesis, serving on provincial, national and international advisory groups and committees. She brings her lived experience of living with inflammatory arthritis and expertise as a Cochrane consumer. Janet is a patient partner with the SPOR Evidence Alliance and a member of the Patient Partnership committee. In 2021, Janet co-led an Evidence Alliance course on how to become an effective patient partner on a Rapid Review team. Janet serves on the Patient Engagement committee of the SPOR Chronic Pain Network. She is a member of the Saskatchewan Center for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR)’s Patient Partner Advisory Council. Janet contributed to a working group that developed The Patient Oriented Research Level of Engagement Tool (PORLET). Janet is on the steering committee for The Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance and is also a volunteer with The Arthritis Society.

Amanda Doherty-Kirby is a stay-at-home parent to six young people (ages 8-21) with various diagnoses that have made navigating the medical and educational systems both frustrating and fascinating. She completed a Family Engagement in Research course in Fall 2020 and joined the SPOR Evidence Alliance and COVID-END in Spring 2021. Prior to 2020, she had no idea that citizens could be involved in research as partners. While busy with her family, Amanda is an administrator of a Facebook group for those affected by Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY), shares opportunities for youth to connect with research on Instagram (@youth_in_research), and is an active member of a District Advisory Council for education in lovely PEI, Canada. Amanda is currently partnering on projects to develop training materials for engagement in research and is in the early stages of partnering on an international evidence synthesis project.

While preparing your systematic review, you will need to interpret your results and then communicate the results to readers. The Summary of Findings table (SoF) is a tool to do both. You can create the SoF using the GRADEpro software (www.gradepro.org). The aim of this workshop is to provide detailed information about how to create Summary of Findings tables for Cochrane Reviews and other reviews.

Date: 1st March 2022

Time: 14:00 – 16:30 GMT

Places: 30 available for individuals who are resident on the island of Ireland

Skill level: Introductory

Target Audience: Any one conducting a systematic review: Healthcare professionals, academics, students, researchers, decision makers

Prerequisites: Knowledge of systematic review methods

Learning outcomes: In this course participants will be enabled to:

• Use GRADEpro to make a Summary of Findings table, import and export the table into RevMan
• Understand how to report results of a review, along with the certainty of the evidence, in an easier to understand format
• Use the Summary of Findings table to write the results and conclusions for a review

Teaching strategies: The workshop will consist of a guided exercise that participants can follow or can practice at home (i.e., likely easier if participants have two screens at home). Participants will be provided with materials at the beginning of the workshop. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions at any time during the session – the goal is an interactive workshop.

Facilitator: Associate Professor Nancy Santesso, McMaster University, Canada & Deputy Director, Cochrane Canada

This workshop  will be held over four mornings and provides authors, actively involved in conducting a systematic review, with confidence to assess a wide range of data types. It offers an insight into more complex methods of meta-analysis. This workshop also includes an overview on how to produce a summary of findings table for use in your review.

Date: 14th, 15th, 23rd, 24th March 2022

Time: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Places: 20 places available for individuals who are resident on the island of Ireland

Background

Health care policy and practice decisions should be based on a synthesis of the global body of evidence rather than relying on individual studies. Cochrane Ireland and Evidence Synthesis Ireland promote evidence based healthcare policy and practice by supporting high quality, relevant systematic reviews and other synthesised research evidence.

Aim

This workshop provides authors, actively involved in conducting a systematic review, with confidence to assess a wide range of data types. It offers an insight into more complex methods of meta-analysis.

Learning outcomes

In this course participants will be enabled to:

• Understand how to identify, extract and analyse dichotomous and continuous data
• Understand more complex meta-analysis methods including use of Generic Inverse Variance Meta-analysis
• Understand principles of analysis of multi-arm trials, cluster and cross-over trial designs

Teaching strategies

This course consists of online workshops with of a mixture of short presentations, small group activities and practical demonstrations using Cochrane software (RevMan 5.4.1). In addition, participants will have access to Cochrane Interactive Learning modules and will be required to complete a set of modules prior to workshops. Access to the Cochrane Interactive Learning modules will be made available for4 weeks before and 4 weeks after the workshop and will be free of charge thanks to the support of Cochrane Training.

Facilitators

Prof. Valerie Smith, Trinity College Dublin

Dr Nuala Livingstone, Cochrane

Course content

• Data Collection overview
• Dichotomous Data: Extraction and Analysis
• Continuous Data: Extraction and Analysis
• Standardised Mean Difference
• Introduction to Heterogeneity – heterogeneity statistics, fixed and random effects models, dealing with heterogeneity
• Sensitivity Analysis
• Generic Inverse Variance Meta-analysis: overview
• Multiplicity Issues: Multi-arm trials, Cluster and Cross-over designs
• Practical demonstration in RevMan

To register, click here

For many clinical conditions there may be more than two competing interventions. In a systematic review, network meta-analysis is a statistical option for comparing three or more interventions by combining direct and indirect estimates in a single analysis. This approach is more complex than standard meta-analysis and requires additional assumptions. This webinar will present network meta-analysis and discuss what it is, how they are often presented, what to look for and how to understand them. Exemplar systematic reviews including network meta-analyses will be included in order to provide suitable examples.

Dr Kerry Dawn leads the Methods Support Unit (MSU) in the Editorial and Methods Department in Cochrane. She has a statistical background and has worked as a trial statistician and undertaken systematic reviews with Cochrane and the Liverpool Reviews and Implementation group. Her methodological work and PhD focussed on selective outcome reporting and has expanded to improving methods and reporting in trials and systematic reviews. The MSU provides methodological and statistical advice on Cochrane protocols, reviews and updates. Kerry also delivers training on common statistical errors and works with the Statistical Methods Group on developing guidance relating to the implementation of statistical methods in Cochrane Reviews. She works part-time and is based in Liverpool, UK.

To register, click here

Researchers trying to assess the methodological quality of qualitative research face a bewildering choice from over 100 available tools and checklists. When Professor Booth worked with colleagues to examine the range of approaches available they found that not only is the value of appraising qualitative research contested but also that confusion persists concerning whether tools assess study quality or reporting quality. Is the concept of “risk of bias” even valid within a qualitative paradigm? This webinar combines practical guidance on how to choose checklists with discussion on the usefulness of concepts such as risk to rigour and methodological limitations. It concludes by looking forward to future approaches and by reminding the audience that choice of a checklist for qualitative research represents a precarious balancing act between the tool, the study and the reader.

Professor Andrew Booth, Professor in Evidence Synthesis at the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, has been a systematic review methodologist for almost 30 years. He specializes in qualitative, mixed methods, realist and rapid reviews. Andrew has conducted published international QES in maternal care topics such as postnatal depression and attitudes to facility-based delivery. Andrew is a co-developer of Best Fit Framework Synthesis, one of the widely used methods of qualitative evidence synthesis. He is a technical consultant to the WHO Health Evidence Network evidence reviews. Andrew has been a co-convenor of the Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group (CQIMG) for over fifteen years and is a member of the GRADE-CERQual core development team. He has co-authored the Cochrane Handbook chapter on Qualitative Evidence. Together with colleagues in ScHARR he has been running an annual course on qualitative synthesis for over a decade.

To register for this webinar, click here

Scoping reviews are increasingly being applied as an approach to synthesise evidence. In this webinar, Associate Professor Zachary Munn will provide an introduction to scoping reviews, including an overview of the JBI methods for conducting scoping reviews. Scoping reviews will also be compared and contrasted to other evidence synthesis approaches, such as systematic reviews.

A/Professor Zachary Munn is an advocate for evidence-based healthcare and for ensuring patients receive the best care possible based on the best available evidence. His main work is as a systematic review, evidence implementation and guideline development methodologist. He is the Director of the Evidence-based Healthcare Research Division of JBI, Director of the JBI Adelaide GRADE Centre, Chair of the Guidelines International Network and an NHMRC Investigator.

This workshop will be held over two days and provides an opportunity for those who undertake their own searches for evidence syntheses, and those how work with librarians/information specialists on the study identification, to learn more about the process of searching for studies for evidence syntheses.  It addresses many of the key aspects of searching for evidence syntheses, in particular how this differs from searching for routine clinical practice/everyday questions.

Date: 23rd & 24th June

Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm

Location: Aishling Hotel, Stoneybatter, Dublin City *In the event that the workshop cannot take place in person, depending on public health guidance at the time, we plan to hold it virtually, via Zoom

Places: 25 available for individuals who are resident in Ireland & Northern Ireland

Skill level: Intermediate

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision makers, librarians, information specialists, and Evidence Synthesis Ireland fellows and teaching faculty who would like to learn more about the process of searching for studies for systematic reviews and other evidence syntheses.

Prerequisites: A basic knowledge of searching databases such as MEDLINE/ PubMed; An interest in improving their own search skills and/or understanding better how to work more effectively with their librarian/information specialist to identify studies for evidence syntheses

Teaching strategies

The workshop will consist of a mixture of short presentations, small group and plenary discussions, together with practical exercises.

Facilitators

Ms Carol Lefebvre

This one day workshop provides a brief overview of the development and use of three principal methods of qualitative evidence synthesis; thematic synthesis, framework synthesis and meta-ethnography. These three methods are endorsed as the methods of choice by the Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Research Group and collectively they represent a versatile toolkit of approaches to handling qualitative data within systematic reviews. This workshop will offer experience of conducting all three approaches and the strengths and weaknesses of each method will be rehearsed and then demonstrated. Key references in methodological development and reporting standards will be explored against a backdrop of Cochrane methodological guidance and alongside exemplars of each type of research output. The workshop will allow participants to shape their own views of what method works best under different circumstances. Brief reference will also be made to applied examples of these methods such as rapid QES and mega-ethnography.

Date: 30th June 2022

Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm

Places: 30 available for individuals who are resident on the island of Ireland

Skill level: Intermediate

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision-makers and Evidence Synthesis Ireland fellows who have identified a review topic and are ready to begin working on their protocol.

Prerequisites: Delegates should be familiar with the overall process of systematic review, preferably as it relates to qualitative evidence synthesis.

Teaching strategies: The workshop will consist of a mixture of short presentations, small group and individual exercises. A variety of worksheets and handouts will be provided to encourage practical engagement with learning from the course and further reference to additional resources.

Facilitators: Dr Andrew Booth, Reader at the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield

Dr Andrew Booth is a Reader in the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield. He is a co-convenor of the Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group. Andrew is a Chartered Information Professional (UK CILIP) and was awarded the prestigious Cyril Barnard Award for outstanding contribution to health librarianship in 2011. Andrew has been teaching and conducting systematic reviews for over 25 years, latterly specialising in qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) and realist synthesis. He has experience of multiple QES methods including hands-on familiarity with thematic synthesis, framework synthesis and meta-ethnography. Between 2015 and 2021 he has been the world’s most prolific author/co-author of QES methodology and published examples of qualitative evidence synthesis. In 2020 he collaborated with Evidence Synthesis Ireland to support the first ever Cochrane Rapid Qualitative Evidence Synthesis. Andrew’s research focuses on methods of information retrieval and/or qualitative synthesis. He is responsible for many acronyms and mnemonics used in everyday reviewing practice (e.g. SPICE, SPIDER, PerSPE©TiFand RETREAT) and contributes to numerous modules and short courses including his own annual ESQUIRE course on Qualitative Evidence Synthesis.

Course timetable:

10:00  Introductions/Introduction to the Course

10:15  Overview of Qualitative Synthesis

11:00  Introducing Thematic Synthesis

11:15  Break

11:30  Thematic Synthesis Practical

12:15  Lunch

13:00  Introducing Framework Synthesis

13:15   Framework Synthesis Practical

14:00  Introducing Meta-Ethnography

14:15   Meta-Ethnography Practical

15:00  Break

15:15   Choosing Your Method of Synthesis

15:45   Concluding Comments/Questions

16:00  Close

This workshop will be held over four mornings and provides authors at the beginning of the systematic review process, with an in-depth understanding of how reviews are structured. It offers an insight into the development of a protocol, introducing participants to methodology, search methods, data extraction and meta-analysis. This workshop also includes an introduction to RevMan software and its use during protocol development.

Date: 29th & 30th September, 6th & 7th November 2022

Time: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Places: 30 available for individuals who are resident on the island of Ireland

Skill level: Introductory

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision-makers and Evidence Synthesis Ireland fellows who have identified a review topic and are ready to begin working on their protocol.

Prerequisites: Have a basic knowledge of health research. Are interested in learning more on the methodology of a review. Participants are requested to install the RevMan software and bring their laptop to the workshop.

Teaching strategies

The workshop will consist of a mixture of short presentations, led by members of the Cochrane Ireland teaching faculty covering each of the stages of developing a systematic review protocol, small group activities and plenary discussions, providing participants with the opportunity to develop and refine their protocol.

Facilitators

Prof Anne Matthews, School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University.

Prof Veronica Lambert, School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University.

This workshop will be held over four mornings and provides authors at the beginning of the systematic review process, with an in-depth understanding of how reviews are structured. It offers an insight into the development of a protocol, introducing participants to methodology, search methods, data extraction and meta-analysis. This workshop also includes an introduction to RevMan software and its use during protocol development.

Date: 29th & 30th September, 6th & 7th November 2022

Time: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Places: 30 available for individuals who are resident on the island of Ireland

Skill level: Introductory

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals, academics, researchers, decision-makers and Evidence Synthesis Ireland fellows who have identified a review topic and are ready to begin working on their protocol.

Prerequisites: Have a basic knowledge of health research. Are interested in learning more on the methodology of a review. Participants are requested to install the RevMan software and bring their laptop to the workshop.

Teaching strategies

The workshop will consist of a mixture of short presentations, led by members of the Cochrane Ireland teaching faculty covering each of the stages of developing a systematic review protocol, small group activities and plenary discussions, providing participants with the opportunity to develop and refine their protocol.

Facilitators

Prof Anne Matthews, School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University.

Prof Veronica Lambert, School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University.