Meta-analyses are becoming the gold standard method of reviewing and summarising the scientific literature, and they have contributed greatly to the current body of scientific knowledge. This course aims to introduce the concepts and procedures of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and will help applicants to get started with their own study. This is a hands-on course, covering theoretical concepts and discussion of strengths, limitations and problems of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We will also discuss publication guidelines, strategies to identify eligible studies, quality assessment of research papers and different statistical methods.

Students will also work on their own study protocol to plan and start their own meta-analyses, and we will critically and constructively discuss other protocols and studies. The evaluation of the course will mainly be based on the presentation of the individual study protocol, and the critical and constructive evaluation of the study protocols of other students.

An important aspect of the course is the interaction between the students and the teachers. We want to provide opportunities for the students to learn from each other as well as from the course leaders who have extensive knowledge in the field of meta-analysis and epidemiology. Elizabeth Arkema is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on autoimmune diseases, Anna Sidorchuk is an epidemiologist investigating socio-economic determinants of health and I am a clinical epidemiologist with a current focus on upper-gastrointestinal cancer.

Who should participate in this course? Everyone who wants to learn how to perform high quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

We look forward to seeing you all in October!