This 4-day course will be online and consist of a mixture of live and pre-recorded lectures, with exercises for participants to complete themselves and tutor-facilitated small group sessions. It is full time over the four days.

By the end of the course participants should be able to:

1. explain the need for systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
2. list the important aspects of a systematic review;
3. perform a comprehensive search for relevant literature;
4. appreciate the role of tools to assess risk of bias, including their application to randomised controlled trials;
5. explain the basic methods of meta-analysis;
6. use Stata or R software to perform a basic meta-analysis;
7. describe issues in conducting systematic reviews of observational studies;
8. summarise the findings of a systematic review or meta-analysis; and
9. evaluate the quality of a systematic review.

This course is designed for clinicians, researchers, public health specialists and other health care professionals who want to perform and/or evaluate systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The course predominantly focuses on systematic reviews of healthcare interventions, although much of the material translates to systematic reviews in other areas. Sessions examine issues in systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies.

This course will cover:

1. why we need systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
2. the systematic review process;
3. identifying relevant studies;
4. selecting studies and data extraction;
5. types of data and effect sizes;
6. assessing risk of bias in primary studies;
7. statistical methods for meta-analysis of dichotomous and numerical (continuous) outcomes;
8. explaining heterogeneity: subgroup analysis and meta-regression;
9. meta-analysis and meta-regression in R or Stata;
10. synthesis without meta-analysis;
11. brief introduction to network meta-analysis;
12. understanding, investigating and dealing with bias in systematic reviews;
13. systematic reviews and meta-analysis of observational studies;
14. assessing certainty of the evidence in a systematic review;
15. reporting a systematic review; and
16. critical appraisal of a systematic review.

The course is co-organised by Dr Jelena Savovic, Dr Clare French and Dr Annabel Davies.

Course teaching staff are drawn largely from the Bristol Review and Appraisal of Research (BARR) group at the University of Bristol. The group, led by Professor Julian Higgins, has extensive experience and expertise in all aspects of systematic reviews and comprises systematic reviewers, research synthesis methodologists, information retrieval specialists and statisticians.

To make sure the course is suitable for you and you will benefit from attending, please ensure you meet the following prerequisites before booking:

Before booking this course, please make sure you read the information provided above about the target audience and prerequisites. It is important that you have access to the relevant IT resources needed for the course and meet the knowledge prerequisites to ensure you can get the most from the course.

Bookings are taken via our online booking system, for which you must register an account. To check if you are eligible for free or discounted courses please see our fees and voucher packs page. All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions, which can be read in full here.

For help and support with booking a course refer to our booking information page, FAQs or feel free to contact us directly. For available payment options please see: How to pay your short course fees.

Participants are granted access to our virtual learning platform (Blackboard) 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the course. This allows time for any pre-course work to be completed and to familiarise with the platform.

To gain the most from the course, we recommend that you attend in full and participate in all interactive components. We endeavour to record all live lecture sessions and upload these to the online learning environment within 24 hours. This allows course participants to review these sessions at leisure and revisit them multiple times. Please note that we do not record breakout sessions.

All course participants retain access to the online learning materials and recordings for 3 months after the course. 

University of Bristol staff and postgraduate students who do not wish to attend the full course may instead register for access to the 'Materials & Recordings' version of this course: Further information and bookings.

96% of attendees recommend this course*.
*Attendee feedback from 2025.

Here is a sample of feedback from the last run of the course:

"Comprehensive coverage of the topics with a good mix of independent and live sessions. I left with lots of useful takeaways, guides, and links to further resources.” – course feedback, January 2025

"It is a comprehensive overview and introduction to doing systematic reviews with lots of practical exercises which were really useful to consolidate learning. The programme was enjoyable and interactive.” – course feedback, January 2025

"It's very well structured course. I have learnt a lot about systematic review for my research.” – course feedback, January 2025

"The approach used to deliver the lectures and practicals was amazing. Sessions were interactive and gave the chance to actively participate and engage with the tutor.” – course feedback, January 2025

"The course was detailed and practical providing hands-on exercises.” – course feedback, January 2025

"The most useful aspects of the course were the practical sessions on using Stata and R for meta-analysis and the hands-on application of tools for assessing risk of bias. These provided valuable, actionable skills that bridged theory with real-world application, making the learning highly practical and relevant.” – course feedback, January 2025

"The practical demonstrations helped consolidate and contextualise the methods learnt in the lectures.” – course feedback, January 2025

"This course provided an excellent overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, emphasizing their importance in evidence-based research. It effectively covered the key steps of systematic reviews, including comprehensive literature searches, risk of bias assessment (with tools like the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool), and the basics of meta-analysis. Practical sessions using Stata and R software were particularly valuable, bridging theory with real-world application. The course also addressed challenges in reviewing observational studies and offered clear frameworks for summarizing findings and evaluating review quality.” – course feedback, January 2025

"Very knowledgeable lecturers. Overall well laid out teaching resources - clearly lots of preparation done by course organisers. Liked that there were drop-in sessions for assistance during practical exercises.” – course feedback, January 2025