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Giang HTN, Ahmed AM, Fala RY, Khattab MM, Othman MHA, Abdelrahman SAM, Thao LP, Gabl AEAE, Elrashedy SA, Lee PN, Hirayama K, Salem H, Huy NT. Methodological steps used by authors of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of clinical trials: a cross-sectional study. BMC Med Res Methodol 2019; 19:164. [PMID: 31349805 PMCID: PMC6659247 DOI: 10.1186/s12874-019-0780-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SR/MAs) depends on the extent of the methods used. We investigated the methodological steps used by authors of SR/MAs of clinical trials via an author survey. Methods We conducted an email-based cross-sectional study by contacting corresponding authors of SR/MAs that were published in 2015 and 2016 and retrieved through the PubMed database. The 27-item questionnaire was developed to study the methodological steps used by authors when conducting a SR/MA and the demographic characteristics of the respondent. Besides the demographic characteristics, methodological questions regarding the source, extraction and synthesis of data were included. Results From 10,292 emails sent, 384 authors responded and were included in the final analysis. Manual searches were carried out by 69.2% of authors, while 87.3% do updated searches, 49.2% search grey literature, 74.9% use the Cochrane tool for risk of bias assessment, 69.8% assign more than two reviewers for data extraction, 20.5% use digital software to extract data from graphs, 57.9% use raw data in the meta-analysis, and 43.8% meta-analyze both adjusted and non-adjusted data. There was a positive correlation of years of experience in conducting of SR/MAs with both searching grey literature (P = 0.0003) and use of adjusted and non-adjusted data (P = 0.006). Conclusions Many authors still do not carry out many of the vital methodological steps to be taken when performing any SR/MA. The experience of the authors in SR/MAs is highly correlated with use of the recommended tips for SR/MA conduct. The optimal methodological approach for researchers conducting a SR/MA should be standardized. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12874-019-0780-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoang Thi Nam Giang
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, The University of Da Nang, Da Nang, Vietnam.,Online Research Club
| | - Ali Mahmoud Ahmed
- Online Research Club.,Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Reem Yousry Fala
- Online Research Club.,Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Damitta, Egypt
| | | | | | | | - Le Phuong Thao
- Online Research Club.,University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
| | | | | | - Peter N Lee
- P.N.Lee Statistics and Computing Ltd, 17 Cedar Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5DA, UK
| | - Kenji Hirayama
- Department of Immunogenetics, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Leading Graduate School Program, and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Hosni Salem
- Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Nguyen Tien Huy
- Evidence Based Medicine Research Group, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam. .,Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, 70000, Vietnam.
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