systematic review

^{6Antman EM, Lau J, Kupelnick B, Mosteller F, Chalmers TC. A comparison of results of meta-analyses of randomized control trials and recommendations of clinical experts: Treatments for myocardial infarction. JAMA 1992; 268: 240-248.

Reference details:} ^{7Glass GV. Primary, secondary and meta-analysis of research. Educational Researcher 1976; 5: 3-8.

Reference details:} ^{8Oxman AD, Guyatt GH. The science of reviewing research. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1993; 703: 125-133

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A synthesis that collates all empirical evidence fitting pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question.

Note 1: Systematic reviews are conducted according to a pre-specified protocol. The methods used are selected with a view to minimizing bias, thus providing more reliable findings from which conclusions can be drawn and decisions made.

Note 2: Many systematic reviews contain meta-analyses. A meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of independent studies.