Systemic Reviews Part 1: Starting a Review (Online)

This one-day course will be offered via Zoom only. Attendance is required as it will not be recorded.

Across disciplines, systematic reviews are used commonly to inform policy and practice. This course is designed for researchers, clinicians, and others who want to conduct systematic reviews or to be more informed users of systematic reviews.

In this course, students will learn to frame an answerable research question and to write a protocol for a review. Students will learn to develop inclusion and exclusion criteria, conduct an electronic search for studies, screen studies for inclusion, collect data, and plan for synthesizing results using meta-analysis and other approaches. The course will focus on systematic reviews of interventions (e.g., behavioral and medical) but will also introduce students to related review methods (e.g., scoping reviews, overviews of reviews) and topics (e.g., diagnostic tests).

Students who wish to complete a systematic review, or to better understand systematic review results, are encouraged to register for “Systematic Reviews Part 2: Completing a review” on 2/6/2025. Separate registration is required for Part 2.

Instructor: Evan Mayo-Wilson

Evan Mayo-Wilson, MPA, DPhil is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health where he teaches a course on systematic reviews. He has led large systematic reviews and clinical guidelines, including reviews for the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE, UK). Dr. Mayo-Wilson is the Associate Editor for Systematic Reviews for the American Journal of Public Health. His research focuses on ways to improve systematic reviews and meta-analyses. He is an author of multiple reporting guidelines for clinical trials and systematic reviews, including PRISMA 2020.

Registration fees:

• UNC Chapel Hill Students: $0, with a $35 deposit to hold your spot (deposit is refundable upon your attendance for at least 66% of the course)
• UNC Chapel Hill Faculty/Staff/Postdoc/Resident/Visiting Scholars: $80
• University (Non UNC Chapel Hill) Student/Employee (must have active university email): $105
• Government/Non-Profit/Corporate: $130

Additional course information:

• Cancellation/ Refund Policy: A full refund will be given to those who cancel their registration no later than 10 days prior to the course. If you cancel within the 10 days prior to the class, no refund will be given. Please allow 30 days to receive your refund.
• Zoom link will be sent prior to the course. Registration must be made at least 1 day prior to the course date to receive the Zoom link.

For questions regarding this class, please contact Jill Stevens at jill_stevens@unc.edu