Definitions

These descriptions are taken from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Glossary.

Critical appraisal

Reviewing a study to judge the quality of the method used and the reliability of the conclusions.

Meta-analysis

A method often used in systematic reviews to combine results from several studies of the same test, treatment or other intervention to estimate the overall effect of the treatment.

Systematic Review

A review that summarises the evidence on a clearly formulated review question according to a predefined protocol, using systematic and explicit methods to identify, select and appraise relevant studies, and to extract, analyse, collate and report their findings. It may or may not use statistical techniques, such as meta-analysis.