SRN Academy
Systematic Review Methodology
How to plan, run and report a systematic review that another researcher could repeat. Six modules covering the question, the search, screening, appraisal, synthesis and reporting.
A systematic review answers one question by finding every relevant study, appraising each one, and drawing the findings together in a way somebody else could check. That last part is what separates it from an ordinary literature review: the method is written down before the work starts, and reported in enough detail that another team could repeat it and get the same answer.
This course walks through a full review from the first vague question to a finished report. It is built around the decisions that actually cause trouble — where to set an inclusion boundary, what to do when two screeners disagree, when pooling results would mislead rather than clarify.
How the course runs
Six modules, each with a short set of lessons and a practical exercise. Modules open one at a time so the work stays in order — you will not be reading about synthesis before you have a set of studies to synthesise.
There is a quiz at the end of module two and a marked assignment at the end of module four. Both must be passed to receive a certificate.
What you will be able to do
- Turn a broad research interest into an answerable review question
- Build and document a search strategy another researcher could rerun
- Screen records against explicit criteria without introducing bias
- Appraise the risk of bias in the studies you include
- Decide honestly whether a meta-analysis is appropriate
- Report a review so that a reader can judge how much to trust it
Before you start
- No previous review experience needed
- Some familiarity with reading research papers is helpful