title: Appraisal of published reviews of research on psychotherapy and counseling with adults 1990-1998.
abstract: Reviews and meta-analyses of research on adult psychotherapy and counseling with adults published in English from 1990 to 1998 (N = 255) were rated according to the criteria advanced by A. D. Oxman and G. H. Guyatt (1988). A majority of the reviews fell substantially short of these basic standards; on average, review articles met only half of the 8 criteria, and only 20% met 7 or more of the criteria. Common deficiencies included failure to describe comprehensive search methods used to locate studies; failure to explain inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies; and failure to provide reliable, unbiased assessments of the studies reviewed. The reviews showed no tendency to improve over the period studied.
authors.affiliation: Psychological Therapies Research Centre, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hannah C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Mackay
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barkham
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Stiles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy; D011643:Publishing; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires