title: Getting started in research: systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Systematic reviews are one of the major building blocks of evidence-based medicine. This overview is an introduction to conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) represent the most robust form of design in the hierarchy of research evidence. In addition, primary data do not have to be collected by the researcher him/herself, and there is no need for approval from an ethics committee. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are not as daunting as they may appear to be, provided the scope is sufficiently narrow and an appropriate supervisor available.
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), Melbourne, VICUniversity of Queensland School of Medicine, Wooloongabba, QLD, Australia s.kisely@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kisely
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crowe
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Cherrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galletly
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VICAcademic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Saint Vincent's Health, Saint George's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loi
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VICAcademic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, ACTACT Health Directorate, Mental Health Service, Canberra Hospital, Woden, ACT, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeffrey C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Looi
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VICGraduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSWIllawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Macfarlane
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Ness
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: McVie
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VICSchool of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WASouth Metropolitan Area Health Service, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Power
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VICSchool of Medicine, University of Queensland, Wooloongabba, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Siskind
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VICWA Centre for Mental Health Policy Research, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WACentre for Research into Disability and Society, Curtin University, Perth, WA Australia.
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaPsychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merry
authors.affiliation: Committee for Research, RANZCP, Melbourne, VICAged Psychiatry Service, Alfred Health, Caulfield, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Macfarlane
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008611:Mentors; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D011570:Psychiatry; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D012196:Review Literature as Topic
keywords: evidence-based medicine; meta-analysis; research; statistics; systematic review; training