Critically appraise the seen paper on a systematic review with meta-analysis. Answer each numbered question with a ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘can’t tell’, but please note that marks are only awarded for explanations and arguments sustaining your summary answer, not for the answer itself.
1. Did the review address a clearly focused question?
HINT: An issue can be ‘focused’ in terms of the population studied, the intervention given or the outcome considered.
2. Did the authors look for the right type of papers?
HINT: ‘The best sort of studies’ would address the review’s question and have an appropriate study design.
3. Do you think all the important, relevant studies were included?
HINT: Look for which bibliographic databases were used, follow up from reference lists, personal contact with experts, unpublished as well as published studies, non-English language studies.
4. Did the review’s authors do enough to assess quality of the included studies?
