SKI3010 syllabus

Evidence Synthesis 1: Study Designs in Systematic Reviewing

This module

SKI3010 lays the foundation. You learn the basic concepts of epidemiology and statistics that every systematic review relies on: study designs, measures of frequency and association, bias and risk of bias, and the logic of meta-analysis. You apply them right away. All groups work on the same review question: does exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder in children? Starting from the primary studies, you extract study characteristics, assess risk of bias with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, extract quantitative data, perform a meta-analysis first by hand and then in JASP, and write a paper that follows PRISMA 2020. At the end you give individual written feedback on the paper of another group.

Learning outcomes

After this module you can:

  1. explain the basic concepts of systematic reviews, observational study designs and measures of frequency and association;
  2. extract study characteristics and assess the risk of bias of observational studies with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale;
  3. extract quantitative data and prepare it for meta-analysis;
  4. perform and interpret a meta-analysis by hand and in JASP;
  5. write a systematic review that follows PRISMA 2020;
  6. give constructive feedback on a systematic review written by others.

Assessment

Component Weight Notes
Quizzes 1-4 (paper, in the tutorial) 20% Best 3 of 4 count
A5 Individual peer review 15% Individual
A6 Final paper 65% Group of 1-3 students
A1-A4 Progress assignments 0% Pass/fail

The final paper and the peer review are graded with the rubrics.

Rules

  • Groups. You work in a group of 1 to 3 students and stay in that group for the whole module. Every member is responsible for the whole paper. The peer review is individual.
  • Quizzes. Paper quiz at the start of the tutorial, no devices. The best 3 of 4 quizzes count. A missed quiz scores 0 and has no separate resit. With documented illness you can take the quiz in the next tutorial.
  • Deadlines. Hand in via the submission form. The progress assignments A1 to A4 are pass/fail; you get feedback in the next tutorial.
  • Lectures are optional. Tutorials are where you start your assignment with help from the tutor.
  • AI is allowed as a tutor; see AI use. Every paper contains a short AI-use paragraph in the methods.
  • Announcements are sent through Canvas and reach you by e-mail.