August 2024 (Next October 2024)

In this issue

1) Launch of the new Cochrane's Scientific Strategy at the Global Evidence Summit 2024.

2) Cochrane announces the launch of the first Evidence Synthesis Units.

3) Upcoming events and opportunities to get involved include online webinars and Methods Support web clinics.

4) New resources include papers from our Methods Groups and much more!

Your top three highlights

Launch of the Cochrane's Scientific Strategy at the Global Evidence Summit 2024

Cochrane's new Scientific Strategy will be launched in September at the Global Evidence Summit 2024. The session will be held on Wednesday, 11 September, from 12:45 to 13:45 in Hall D6. If you attend the Global Evidence Summit, please save the slot in your calendars. More details will be shared in the coming days.

Cochrane announces launch of first Evidence Synthesis Units

Cochrane is pleased to announce the launch of Cochrane’s first Evidence Synthesis Units. These collaborative, multi-topic research groups will play a crucial role in delivering trusted Cochrane evidence to address major global health challenges. The geographic spread of the new units reflects Cochrane’s commitment to producing evidence that helps to improve people’s health worldwide. Read more about these new units here.

Improving our data management: Saying goodbye to Archie

Cochrane is retiring Archie, which has served us for many years as Cochrane's main hub for storing review documents and keeping track of who's who by managing Group Roles. By the end of 2024, Archie will be completely phased out. We are positive about the upcoming improvements, which will allow us to manage Group Roles more effectively, clearly manage review roles directly in RevMan, and ensure access to Cochrane systems is correct and up to date. Check out more information here.

Events and opportunities

Upcoming

● September 4: Methods Support Unit web clinics: Writing a Cochrane abstract in the focused review format. Open to Cochrane authors, editors and staff; registration required.

● September 10-13: Global Evidence Summit 2024 in Prague (Czech Republic). Registration fees apply.

● September 19: Evidence Synthesis Ireland webinar. Lived experience in living guidelines: Recruiting for diversity. Open to all; registration required.

● September 26: Cochrane Learning Live Session: How the interactive Summary of Qualitative Findings (iSoQ) tool can help you apply GRADE-CERQual in your qualitative evidence synthesis. Open to all; registration required.

● October 3: Methods Support Unit web clinics: Introducing ROB-ME: a tool for assessing risk of non-reporting biases in systematic reviews with meta-analysis. Open to Cochrane authors, editors and staff; registration required.

● October 10: Hybrid symposium. Advancing Trust in Science: Institutional Obligations to Promote Research Integrity. Open to all; registration required.

● October 17: Evidence Synthesis Ireland webinar. Equity, diversity and inclusion in evidence synthesis: how the PRO EDI tool can help. Open to all; registration required.

Can you help with methods-related tasks? Browse Engage (formerly TaskExchange) for opportunities (tip! Filter by your specific skills). For more information on signing up and using the platform, see the instructions.

New resources

● Members of Prospective Meta-Analysis introduced the Individual Participant Data Integrity Tool to screen randomised controlled trials for integrity issues in Research Synthesis Methods.

● Members of Equity summarised the methods used to recruit and retain ethnically diverse participants and report and analyse variables related to ethnic diversity in randomised controlled trials in BMJ Open.

● Members of the Methods Support Unit developed an Excel spreadsheet implementing Bucher’s method for indirect treatment comparisons in meta-analyses in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.

● Members of GRADEing introduce the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT methodology to adopt, adapt or create contextualised recommendations from source guidelines and evidence syntheses in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.

● Members of Statistics described the key assumptions underlying the random-effects model and how it relates to the common-effect and fixed-effects models in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.

● Members of Equity and GRADEing highlighted the experiences of a Latin American Guideline Development Group applying GRADE-ADOLOPMENT in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.

● Members of Statistics provided a roadmap for network meta-analysis applications, advancements in software and tools in Research Synthesis Methods.

● Members of Equity presented a protocol for a methodological study to understand the extent of the problem of disparities between statistical and clinical significance in published clinical trials in BMJ Open.

● Members of Prognosis proposed a method to estimate the power of a planned individual participant data meta-analysis project aiming to synthesise multiple cohort studies to investigate the effects of potential prognostic factors for a binary outcome in Research Synthesis Methods.

● Rapid Reviews provided interim guidance to support the complete reporting of rapid reviews in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.

● Members of Comparing Multiple Interventions explored methods for creating or adapting knowledge mobilisation products for culturally and linguistically diverse audiences in the Archives of Public Health.

● Members of Rapid Reviews collaborated on the development of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials extension checklist (CONSORT-Surrogate), published in the BMJ.

● Members of Adverse Effects and Bias presented a framework for identifying spin associated with harms in systematic reviews of interventions in Annals of Internal Medicine.

● Members of Rapid Reviews collaborated on developing the Standard Protocol Items/ Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) checklist, published in the BMJ.

● Members of Adverse Effects and Co-Production presented the Guideline for reporting systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments (OMIs): PRISMA-COSMIN for OMIs 2024 in Quality of Life Research.

● Members of Statistics and Non-randomized studies for Interventions explore the potential role of a proposed artificial intelligence tool to assist in critical appraisal and choosing among systematic reviews in BMJ Open.

Other news

●   Co-Production invites the methods community to participate in a survey to collect and prioritise research topics on methods of co-production in evidence synthesis. More information is available here.