Skills Development Courses
Very useful. Full list of slides in a booklet and good computer software.
Feedback from one of the delegates attending the London workshop (May 2009)
Level 2: Undertaking a Quantitative Synthesis
Aims
The key aim at this level was to support those wishing to undertake a meta-analysis in developing a conceptual understanding of the methodology combined with practical skills in getting started with the techniques.
Who is the course for?
The course was aimed at those conducting a systematic review and wishing to undertake a meta-analysis.
To apply for the course, applicants had either:
- Attended a Level 1/Introductory course
or had
- Familiarity with systematic reviewing, understanding of effect size as a comparative statistic in intervention research; knowledge of heterogeneity as it applies to meta-analysis; ability to read a forest plot as an output of a meta-analysis; understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of meta-analysis. Plus additional reading from Level 1 pre-session readings and material.
Course Content
This was a practical session involving computer-based activities and exercises.
Skills covered included identifying and coding studies: methodological issues; computational techniques (including converting other measures); tests for heterogeneity/fixed and random effects models; methodological and quality issues; publicaiton bias; interpreting effect sizes (means confidence intervals homogeneity and the importance of variance); software for meta-analysis.
A programme can be downloaded.
When?
The programme for each of these sessions was repeated in 6 different regional locations.
The first and second round of one-day courses have now been completed.
Please take a look at the feedback page to see what the attendees thought of the course.
Cost
We were able to accommodate up to 20 people on the course. The places were free and offered to those who satisfed
the abovementioned pre-requisites on a first-come-first served basis.
