Lesson 4 · Searching the Literature · Step 5 of 5
A Cochrane review, start to finish
A Cochrane review of drugs for preventing malaria in pregnancy shows the steps carried out in full. 181 records from databases plus 2 from reference lists and experts, 2 duplicates removed, 126 excluded on title and abstract, 53 full texts retrieved, 31 excluded with a documented reason each, 17 trials included, covering 14,481 women in eight countries. Only 6 of the 17 had adequate allocation concealment, and dropping the weaker trials left the conclusions unchanged. The flow diagram publishes those counts, so a reader can judge the search instead of trusting it.
Also covered: MEDLINE and EMBASE · quasi-randomized trials · standardized extraction forms · GRADE evidence ratings · summary of findings tables
Alongside this step
- Slides and transcript — the whole video
- Read the chapter — Searching the Literature
Check yourself
5 questions, marked as you go. Nothing is recorded as a grade and nothing is locked behind it — if a question catches you out, that is the useful part.
Lesson 4 · 5 steps
Foundations of Global Health Research · lesson 4 of 5