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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Study Design

Systematic review

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

nounCommon term

In public health & epidemiology, systematic review means: A review that uses a clear, pre-planned method to find, select and assess all the relevant studies on a specific question and then combine their findings.

In Turkish: sistematik derleme

How it is used

Placed near the top of the evidence hierarchy and used to write guidelines. Authors register a protocol, search databases, screen studies and assess risk of bias. Many systematic reviews include a meta-analysis, but not all.

Example sentences

  1. The guideline is based on a systematic review of school-based physical activity programmes.

  2. Two reviewers independently screened the studies for the systematic review.

Common collocations

  • conduct a systematic review
  • systematic review and meta-analysis
  • review protocol
  • evidence synthesis
  • meta-analysisA statistical method that combines the numerical results of several similar studies to produce one overall estimate of an effect.
  • randomized controlled trialA study in which participants are assigned by chance to receive an intervention or a comparison, such as a placebo or usual care, so that the outcomes of the groups can be fairly compared.
  • biasA systematic error in how a study is designed, carried out or analysed that pushes its results away from the truth in one direction.
  • observational studyA study in which researchers observe and measure people's exposures and outcomes without assigning any treatment or intervention themselves.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Study Design

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.