Table 2 Checklist for the surgeon to critically appraise a meta-analysis
From: Critical appraisal of meta-analyses: an introductory guide for the practicing surgeon
Has a research question/hypothesis been formulated a priori (before starting the meta-analysis)? |
|---|
Is the research question FINER[20] (F easible, I nteresting, N ovel, E thical, and R elevant)? |
Is the meta-analysis based on a written protocol that clearly outlines research question, primary and secondary outcomes, and inclusion and exclusion criteria? |
Has a thorough literature search been performed? Have different search engines (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, etc.) been used to identify relevant literature? |
Did the authors look for unpublished data, for negative studies, and for publications in non-English languages to minimize retrieval, language, and publication bias? |
Was a strategy to exclude individual studies clearly outlined in the publication? |
Did two investigators independently perform the quality assessment of the individual studies? |
Were sensitivity analyses performed? |