ScHARR ONLINE COURSE - Scoping Reviews, Mapping Reviews and Evidence Gap Maps (NEW)

Demand for evidence synthesis to inform practice, policy and research agendas has grown exponentially over the last three decades. In response, systematic review methods have evolved to meet the increasingly diverse types of questions that systematic review methods are being used to address.

An evidence synthesis approach that has emerged and is increasingly being used are mapping review and evidence gap maps (EGMs). These are new tools, which complement existing approaches in the family of systematic methods of reviewing evidence. Typically, they seek to address a broader research question, where multiple types of intervention may be evaluated, such as preterm birth, epilepsy or intimate partner violence.

EGMs provide a visual overview of existing evidence, schematically representing the types of interventions evaluated and outcomes reported. EGMs also provide a useful tool for informing judgement and evidence-based decision-making in policy and practice by identifying ‘gaps’ where there is little or no evidence available and where future research should focus.

While mapping reviews and EGMs have developed and been used to support policymaking in international development, they have a broader applicability, which has seen them used more widely, with clear applicability to the health sector.

What does the course deliver?

This 1-day short course provides an introduction to mapping reviews and EGMs, outlines the gap-map methodology, and presents some examples.

Objectives

The purpose of this one-day short course is to introduce attendees to mapping reviews and EGMs, how they differ from other systematic reviews, examples of how they are used, methods, and how to produce an EGM.

Course content

The course will consist of a mixture of presentations and an interactive exercise, with an opportunity for participants to work on developing the framework for an EGM.

Faculty

Fiona Campbell is the course leader for this exciting 1-day short course.

Anthea Sutton

Dr Melanie Bond

For more information and to book your place, please visit this page.

ScHARR Online 1 day course - Date TBC - Instant Evidence Based Medicine: How to Quickly Synthesise Research

Learn from our experts online in the comfort of your own home or workspace

Instant Evidence Based Medicine: How to Quickly Synthesise Research

This course will introduce participants to the concept of research synthesis and explore simple ways to rapidly bring evidence together to inform decision making. During the day we will undertake a search for high quality evidence to answer a clinical question. We will then look at ways of identifying the findings/key themes from the research and present various methods/tools to quickly bring the results together to form a useful overview of the evidence quickly and effectively.

Fees

The fee for this online course is £149 per person.

Register interest via this link

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIr7Hfy46JO54KwnJqGCwagFcG_fwPaKkFn5ly86aXk_J9YQ/viewform

Who Will Benefit from the Course?

If you are new to research synthesis or need to expand your skill set to include rapid synthesis then this course will be ideal. It will offer an introduction to synthesis for those who do not need to undertake full scale systematic reviews, but would like to be able to bring research findings together simply and quickly to form a clear picture. Typical participants might be:

• Academics & Researchers
• Health and social care clinicians/practitioners
• Post graduate students
• Health Librarians and Information Specialists

Course Faculty

Angie Rees

HEDS website of the month for May - MetaInsight and MetaDTA

Every month we like to share a useful website or resource we have come across on our travels across the research web. This month we have a couple of really useful free-to-use online apps that have been developed for evidence synthesis by the Complex Review Support Unit (http://www.nihrcrsu.org/). 

These were initially aimed at non-statistical experts to assist with the conduct of the analysis required for systematic reviews, but we have had comments from statisticians that their user-friendliness makes them helpful tools for all.

The first is MetaInsight https://crsu.shinyapps.io/metainsight_continuous2/  which conducts network meta-analysis using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches.

MetaInsight

The second is MetaDTA https://crsu.shinyapps.io/dta_ma/ which conducts meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies.

https://crsu.shinyapps.io/dta_ma/

Finally, a special version of MetaInsight – MetaInsight : COVID-19 has been released https://crsu.shinyapps.io/metainsightcovid/. This is a specially tailored version of the network meta-analysis app built around the trial evidence on pharmacological treatments for COVID-19. They are collecting the data from a pre-existing living systematic review https://covid-nma.com/ and their aim is to regularly update the data as trial results are made available. The intention of the app is to allow the interested user to dig deeper into the data and explore how changes to inclusion criteria and model choice etc impact on the findings. (There is not much data at present, but they anticipate this will change quickly)

New short course - Evidence Synthesis of Qualitative Research in Europe (ESQUIRE) - 3 Day Course: Tuesday, 8th - Thursday, 10th September 2020

Evidence Synthesis of Qualitative Research in Europe (ESQUIRE)

3 Day Course: Tuesday, 8th - Thursday, 10th September 2020

Course Overview

Dr Andrew Booth

The course will follow the systematic review process as it applies, and is adapted to, qualitative evidence synthesis. The Programme Faculty will take participants through the stages of defining and exploring scope, conducting the literature searches, quality assessing studies for inclusion, synthesising data and writing up and presenting the product of the synthesis. Participants will be provided with practical experience of key stages in the review process.

Who will benefit from this course?

Fiona Campbell

No formal experience is required, working knowledge of standard systematic review methods or a background in qualitative research methods will be an advantage, but not essential.

• Qualitative Researchers who want to learn how to synthesise qualitative research
• Systematic Reviewers who want to learn how to translate synthesis methods to qualitative data
• PhD Students in topic areas that require substantive review of qualitative research
• New researchers who want to develop evidence synthesis/systematic review



Mark Clowes

• Qualitative systematic reviewers who want to update and extend their skills and knowledge

Course Materials

The course will consist of a mixture of presentations, group work, discussions and individual exercises.

Course Materials will be provided via a Delegate Course Website approximately 1 week prior to the course start date. Hard copies of exercises will be provided throughout the course. Hard copies of PowerPoint presentations will not be provided, but these can be printed by delegates before the start of the course via the Delegate Course Website.

Participants are asked to provide their own laptop for the duration of the course, please contact us if you are unable to do so.

Course Faculty

Members of the Cochrane Qualitative Research Methods Group and Experienced ScHARR Staff.

Dr Andrew Booth, Reader in Evidence Based Information Practice and Director of Information, ScHARR, University of Sheffield and Course Leader of this popular course.

Fiona Campbell, Research Fellow, ScHARR, University of Sheffield.

Mark Clowes, Information Specialist, ScHARR, University of Sheffield.

Dates

3 day course: Tuesday, 8th - Thursday, 10th September 2020

Times

Day 1 - Starts at 10:00am with Registration and refreshments, with a prompt course start at 10:30am.  It is scheduled to close for the day at approximately 4pm. 

A course evening dinner for all delegates and staff will take place at approximately 7pm (there is no additional fee for this).

Day 2 - Starts at 9am and is scheduled to close for the day at 5pm.

Day 3 - Starts at 9am and is scheduled to close at 3pm.

Fees

£750 Early Bird Fee - For confirmed bookings received on or before 11pm on Wednesday, 8th July 2020.

£850 (TBC) Standard Fee - For confirmed bookings received on or before 11pm on Tuesday, 25th August 2020, or when the course reaches full capacity (which is often reached before the closing date, so early booking is recommended for this course.

We also offer a 20% discount for group bookings of 4 or more people on the same course. Please contact Karen Holden at scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk to book. NB: This discount cannot be applied at checkout or after a booking has taken place.  ALL group bookings must be made directly with Karen Holden at scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk.

This course is very popular and generally reaches full capacity before the closing date, so early booking is advised.

Booking and Payment

We are currently taking provisional bookings for this popular ScHARR course.  Please email your details to Karen Holden at scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk.  A place will be reserved for you and you will be contacted once the course has gone live on our Online Store, and bookings are open.

All of our short course bookings are initially processed through our Online Store. Payment in full/purchase order is required at the time of booking (Credit/Debit Card or PayPal is accepted). 

If your employer is paying your fees and they would prefer to be invoiced, please ensure you select this option when booking and that have your Purchase Order details before making your booking. Bookings are NOT confirmed until receipt of the Purchase Order is received at scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk.

Bookings will automatically close at 11pm on Tuesday, 25th August 2020. 

This course is very popular and generally reaches full capacity before the closing date, so early booking is advised.

If you have any queries relating to fees and payment, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Accommodation and Meals

The course fee includes lunch and refreshments throughout this 3 day course, plus a Course Evening Dinner that takes place on the first evening of Tuesday, 10th September 2019.

No accommodation is included. We have a preferential rate of £70 per room/night at the host venue Halifax Hall for all of our delegates, details of how to book this are provided in your automated confirmation email.

Alternatively, we have our new Jonas Hotel, situated next to Halifax Hall, with a preferential rate of £50 per room/night.

For further details please contact Karen Holden at scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0)114 222 2968.

If you have any particular dietary or access requirements then please contact the Short Course Unit with your requirements at the time of booking.

Venue

Halifax Hall Hotel and Conference Centre,

Endcliffe Vale Road,

Sheffield.

S10 3ER.

www.halifaxhall.co.uk

Contact

For further information please do not hesitate to contact the Short Course Unit via email at scharr-scu@sheffield.ac.uk

or call +44 (0)114 222 2968.

ScHARR Short Course - How to Quickly Synthesise Research - 11th February - Sheffield

Instant Evidence Based Medicine: How to Quickly Synthesise Research

1 day course - Tuesday 11th February 2020



Overview: This course will introduce participants to the concept of research synthesis and explore simple ways to rapidly bring evidence together to inform decision making. During the day we will undertake a search for high quality evidence to answer a clinical question. We will then look at ways of identifying the findings/key themes from the research and present various methods/tools to quickly bring the results together to form a useful overview of the evidence quickly and effectively.

If you are new to research synthesis or need to expand your skill set to include rapid synthesis the this course will be ideal. It will offer an introduction to synthesis for those who do not need to undertake full scale systematic reviews, but would like to be able to bring research findings together simply and quickly to form a clear picture.

The early bird booking rate for this course will close 11th December 2018
Standard booking will close 28th January 2019
Link to further course information: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit/synthesise-research

HEDS collaborate with The SPECTRUM Consortium to conduct research to prevent and address harm to health from unhealthy commodities

https://ukctas.wordpress.com/

HEDS colleagues Professor Alan Brennan, Dr Duncan Gillespie and Colin Angus are to provide Economic and health impact evidence synthesis to inform policy and practice decisions for the The SPECTRUM Consortium.

SPECTRUM aims to produce research that can rise to this challenge. This research will be used by our partners outside of academia, who will be active members of SPECTRUM, to make the case for effective policy and practice to improve health and address inequalities in the UK and further afield.

Dr Gillespie said: "I'm very excited to be developing our modelling work to support decisions on policies that might help to prevent non-communicable diseases and help to reduce health inequalities across the UK"

The SPECTRUM Consortium is led by Professor Linda Bauld from the University of Edinburgh and for the last 10 years has been the deputy director of UKCTAS. Co-investigators and collaborators from 10 Universities in the UK and one in Australia are included. In addition, the Consortium brings together leading alliances that aim to improve health and reduce inequalities in the UK and further afield, along with Public Health England, Health Scotland, Public Health Wales and two independent companies specialising in statistical modelling and retail data.

SPECTRUM will aim to conduct research to prevent and address harm to health from unhealthy commodities by using systems science to identify and evaluate solutions. The focus of the new Consortium will be the commercial determinants of health and health inequalities, continuing UKCTAS’s work at the population level on tobacco and alcohol, but also extending to unhealthy food and drink products where appropriate. The research will be organised around 8 inter-related Work Packages involving new research, along with knowledge exchange, impact and public engagement activities.

Objectives for the Sheffield work:

•             Develop new evidence on the impacts of alcohol and tobacco, their associated diseases, and prevention policies on the wider economy – including: consumers’ work productivity, employment and early retirement; revenue to retailers; gains and losses in different sectors of the UK economy; direct and indirect tax revenues to government; and public sector costs from healthcare, social care and crime;

•             To develop and extend the Sheffield Tobacco and Alcohol Policy Model (STAPM) for England to analyse the economic and health impacts of changes in use of alcohol and/or tobacco on a wide range of outcomes; and produce new versions for both Wales and Scotland, thus enabling between-country comparisons;

•             Undertake translational work with collaborators in food systems to explore how economic methods in alcohol and tobacco could be of use in complex 

The Sheffield Tobacco and Alcohol Policy Model (STAPM) for England was developed via UKCTAS, extending previously-developed methods to assess the effects of alcohol minimum unit pricing to model the impacts of tax policies on tobacco and alcohol. The model estimates the effects of such policies on consumer spending, morbidity and mortality from 52 diseases, and evaluates impacts on health inequalities, costs to the NHS, and government tax revenue. We will draw on existing datasets, results from systematic reviews, and new evidence to update this model for England and to develop new models for Scotland and Wales.

More information is available on UKCTAS.net/SPECTRUM