Doel vak

In this course, the students learn how to conduct systematic reviews and
meta-analyses of randomized controlled studies in psychological and
educational sciences. We focus especially on systematic reviews of
psychological interventions for mental health problems. However, we also
teach students how to conduct meta-analyses of observational and
diagnostic studies.

Inhoud vak

First, students will learn how to formulate an adequate research
question for a meta-analysis. Then, we will teach them how to conduct
literature searches in major bibliographical databases (PsycINFO,
PubMed, Embase, Cochrane database), the process of selecting studies,
and data extraction. The different methods of calculating effect sizes
will be explained, as well as random and fixed effects models in pooling
available effect sizes. We will also explain how to conduct subgroup
analyses, univariate and multivariate meta-regression analyses, and
tests for publication bias. The different software packages will be
illustrated. Each student will conduct a (small) meta-analysis as part
of this course.

Onderwijsvorm

Lectures as well as seminars.

Toetsvorm

Paper, written exam.

Literatuur

Cuijpers P (2016). Meta-analyses in mental health research; A practical
guide. Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit. Available free online at:
http://bit.do/meta-analysis.

Doelgroep

The course is meant for research master students, but PhD students and
early career researchers can also participate if they want to learn how
to do meta-analyses