HSC8055 : Introduction to Systematic Reviewing and Critical Appraisal (Inactive)
- Inactive for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Fiona Pearson
- Lecturer: Dr Ryan Kenny, Dr Aalya Al-Assaf, Dr Fiona Campbell, Ms Eugenie Johnson, Mrs Fiona Beyer, Mr Alex Inskip, Dr Nick Meader, Miss Nicole O'Connor, Dr Katie Thomson, Mrs Madeleine Still, Mrs Sonia Garcia Gonzalez-Moral, Miss Patience Kunonga, Professor Dawn Craig
- Owning School: Population Health Sciences
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The aim of this module is to provide all students with a basic grounding in systematic review and critical appraisal methods so that they can plan and undertake their own systematic review and critically appraise systematic review findings. Combining lectures, workshops and self-directed learning this module seeks to provide the first-time systematic reviewer with a sound grounding in the principles of systematic reviewing, including framing the question, identifying and critically appraising relevant studies, synthesising results, and interpreting and disseminating conclusions.
Outline Of Syllabus
The introduction to systematic reviewing and critical appraisal will cover the following topics:
• An introduction to systematic reviewing, its approaches and epistemology;
• How to design a research question
• Data management
• Developing a search strategy
• Screening
• Data extraction
• Critical appraisal
• Quantitative review synthesis methods – including introduction to meta-analysis
• Qualitative synthesis methods
• Rating the certainty of evidence in systematic reviews and other evidence syntheses
• Critical appraisal of systematic review findings
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Present in person: Introduction to each session |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 12 | 1:00 | 12:00 | N/A |
| Structured Guided Learning | Academic skills activities | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Exercises set between sessions to support learning |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 12 | 1:00 | 12:00 | To access and engage with directed reading and online content |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 6 | 0:30 | 3:00 | Present in person: Discussion and feedback on workshops |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Preparation for synchronous workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | Skills practice | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | To further embed understanding of material outlined in lecture materials and workshops |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Present in person: Skills development exercises embedded within each session |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured non-synchronous discussion | 6 | 0:30 | 3:00 | Delivered online via Canvas |
| Guided Independent Study | Project work | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Assignment |
| Guided Independent Study | Reflective learning activity | 12 | 1:00 | 12:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 6 | 0:30 | 3:00 | Delivered online via Zoom. To help with independent study, skills practice and assessment |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 13 | 1:00 | 13:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | Present in person: To introduce exercises in each session. |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
This module aims to provide students with the confidence and skills to undertake their own systematic review and critical appraisal of included studies. It teaches not only rigorous, trustworthy methods for conducting a systematic review but what deviation from these means for systematic review findings giving students the skills needed to critically appraise a systematic review.
In order to ensure that all students are at a similar level of comprehension students will be asked to read and prepare prior to the learning and teaching activities.
The scheduled and structured learning is designed to introduce systematic reviewing and critical appraisal and will equip students with the skills to carry out a systematic review. There will be a mixture of small group teaching, guided learning and workshops during which students will be encouraged to interact with one another and develop their skills in the different elements of conducting a systematic review.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | 100 | To undertake a critical appraisal of a published systematic review (2000 word count) |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Students will write a 2000 word critical appraisal of a systematic review selected by the module leader.
This assessment will enable us to assess student’s skills and knowledge of systematic review methodology and its application. Students will be expected to critique the inclusion criteria, search strategy, synthesis, conduct of the review and reporting. A discussion on bias will be expected. Appropriate critical appraisal tools can be used to guide the critique.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- HSC8055's Timetable