Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 11, 2025
06:55
Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
15.0K
Cochrane Centralised Search Service showed high sensitivity identifying randomized controlled trials: A retrospective
A H Noel-Storr1, G Dooley2, S Wisniewski3
1Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
|August 18, 2020
Summary
Cochrane
Area of Science:
- Bibliometrics and Information Science
- Clinical Trial Registration and Reporting
- Systematic Review Methodology
Background:
- The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) aggregates data from sources like PubMed and Embase.
- Since 2017, CENTRAL has expanded its data sources and improved efficiency using APIs, machine learning, and crowdsourcing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of Cochrane's centralized search and screening in identifying eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- To identify areas for enhancement in the centralized processes for detecting eligible RCT references.
Main Methods:
- Identified RCT references (published articles or registrations) from 2017-2018 included in Cochrane intervention reviews.
- Audited each reference to determine if it was captured by the centralized search process and added to CENTRAL.
Main Results:
- 97.5% (634/650) of eligible RCT references from 2017-2018 were captured by Cochrane's Centralised Search Service (CSS).
- Sixteen references were missed due to various reasons including database indexing, classification errors, and automated classifier rejections.
- Eight of the missed references were the primary or sole publication for their respective trials.
Conclusions:
- Cochrane's centralized search and screening processes demonstrate high sensitivity in identifying eligible RCTs.
- The CSS is crucial for populating CENTRAL, enhancing its comprehensiveness as an RCT repository.
- Understanding missed references provides insights for further process optimization.
Keywords:
Cochrane central register of controlled trialsCrowdsourcingEvidence synthesisInformation retrievalMachine learningMethodological filterRandomized controlled trialSystematic reviewMore Related Videos
08:36Author Spotlight: Evaluating the Adjuvant Efficacy and Safety of Angong Niuhuang Pill in Viral Encephalitis Treatment
Published on: April 19, 2024
993
10:38Observational Study Protocol for Repeated Clinical Examination and Critical Care Ultrasonography Within the Simple Intensive Care Studies
Published on: January 16, 2019
20.6K
Related Concept Videos
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
307
Biopharmaceutical studies constitute a vital field aiming to enhance drug delivery methods and refine therapeutic approaches, drawing upon diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. In research methodologies, the choice between controlled and non-controlled studies significantly influences the study's reliability and accuracy.
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
307
01:29Bias in Epidemiological Studies
1.1K
Biases can arise at various stages of research, from study design and data collection to analysis and interpretation. Recognizing and addressing these biases is essential to ensure the validity and reliability of epidemiological findings.Broadly speaking, biases in epidemiology fall into three main categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding. A more detailed description of possible biases is:
1.1K
01:12Hazard Ratio
452
The hazard ratio (HR) is a widely used measure in clinical trials to compare the risk of events, such as death or disease recurrence, between two groups over time. It reflects the ratio of hazard rates—the instantaneous risk of the event occurring—between a treatment group and a control group. This measure provides valuable insights into the relative effectiveness of a treatment by assessing how the risk of an event differs between the two groups.
For example, in a clinical trial...
For example, in a clinical trial...
452
01:20Study Designs in Epidemiology
717
Epidemiological study designs are fundamental tools for investigating the distribution, determinants, and control of health conditions in populations. They help researchers understand the relationships between exposures and outcomes, and they broadly fall into two categories: "observational" and "experimental" studies.
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and...
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and...
717
01:11Observational Studies
10.5K
Observational studies are a type of analytical study where researchers observe events without any interventions. In other words, the researcher does not influence the response variable or the experiment's outcome.
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One...
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One...
10.5K
01:11Clinical Trials: Overview
4.4K
Clinical development focuses on how the drug will interact with the human body and encompasses four key phases of clinical trials, each serving a specific purpose in assessing the safety and effectiveness of new drugs. These phases overlap and build upon one another. Phase I involves a small group of healthy volunteers (typically 20-80 individuals) or, in cases where significant toxicity is expected, patients with the targeted disease, such as cancer or AIDS. The volunteers are tested for...
4.4K