Replication of systematic reviews
Replication Checklist:
When to replicate systematic reviews of interventions: consensus checklist. (Tugwell P, Welch VA, Karunananthan S, Maxwell LJ, Akl EA, Avey MT, Bhutta ZA, et al. BMJ. 2020;370:m2864).
About this project
For systematic reviews of interventions, replication is defined as the reproduction of findings of previous systematic reviews looking at the same effectiveness question either by: purposefully repeating the same methods to verify one or more empirical findings; or purposefully extending or narrowing the systematic review to a broader or more focused question (eg, across broader or more focused populations, intervention types, settings, outcomes, or study designs).
The decision to replicate a systematic review should be based on the priority of the research question; the likelihood that a replication will resolve uncertainties, controversies, or the need for additional evidence; the magnitude of the benefit or harm of implementing findings of a replication; and the opportunity cost of the replication.
Systematic review authors, commissioners, funders, and other users (including clinicians, patients, and representatives from policy making organisations) can use the guidance and checklist proposed here to assess the need for a replication.
Replication project publications
Karunananthan S, Welch VA, Tugwell P, Cuervo LG. When is systematic review replication useful, and when is it wasteful? Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021 Jan 15;45:e11.
Page MJ, Welch VA, Haddaway NR, Karunananthan S, Maxwell LJ, Tugwell P. "One more time":why replicating some syntheses of evidence relevant to COVID-19 makes sense. J Clin Epidemiol. 2020;125:179-182.
Tugwell P, Welch VA, Karunananthan S, Maxwell LJ, Akl EA, Avey MT, Bhutta ZA, et al. When to replicate systematic reviews of interventions: Consensus checklist. BMJ. 2020;370:m2864.
Karunananthan S, Maxwell LJ, Welch V, Petkovic J, Pardo Pardo J, Rader T, Avey MT, et al. When and how to replicate systematic reviews. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020, Issue 2. Art No. MR000052. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.MR000052.