Recommendations for quantifying the uncertainty in the summary intervention effect and estimating the between-study heterogeneity variance in random-effects meta-analysis .

Methods News Reviewing the Structure and Function of Methods Methods Structure and Function project Rebranding of Cochrane and its Groups The Cochrane Methods Innovation Fund (MIF) Report New series of papers on systematic reviews and meta-analyses based on individual participant data (IPD) 2015 Cochrane Methods Symposium: Why do we need evidence-based methods for use in systematic reviews?Systematic reviews of prognostic studies Published Methodological Research: structured abstracts and commentaries Innovations in data collection, management and archiving for systematic reviews Validation of a search strategy to identify nutrition trials in PubMed using the relative recall method The contribution of different information sources to identify adverse effects of a medical device: a case study using a systematic review of spinal fusion Using text mining for study identification in systematic reviews: a systematic review of current approaches Association between analytic strategy and estimates of treatment outcomes in meta-analyses The Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method for random-effects meta-analysis is straightforward and considerably outperforms the standard DerSimonian-Laird method A general framework for the use of logistic regression models in meta-analysis Outcomes in Cochrane Systematic Reviews addressing four common eye conditions: an evaluation of completeness and comparability Survey of Cochrane protocols found methods for data extraction from figures not mentioned or unclear Intervention synthesis: a missing link between a systematic review and practical treatment(s) Mediating policy-relevant evidence at speed: are systematic reviews of systematic reviews a useful approach?Critical appraisal and data extraction for systematic reviews of prediction modelling studies: the CHARMS checklist Ethics and equity in research priority-setting: stakeholder engagement and the needs of disadvantaged groups Development and evaluation of 'briefing notes' as a novel knowledge translation tool to aid the implementation of sex/gender analysis in systematic reviews: a pilot study Engaging stakeholders to identify evidence synthesis priorities for National Health Insurance Schemes: lessons learned from Uganda Articles Recommendations for quantifying the uncertainty in the summary intervention effect and estimating the between-study heterogeneity variance in random-effects meta-analysis When intention-to-treat is not the question: systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the causal effect of treatment Audit of published Cochrane Reviews: methodological implications Methods and processes to select and prioritize research topics and report design in a public health insurance programme (Medicaid) in the USA Identifying external research priorities: implications for Cochrane's research agenda Human and machine effort in Project Transform: how intersecting technologies will help us to identify studies reliably, efficiently and at scale Pruning Emtree: does focusing Embase subject headings impact search strategy precision and sensitivity?Enhancing the acceptance and implementation of Summary-of-Findings tables in Cochrane Reviews -New alternative format for Summary-of-Findings tables: A randomized controlled trial Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (CERQual): development and future directions of a novel approach Cover image sourced via Getty ImagesThomas C Chalmers MD Award 2014 How do systematic reviews incorporate assessment of study quality into the synthesis of evidence?A methodological study Do Cochrane Reviews measure enough of what patients want?A collaborative study of Cochrane Reviews on HIV/AIDS Cochrane Methodology Review Group Welcome to Cochrane MethodsWelcome to the 2015 issue of Cochrane Methods, the official annual publication that reports on methodological developments and related issues within Cochrane.Cochrane is a global independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers, and people interested in health.This not-for-profit organization has more than 35,000 contributors from over 130 countries, dedicated to making accessible up-to-date and credible information about the effects of healthcare free from commercial sponsorship and other conflicts of interest.The Cochrane Reviews produced and published online in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews as part of the Cochrane Library include evaluations of healthcare interventions, diagnostic tests and methodology.Our reviews help providers, practitioners, patients and the public make informed decisions.Therefore, the reliance on the methods underpinning these reviews is important to the credibility of each review.The sixteen Cochrane Methods Groups provide methodological policy advice to improve review validity, precision and applicability.In addition, these Methods Groups provide training, peer review and specialist advice, contribute to software developments, and conduct methodological research.You can read more on the current activities of the individual Methods Groups and their achievements on pages 52-68.Cochrane continues to transform with an expanded Central Executive Team to take forward Cochrane's organizational Strategy to 2020.Two key components of this strategy this year have been the rebrand project and the structure and function reviews of Cochrane Groups.The rebrand has provided all Groups with individual logos, and we have a distinct logo for Cochrane Methods, see page 3 for further information.We are in the process of conducting a structure and function review on the Cochrane Methods infrastructure, see pageIn this year's Cochrane Methods, David Tovey the Editor-in-Chief sends a personal message to the Cochrane Methods community.We also report on a 'state of the art' series of papers on individual participant data meta-analysis, the Cochrane Methods Innovation Fund, with further funding for seven new projects, progress on the development of reviews prognostic studies, and this year's annual Colloquium Methods Symposium on the concept of 'Evidence-based Methods', see page 7.We have a series of interesting short articles covering the best available methods to calculate the uncertainty around the summary intervention effect and the heterogeneity variance in random-effects meta-analysis, a tool to access the confidence within qualitative evidence synthesis findings, methodological implications from an audit of published Cochrane Reviews, a report of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an alternative format for a 'Summary of findings' table, and two articles covering prioritisation in research.We have an article addressing the challenges of the causal effect of treatment assignment, and one investigating the impact on search strategy precision and sensitivity when focusing Emtree terms to improve searching in Embase.Finally, James Thomas and colleagues contribute a substantive article that introduces text mining and crowdsourcing as combined activities to create review efficiencies.'Project Transform' is a Cochrane funded project.We continue our series of published article abstracts with commentaries, covering a broad range of methodological topics, such as small study effects and evaluating methods for random-effects meta-analysis, outcome completeness, a checklist for prediction modelling studies, and a 'one-stage' logistic regression model for meta-analysis.Other topics include evaluating overviews, reporting in protocols for the planned extraction of data from figures and tables, handling abstracted data, development of a search strategy, intervention synthesis and finally articles addressing research prioritisation, ethics, equity and sex or gender analysis in reviews.We are interested in providing a platform for discussions on topical or highly debated topics.If you have any ideas for contribution, or would like to consider reporting the findings from your study in a future issue of Cochrane Methods, please contact jchandler@cochrane.org.You can also visit methods.cochrane.orgfor updates on Cochrane Methods.We are, as ever, very grateful to the many people who have contributed news items, commentaries, and articles, to this publication.

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