The inclusion of reports of randomised trials published in languages other than English in systematic reviews
Health Technology AssessmentPublished 1 December 2003Open access
David Moher, B Pham, Margaret L. Lawson, Terry P. Klassen
Citations477
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.36
SNIP1.69
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TL;DR
It is suggested that excluding reports of RCTs in LOE from the analytical part of a systematic review is reasonable, and language inclusive/LOE systematic reviews appear to be a marker for a better quality systematic review.
Abstract
With the exception of CAM systematic reviews, the quality of recently published systematic reviews is less than optimal. Language inclusive/LOE systematic reviews appear to be a marker for a better quality systematic review. Language restrictions do not appear to bias the estimates of a conventional intervention's effectiveness. However, there is substantial bias in the results of a CAM systematic review if LOE reports are excluded from it.
Keywords
Social SciencesDecision SciencesMedicine
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