Module 6 : Assessing Risk of Bias

Abstract

The sixth module in the series The Essentials of Conducting Systematic Reviews explores risk of bias and how it’s assessed during systematic reviews. Within the timeline of a systematic review, risk of bias assessments occurs after or concurrently with data extraction.

At the end of this module, learners will be able to:

1. Define bias and risk of bias in the context of research studies;

2. Explain the importance of risk of bias assessments in systematic reviews;

3. Describe the key steps involved in the risk of bias assessment process;

4. Identify commonly used tools for assessing risk of bias for different study designs.