Introduction to Qualitative Evidence Synthesis Methods

This will be a one-day course 9am-5pm with live online sessions 9-3pm. There will be live interactive presentations followed by small group practical exercises, whole class discussion and a final live Q&A. There will be some pre-recorded worked examples to watch after the live session.

By the end of the course participants should be able to:

1. understand the different approaches to systematic review and synthesis of qualitative evidence; and
2. identify key tools, resources and literature to support the conduct of a systematic review and synthesis of qualitative evidence.

This course is aimed at those who have completed training in qualitative research methods and/or have experience of conducting qualitative research and are interested in the methods for systematic synthesis of qualitative evidence.

This course will cover:

1. Introduction to qualitative evidence synthesis
- Nature of qualitative evidence
- Types of qualitative syntheses
- Formulating a qualitative synthesis research question
2. Searching, Screening & Data Extraction for QES
- Tailoring a search for QES
- Screening issues in QES
- Data extraction issues in QES
3. Quality appraisal for QES
- Nature of qualitative evidence & implications for critical appraisal
- Available tools for appraisal of qualitative evidence
- Debate & evidence around critical appraisal in QES
4. Synthesis Methods for QES
- Different approaches to synthesis
- Nature of qualitative evidence & implications for synthesis
- Thematic synthesis (process, challenges, worked example)

Dr Christie Cabral is a member of the Bristol Evidence Synthesis Group and has published several qualitative evidence syntheses.

To make sure the course is suitable for you and you will benefit from attending, please ensure you meet the following prerequisites before booking:

Before booking this course, please make sure you read the information provided above about the target audience and prerequisites. It is important that you have access to the relevant IT resources needed for the course and meet the knowledge prerequisites to ensure you can get the most from the course.

Bookings are taken via our online booking system, for which you must register an account. To check if you are eligible for free or discounted courses please see our fees and voucher packs page. All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions, which can be read in full How to pay your short course fees..

For help and support with booking a course refer to our here, booking information page or feel free to FAQs directly. For available payment options please see: contact us

Participants are granted access to our virtual learning platform (Blackboard Ultra) 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the course. This allows time for any pre-course work to be completed and to familiarise with the platform.

To gain the most from the course, we recommend that you attend in full and participate in all interactive components. We endeavour to record all live lecture sessions and upload these to the online learning environment within 24 hours. This allows course participants to review these sessions at leisure and revisit them multiple times. Please note that we do not record breakout sessions.

All course participants retain access to the online learning materials and recordings for 5 months after the course. 

University of Bristol staff and postgraduate students who do not wish to attend the full course may instead register for access to the 'Materials & Recordings' version of this course: Further information and bookings.

93% of attendees recommend this course*.
*Attendee feedback 2026.

Here is a sample of feedback from the last run of the course:

“Christie is a great lecturer - very clear and very natural. I thought the length of the course worked really well as a 1 day “taster”.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“Engaging course, enjoyed the practical elements as well.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“Enthusiastic delivery, good illustrative examples, great signposting for further resources.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“Good split of lectures to breakout rooms to break up the day and enable greater engagement for an online course. Good pace of lectures.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“Great overview, lots of background information on different approaches and methods.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“I appreciated the pace of the different segments and the coherence that came from having it all from one speaker. I felt the break-out activities were very useful and built on each other well.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“I enjoyed the lectures and thought they gave a good grounding in QES methods.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“I really appreciated the strong theoretical background provided in the training, as well as the inclusion of practical group exercises. These helped reinforce the concepts and encouraged collaboration.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“I thought the information was clear and it was a really useful introduction to QES and where I could find tools to conduct this methodology in the future.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“Knowledgeable and approachable trainer. Well paced, covered quite a lot of ground. Good mix of lectures/listening and participation. I liked working with the same breakout colleagues for a few sessions earlier on.” - Course feedback, March 2026

“The live lectures were great. The content was well thought through. The delivery of the lectures and Q&A sessions was great. It was helpful that the lecturer 'visited' breakout rooms to check on progress and help with any questions.” - Course feedback, March 2026