We work in a wide range of methodological areas related to research synthesis, including:

Meta-analysis methods

• We have worked particularly in the areas of heterogeneity, meta-regression, network meta-analysis, multiple outcomes/effect sizes, individual participant data, genetic association and Bayesian methods
• We co-authored the textbook Introduction to Meta-analysis
• We co-edited the textbook Systematic Reviews in Health Research: Meta-analysis in Context (3rd edition)

Risk of bias assessment methods

• Risk of bias in randomized trials:
  • RoB 2 (revised version) (main paper, tool web site, Cochrane Handbook chapter)
  • Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool (original version) (main paper, evaluation, Cochrane Handbook [historic] chapter)
• Risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions: ROBINS-I (main paper, tool web site, Cochrane Handbook chapter)
• Risk of bias in non-randomized (observational) studies of exposure effects: ROBINS-E (tool web site)
• Risk of bias due to missing evidence (from non-reporting biases: ROB-ME (tool web site, Cochrane Handbook chapter)
• Risk of bias in systematic reviews: ROBIS (main paper, tool web site)
• Risk of bias in diagnostic text accuracy studies: QUADAS 2 (main paper, tool web site)
• Risk of bias in prognostic studies: PROBAST (main paper; explanation and elaboration paper)

Meta-epidemiology

• Empirical evidence of bias in randomized trials
• Empirical evidence of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions
• Empirical evidence of heterogeneity across multiple meta-analyses

‘Rapid’ reviews and automation in research synthesis

• Methods and frameworks for resource-constrained reviews
• We developed automation methods for risk for bias assessment
• We work on text mining, with particular application to literature on cancer mechanisms

General systematic review methods

• Question formulation
• Search methods
• Data extraction
• Assessing confidence in a body of evidence
• We co-edit the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions

Applications

We work on numerous systematic reviews in collaboration with colleagues in the School and elsewhere, as part of projects funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), World Health Organization, European Union, Cancer Research UK, and others. Major ongoing programmes of reviews include:

• The Evidence theme of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West (ARC West)
• The systematic reviews work package tackling cancer mechanisms as part of the Cancer Research UK Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Programme
• The systematic review programme within the Evidence Synthesis theme of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation