Synthesizing and Applying Evidence, 6 credits

A Bachelor's degree or a professional degree equivalent to a Swedish Bachelor's degree of at least 180 credits. And proficiency in English equivalent to English B/English 6. To enter into this course, students must have passed An Introduction to Global Health, Global Burden of Disease and Health Systems and Policy in Practice. 

After the course, the student should be able to: 

• Explain principles, strengths, limitations and key concepts related to systematic and scoping reviews. 
• Independently formulate study hypotheses suitable for being answered with review methodologies. 
• Conduct a systematic literature search. 
• Reflect on the use of meta-analysis and other forms of meta-synthesis in reviews. 
• Critically assess and evaluate the quality of published systematic and scoping reviews 
• Create a study protocol to perform a systematic or scoping review. 
• Communicate the results of literature reviews to different target audiences. 
• Discuss ethical considerations in systematic and scoping reviews. 

In this elective course, students learn about the principles and methods of systematic and scoping reviews, which are essential tools for synthesising evidence in global health. Students will now explore the strengths and limitations of review methodologies and develop practical skills in conducting systematic literature searches, data extraction, and quality assessment. They will draw on their knowledge of how research questions are constructed when learning how to frame questions suited to systematic reviews.   

Students will be introduced to meta-analysis and other forms of meta-synthesis, reflecting on how these methods contribute to evidence-based decision-making in global health. In doing so, they will build on their learnings of qualitative and quantitative research methods, to see how meta-syntheses can be used to combine the results of multiple studies to form broader conclusions. The course also covers the development of study protocols for systematic or scoping reviews, providing students with opportunities to apply their knowledge practically.  

The course further examines how systematic reviews can be used in evidence summaries, be communicated to different target audiences and how they inform policy decisions. By the end of the course, students will have developed the skills to conduct thorough reviews and understand how they contribute to evidence-based global health initiatives. Additionally, they will be prepared to engage with ethical challenges related to systematic and scoping reviews and ensure their work upholds the high standards of rigour and accountability required in global health research. 

The teaching methods include lectures, seminars, discussion of review articles, peer reviews, and writing a review protocol. 

The course is examined based on individual assignments (graded fail or pass), including the writing of a review protocol (graded fail, pass or pass with distinction). For pass with distinction on the course, students need to pass all assignments and obtain pass with distinction on the review protocol. 

Compulsory participation
Participation in seminars, discussions of review articles and peer reviews is compulsory.

The examiner assesses if, and in that case how, absence from compulsory educational elements can be compensated for. Before the student has participated in the compulsory educational elements or compensated the absence in accordance with the examiner's instructions, the final course results will not be reported. Absence from a compulsory educational component may imply that the student cannot compensate for the missed compulsory educational element until the next time the course is given.

Limitation of number of occasions to write the exam
Students who have not passed the regular examination are entitled to participate in five more examinations. If the student has not passed the exam after four participations, he/she is encouraged to visit the study advisor. If the student has failed six examinations/tests, no additional examination or new admission is provided. The number of times that the student has participated in one and the same examination is regarded as an examination session. Submission of a blank examination is also regarded as an examination. An examination for which the student registered but did not participate in will not be counted as an examination.

If there are special grounds, or a need for adaptation for a student with a disability, the examiner may decide to deviate from the syllabus's regulations on the examination form, the number of examination opportunities, the possibility of supplementation or exemptions from the compulsory section/s of the course etc. Content and learning outcomes as well as the level of expected skills, knowledge and abilities may not be changed, removed or reduced.

Examination will be provided during a time of two years after a possible cancellation of the course. Examination can take place according to an earlier literature list during a time of one year after the date when a major renewal of the literature list has been made.

The course language is English.

Course evaluation is carried out according to the guidelines that are established by the Committee for Higher Education.