UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

The role of systematic reviews of qualitative evidence in evaluating interventions: a case study

Lorenc, T; Pearson, M; Jamal, F; Cooper, C; Garside, R; (2012) The role of systematic reviews of qualitative evidence in evaluating interventions: a case study. Research Synthesis Methods , 3 (1) 1 - 10. 10.1002/jrsm.1036. Green open access

[thumbnail of Lorenc_et_al_2012_SRs_of_qualitative_evidence.pdf]
Preview
PDF
Lorenc_et_al_2012_SRs_of_qualitative_evidence.pdf

Download (177kB)

Abstract

Systematic reviews of qualitative evidence have been widely used to provide information on the context and implementation of interventions, and their potential barriers and facilitators. However, such reviews face a number of methodological challenges, and there are ongoing debates as to how qualitative evidence can best be used to inform our understanding of interventions. In this paper, we use a case study of two systematic reviews of qualitative evidence on the prevention of skin cancer to explore these issues. We find that qualitative evidence not directly related to interventions is likely to be of value for such reviews, that it is often not possible to construct fully comprehensive search strategies, and that there are diminishing returns to the synthesis, in terms of added value or insight, from the inclusion of large numbers of primary studies. We conclude that there are a number of ways in which systematic reviews of qualitative evidence can be utilised in conjunction with evidence on intervention effectiveness, without compromising the rigour of the review process. In particular, the use of theory to inform frameworks for synthesis is a promising way to integrate a broader range of qualitative evidence.

Type: Article
Title: The role of systematic reviews of qualitative evidence in evaluating interventions: a case study
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/jrsm.1036
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1036
Language: English
Additional information: This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: The role of systematic reviews of qualitative evidence in evaluating interventions: a case study, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jrsm.1036/abstract;jsessionid=B29E2A923EE91A991DBA4029518674C0.f03t01
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1410639
Downloads since deposit
493Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item