Module 7: Interpreting the findings

90-120 minutes

What you can expect to learn (learning outcomes)

This module will teach you to:

Understand confidence intervals in the interpretation of results of meta-analysis
Identify ways of re-expressing the standardized mean difference
Interpret a funnel plot asymmetry
Determine the certainty of the evidence
Decide on rating up a body of evidence

Authors, contributors, and how to cite this module

Module 7 has been written and compiled by:

Dario Sambunjak, Miranda Cumpston and Chris Watts, Cochrane Central Executive Team..

Matthew J. Page, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, UK, and School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia.

Nancy Santesso, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.

This module should be cited as: Sambunjak D, Cumpston M, Watts C, Page MJ, Santesso N. Module 7: Interpreting the findings. In: Cochrane Interactive Learning: Conducting an intervention review. Cochrane, 2017. Available from https://training.cochrane.org/interactivelearning/module-7-interpreting-findings.

Update and feedback

The module was last updated in January 2025.

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