Systematic Reviews for Complex Policy Issues

After successfully completing the course, you’ll be able to:
plan a systematic review of research so as to address a complex policy or practice issue in a field such as public health, education, social care, criminology and social and international development
explain the rationale behind different designs for systematic reviews and evaluate those presented by researchers, including those that include maps of the nature and extent of a broad body of research as well as those that synthesise research findings to develop theories of change and/or increase certainty about the effects of planned initiatives
select from a range of systematic approaches to searching for, identifying, describing, appraising and synthesising relevant studies in order to map the characteristics of existing studies, or configure or aggregate study findings
identify a range of research techniques and tools for helping ensure the relevance of a review’s findings to stakeholders and assuring a review’s methodological quality, and be able to appraise existing reviews on this basis

This course is for:
students who are planning a career in research or policy
experienced researchers, policymakers and practitioners in public and voluntary services
The course is relevant to a range of disciplines and public policy sectors - such as public health, education, social care, criminology and social and international development.

You can request a certificate after you complete the course.