What evidence synthesis is and why it matters for evidence-informed policy · Evidence hierarchies: why systematic reviews outrank single studies and expert opinion · Types of reviews: systematic, scoping, rapid, narrative, realist, umbrella, and living · When to conduct a review: feasibility assessment and avoiding duplication · Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations: structure, resources, and standards · 3ie Development Evidence Portal (DEP) and the global evidence ecosystem · PROSPERO and OSF: international registers — why pre-registration is mandatory · Publication bias and its consequences for policy recommendations

PICO framework: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome · PICOS and PECO: adding Study design and Exposure · Eligibility criteria: inclusion and exclusion — explicit, exhaustive, and reproducible · Writing a systematic review protocol to Cochrane standard · Registering on PROSPERO: step-by-step guide and common errors to avoid · Managing scope: too broad vs too narrow — finding the right balance · Review team roles: responsibilities and conflict of interest disclosure · Realistic timeline planning: milestones for a 6–18 month review · Hands-on lab: write and register a complete protocol on OSF

Why sensitivity matters more than precision in systematic searching · Bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, EconLit, SSRN, 3ie DEP · Boolean operators, truncation, wildcards, and MeSH term mapping · Constructing a search string from PICO to a multi-database strategy · Grey literature: government reports, thesis databases, conference proceedings · Citation searching: forward (citing) and backward (reference lists) · Reference management: Zotero and Mendeley — deduplication and organisation · Screening: Rayyan, Covidence, and Abstrackr — dual independent screening · Inter-rater reliability: Cohen’s kappa and acceptable agreement thresholds · PRISMA 2020 flow diagram: documenting every stage of search and selection · Hands-on lab: multi-database search + PRISMA 2020 flow diagram

Designing a standardised data extraction form with all required fields · Piloting data extraction: testing on two studies before full extraction · Handling missing data: author contact, assumptions, and sensitivity analysis · Risk of Bias — RCTs: Cochrane RoB 2.0 — five domains and signalling questions · Risk of Bias — non-randomised studies: ROBINS-I tool — seven domains · Qualitative studies: CASP checklist and GRADE-CERQual framework · Mixed-methods: MMAT (Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool) · Publication bias: funnel plot asymmetry, Egger’s test, and trim-and-fill · GRADE framework: rating certainty of evidence — high to very low · Hands-on lab: extract data from 5 RCTs and complete RoB 2.0 for each

When to pool: clinical and statistical heterogeneity assessment · Heterogeneity statistics: I², Cochran’s Q, and τ² (between-study variance) · Effect size measures: SMD (Cohen’s d, Hedges’ g), odds ratio, risk ratio · Fixed-effect model: inverse-variance weighting and assumptions · Random-effects model: DerSimonian-Laird and REML estimators · Forest plots: construction, weights, diamonds, and confidence intervals · Subgroup analysis: pre-specified vs post-hoc and interaction tests · Meta-regression: explaining heterogeneity with study-level covariates · Sensitivity analysis: one-study-removed and influence analysis · Network meta-analysis: introduction to multi-intervention comparison · Software: RevMan 5, R (meta and metafor packages), and Stata (metan) · Hands-on lab: complete meta-analysis in R — forest plot and I² interpretation

PRISMA 2020 checklist: all 27 items for complete, transparent reporting · Writing the methods section: sufficient detail for independent replication · Writing results: narrative synthesis alongside statistical meta-analytic results · Writing discussion: limitations, applicability, and policy implications · Summary of Findings (SoF) tables: Cochrane format with GRADE ratings · Policy briefs from systematic reviews: 3ie, J-PAL, and WWC formats · Academic publication: Cochrane Library, Campbell Reviews, and peer-reviewed journals · Living systematic reviews: concept, maintenance schedule, and published examples · Capstone: submit a PROSPERO/OSF-registered protocol for a real policy question

Design, conduct, and report a systematic review to Cochrane and Campbell standards · Execute comprehensive search strategies across bibliographic and grey literature · Conduct meta-analyses in R, produce forest plots, and interpret heterogeneity · Apply GRADE to rate certainty of evidence and communicate findings to policymakers · Achieve a credential benchmarked against Cochrane, 3ie, Campbell, and PROSPERO standards

Complete all 6 modules, pass a 55-question proctored examination (minimum 75%), submit a protocol registered on PROSPERO or OSF, and complete a meta-analysis exercise producing a forest plot and GRADE Summary of Findings table.

Evidence Synthesis Specialist, Systematic Reviewer, Research Analyst, Policy Analyst, Public Health Researcher, WHO/World Bank/3ie/J-PAL Research Staff. Average starting salary: $55,000–$90,000 USD.