As QESs become plentiful, and increasing numbers of authors contemplate the need to update their own QES, the need for more guidance on how to conduct an update becomes self-evident. Guidance exists for meta-ethnographies but examples remain few. Thematic synthesis and Framework synthesis lack formal guidance on updates and carry different considerations, particularly in view of the differing roles of theory and ever-vocal encouragement to consider sampling approaches. The presenter has been engaging with many of these issues while working on guidance for the forthcoming Cochrane Handbook for Qualitative Systematic Reviews.
He will start by taking the audience back to a consideration of why updates might be needed in the first place. He will then consider some of the indications for when (and when not) to update a QES, before outlining different models of update and rehearsing which of these models is most appropriate for each different type of synthesis. Issues of sampling and study richness will be briefly considered. Finally, he will conclude with current thinking on when reviewers might build on the pre-existing reviews of themselves and others such as the review of reviews (i.e. a review of multiple QES) and the living QES. This session seeks to offer practical advice illustrated with plentiful examples.
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