Cochrane Methodology reviews are published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review (CDSR) alongside the more usual Cochrane reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions. They are produced by one of the Cochrane Review Groups: the Cochrane Methodology Review Group, based in Oslo, Norway. Cochrane Methodology reviews have a similar structure to Intervention reviews, but with a few subtle changes to their section headings, to reflect the fact that they cover studies assessing the methodology of research in health and social care, rather than the care itself. They are preceded by published protocols and produced with the same rigour and attention to detail as Cochrane reviews of health care. For example, evidence from methodological research is included or excluded on the basis of explicit criteria. Each review covers a specific and well-defined area of methodology and data from included studies might be combined statistically to increase the power of the findings. In such cases, the review may include graphs or tables presenting the data from each individual study, along with the overall average.
The preparation of a review with the required format is facilitated by the use of Review Manager (RevMan) software. In this appendix, which repeats much of the content of Chapter 4 (for Cochrane Intervention reviews), we discuss the content of the entire review (or protocol) and outline what should appear in each section. Extensive references to other chapters in the Handbook are included to signpost advice relevant to each section.