The Cochrane Library (named after Archie Cochrane) is a collection of databases in medicine and other healthcare specialties provided by Cochrane and other organizations. At its core is the collection of Cochrane Reviews, a database of systematic reviews and meta-analyses which summarize and interpret the results of medical research. The Cochrane Library aims to make the results of well-conducted controlled trials readily available and is a key resource in evidence-based medicine.
The Cochrane Library is a subscription-based database, originally published by Update Software and now published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. as part of Wiley Online Library. In many countries, including parts of Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, New Zealand, Australia, India, South Africa, and Poland, it has been made available free to all residents by "national provision" (typically a government or Department of Health pays for the license). There are also arrangements for free access in much of Latin America and in "low-income countries", typically via HINARI. All countries have free access to two-page abstracts of all Cochrane Reviews and to short plain-language summaries of selected articles.
Cochrane Reviews appear to be relatively underused in the United States for two reasons:
because public access to Cochrane Library in the USA is limited (the state of Wyoming is an exception, having paid for a licence to enable free access to Cochrane Reviews for all residents of Wyoming).
the government-funded U.S. National Library of Medicine maintains an alternative database MEDLINE, which is 100%-free of charge to everyone, and has a significantly larger coverage than Cochrane.
From 26 March to 26 May 2020, the Cochrane Library provided temporary unrestricted access to everyone in every country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cochrane Library consists of the following databases after significant changes in 2018:
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Cochrane Reviews).
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A systematic review is a scholarly synthesis of the evidence on a clearly presented topic using critical methods to identify, define and assess research on the topic. A systematic review extracts and interprets data from published studies on the topic, then analyzes, describes, and summarizes interpretations into a refined conclusion. For example, a systematic review of randomized controlled trials is a way of summarizing and implementing evidence-based medicine.
A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic within a certain discipline. A review article is generally considered a secondary source since it may analyze and discuss the method and conclusions in previously published studies. It resembles a survey article or, in news publishing, overview article, which also surveys and summarizes previously published primary and secondary sources, instead of reporting new facts and results.
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting measurements that are expected to have some degree of error. The aim then is to use approaches from statistics to derive a pooled estimate closest to the unknown common truth based on how this error is perceived. It is thus a basic methodology of Metascience.
Perioptic meningiomas, defined as those that are less than 3 mm from the optic apparatus, are challenging to treat with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Tumor control must be weighed against the risk of radiation-induced optic neuropathy (RION), as both tu ...
New York2023
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in working from home worldwide, making the workfrom-home (WFH) setting a crucial context for studying the influence of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on workers' well-being and productivity. A nar ...
PurposeTo perform a systematic review of literature specific to single-fraction stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for large vestibular schwannomas (VS), maximum diameter >= 2.5 cm and/or classified as Koos Grade IV, and to present consensus recommendations o ...