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Build a data extraction form from the items the Cochrane Handbook recommends collecting, add your review-specific items, and download it as a Word form or an Excel-ready sheet.
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| Record details | |
|---|---|
| Study ID (first author, year) | |
| Report(s) used | |
| Extractor name | |
| Date of extraction | |
| Eligibility | |
| Eligible for the review (yes/no) | |
| Reason for exclusion | |
| Study methods | |
| Study design | |
| Single or multicentre (number of centres) | |
| Recruitment and sampling | |
| Enrolment dates and length of follow-up | |
| Methods to control bias (randomization, concealment, blinding, or confounding control) | |
| Handling of missing data | |
| Unit of analysis and statistical methods | |
| Funding source | |
| Authors' conflicts of interest | |
| Participants | |
| Setting | |
| Country / region | |
| Eligibility and diagnostic criteria | |
| Number randomized or enrolled | |
| Age | |
| Sex / gender | |
| Other baseline characteristics | |
| Interventions | |
| Intervention description (components, dose, timing, frequency, duration) | |
| Comparator description | |
| Co-interventions | |
| Fidelity / adherence | |
| Outcomes | |
| Outcome name and definition | |
| Measurement tool (and range, direction) | |
| Time points | |
| Adverse events | |
| Results | |
| Number analysed per group | |
| Withdrawals and exclusions | |
| Summary data per group (e.g. events/total, mean and SD) | |
| Effect estimate with 95% CI | |
| Other | |
| Key conclusions of the authors | |
| Notes | |
Items are based on the Cochrane Handbook checklist of data to collect. Pilot the form on two or three studies with two extractors, then refine it before full extraction.
Grouped as study methods, participants, interventions, outcomes and results.
For example device type or wear time.
Test the form on a few studies before full extraction.
The Cochrane Handbook lists the information to consider collecting: details of the extraction itself, eligibility, study methods, participants, interventions, outcomes and results, plus funding and conflicts of interest.
Piloting the form with two extractors on a few studies helps make sure items are clear and complete before extraction starts.
Independent extraction by two people reduces errors, especially for outcome data used in meta-analysis.
A Word form suits detailed notes per study; a spreadsheet makes it easy to compare studies and import data into analysis software.