Assessing the risk of bias in the primary studies acknowledges the varying quality of included studies, and is used to guide the interpretation of findings and determine the extent to which inferences can be made from the results. The impact of including low, medium and high quality studies could be assessed in an investigation of heterogeneity. Quality assessment tools are numerous and specific to the type of study design. Some agencies will specify the tool to be used in the systematic reviews they commission/review, and other agencies will be open to discussion about the quality assessment tool to be used.
How to cite: Risk of Bias [online]. (2016). York; York Health Economics Consortium; 2016. https://yhec.co.uk/glossary/risk-of-bias/