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This multidisciplinary database provides access to articles from journals, magazines, and reference sources across all subject areas. Coverage is primarily from 1980 to the present, with some older content.
Meta Analysis: Works consisting of studies using a quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc. It is often an overview of clinical trials. It is usually called a meta-analysis by the author or sponsoring body and should be differentiated from reviews of literature. (MeSH definition)
Review Article: Systematic reviews provide the strongest type of evidence, as the authors attempt to find all research on a topic, published and unpublished. The authors then combine the research into a single analysis. Keep in mind that systematic reviews are different than review articles. While systematic reviews are conducted to answer a specific clinical foreground question, review articles provide a broad overview on a topic to answer background questions. Another difference is that the literature search for review articles does not attempt to find all existing knowledge on a topic.
Experimental Article: Experimental design is when investigators apply an external factor (treatment, intervention, program, etc.) to the experimental group and observe the outcomes. Features include an intervention, a control group, randomization to intervention or control group, & manipulation of independent variable.Randomized controlled trials are the "gold standard" of experimental articles.
Quasi-experimental design is similar but may lack a control group, randomization, and only includes some manipulation of independent variable. Study types include: Non-equivalent control group: post-test only or pre-test--post-test; one group: post test only or pre-test--post-test; time series; untreated control, repeated measures; repeated treatment where subjects serve as their own controls; crossover design.
Case Study: Considered non-experimental, case studies may have an intervention but no random assignment to a group, no control group, and no manipulation of independent variables. They are sometimes described as "telling stories."