Cochrane Library

The Cochrane Library
What is The Cochrane Library?
The Cochrane
Library is the
single most
reliable source
for evidence on
the effects of
health care.
The Cochrane Library offers high-quality evidence for

health care decision making
www.thecochranelibrary.com
What is The Cochrane Library?
• The Cochrane Library (named after Archie Cochrane) is a

collection of databases in medicine and other healthcare
specialties provided by the Cochrane Collaboration and other
organisations.
• 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.
What is the Cochrane Library?
•Evidence based: combining the best research evidence with clinical expertise and
patient values
•Single source: bringing together international research on the effectiveness of

healthcare treatments and interventions
•Extensive: over 6,000 Cochrane systematic reviews and over 650,000 other
records, covering clinical trials, methods, technology and economic evaluations
•Quality: In the most recent Journal Citation Reports publication, The Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews has a 2010 impact factor of 6.186, ranking it 10th
among 151 journals in the category "Medicine, General & Internal"
•Reliable: adhere to a strict methodology to ensure Cochrane reviews are

comprehensive, thus minimizing bias
•Up-to-Date: Cochrane Reviews are updated monthly - ensuring that treatment

decisions can be based on the most up-to-date, reliable evidence
•Easy to use: flexible viewing and searching functionality (including MESH)

The Cochrane Collaboration
Wiley publishes the Cochrane Library for The Cochrane Collaboration
• Structure - established as an international organisation in 1993,

registered as a charity in the U.K.
• Aim - to help people make well-informed decisions about
health care.
• How - by preparing and maintaining, and promoting access to,
systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions.
• Publishing Output – The Cochrane Library
Cochrane Collaboration
A meta analysis of data from seven RCTs
comparing one health care treatment with a placebo
Logo in a forest plot.
The diagram shows the results of a systematic
review and meta analysis on inexpensive course of
corticosteroid given to women about to give birth too
early – the evidence on effectiveness that would
have been revealed had the available RCTs been
reviewed systematically a decade later.
This treatment reduces the odds of the babies of
such women dying from the complications of
immaturity by 30–50%.
Because no systematic review of these trials had
been published until 1989, most obstetricians had
not realized that the treatment was so effective and
therefore many premature babies have probably
suffered or died unnecessarily.
Who is involved in The Cochrane Collaboration?
The members of The Cochrane Collaboration are

organised into groups, known as entities,
of which there are five different types:
• Collaborative Review Groups

• Cochrane Centres
• Method Groups
• Networks or ‘Fields’
• Cochrane Consumer
Who benefits from the Cochrane Library?
Health Professionals at all levels including researchers, policy makers,

clinicians, care givers; and patients.
The Cochrane Library databases...
The Cochrane Library is a collection of evidence-based medicine

databases:
• The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Cochrane Reviews)
Contains all the peer-reviewed systematic reviews and protocols prepared
by the Cochrane Review Groups.
• The Cochrane Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (Other reviews)
Contains quality-assessed abstracts of systematic reviews, including a
summary of the review and a critical commentary of its overall quality.
• The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Clinical trials) Contains
details of published articles taken from bibliographic databases (notable
MEDLINE and EMBASE), and other published and unpublished sources.
• The Cochrane Methodology Register (Methods Studies) Is a bibliography
of publications that report on methods used in the conduct of controlled
trials.
...The Cochrane Library databases
The Cochrane Library is a collection of evidence-based medicine
databases:
• Health Technology Assessment Database (Technology Assessments) Brings
together details of completed and ongoing health technology assessments (studies
of the medical, social, ethical and economic implications of healthcare
interventions) from around the world.
• NHS Economic Evaluation Database (Economic Evaluations) This database
systematically identifies economic evaluations from around the world, appraises
their quality, and highlights their relative strengths and weaknesses.
The Cochrane Reviews, CENTRAL, Methodology Reviews and Methodology Register are
produced by the Cochrane Collaboration. DARE, HTA and NHS EED are compiled and
maintained by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
 Over 6,000 full text

Cochrane reviews and
protocols (html & PDF
format)
 Cochrane reviews adhere
to a strict process,
minimizing bias and
ensuring reliability.
 The process begins with
a protocol – a plan or set of
steps to be followed in a
study.
Cochrane Reviews are now the
“gold standard” for systematic
reviews in such key publications as
• The Lancet
• New England Journal of
Medicine
• British Medical Journal
• Journal of the American
Medical Association
and routinely appear in these as
well as in specialized medical
journals.
Systematic Reviews and Protocols Process
Register title
Cochrane Review
Group
Prepare protocol
(3 months to one year)
Members include: Prepare review

Trial-search coordinators,
hand-searchers, Clinicians, (one to five years)
Librarians and Statisticians
The Cochrane Library Database

(updated quarterly on Wiley InterScience)
Recent Cochrane Library Updates
• Improved Website
• new design for the homepage and related information pages
• new features, including a browse list for the CDSR (by
system, such as “Lungs and airways”), an Editorial, and
Special Collections (to highlight specific groupings of
reviews)
• Increase in Publication Frequency
• the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the
About The Cochrane Collaboration database, is now
published monthly (from January 2010)
• remaining five databases of The Cochrane Library continue
to be published on a quarterly basis
Cochrane Journal Club
The latest evidence – examined by the world’s leading
experts
•free, monthly publication that introduces a recent Cochrane

review
•includes:
•relevant background information
•a podcast explaining the key points of the review
•discussion questions to help you to explore the review
•methods and findings in more detail
•downloadable PowerPoint slides containing key figures
and tables.
www.cochranejournalclub.com
Strengths of The Cochrane Library
on Wiley InterScience
• Reviews and Protocols are available in HTML and PDF formats

• The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is updated
monthly.
• Wiley InterScience provides extensive linking including CrossRef.
• Wiley InterScience includes a comments and feedback function
to allow users to communicate with the Cochrane Review
Groups.
• Counter compliant usage statistics are available.
• Free online training is available.
www.thecochranelibrary.com

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The Cochrane Library

What is The Cochrane Library?

The Cochrane Library offers high-quality evidence for

• The Cochrane Library (named after Archie Cochrane) is a

•Single source: bringing together international research on the effectiveness of

•Reliable: adhere to a strict methodology to ensure Cochrane reviews are

•Up-to-Date: Cochrane Reviews are updated monthly - ensuring that treatment

•Easy to use: flexible viewing and searching functionality (including MESH)

• Structure - established as an international organisation in 1993,

The members of The Cochrane Collaboration are

• Collaborative Review Groups

Health Professionals at all levels including researchers, policy makers,

The Cochrane Library is a collection of evidence-based medicine

 Over 6,000 full text

Members include: Prepare review

The Cochrane Library Database

•free, monthly publication that introduces a recent Cochrane

• Reviews and Protocols are available in HTML and PDF formats

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