Research Workshop Series with Arshbir Aulakh
Research Director, Med Connect
Recent Graduate, UBC Southern Medical Program (Kelowna)
Join our series of academic sessions hosted by Dr. Arshbir Aulakh, focused on conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. These workshops are designed for students, residents, and early-career researchers interested in building strong foundations in evidence-based research and publication.
The series will be divided into the following categories:
- Introduction to Systematic Reviews
- Developing a focused research question (PICO framework)
- Overview of PRISMA guidelines
- Database searching strategies (PubMed, Embase, Scopus)
- Screening and Data Extraction
- Title, abstract, and full-text screening
- Data extraction templates and reference management
- Using EndNote or Zotero effectively
- Quality Assessment and Risk of Bias
- Applying ROB2, Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and ROBINS-I
- Interpreting bias domains and assessing study quality
- Meta-Analysis Fundamentals
- Understanding fixed and random effects models
- Calculating and interpreting effect sizes (OR, RR, MD, SMD)
- Generating and interpreting forest and funnel plots
- Advanced Statistical Methods
- Assessing heterogeneity (I², τ²)
- Evaluating publication bias (Egger’s, Begg’s tests)
- Conducting subgroup and sensitivity analyses
- Writing and Publication Strategy
- Structuring a PRISMA-compliant manuscript
- Selecting appropriate journals
- Navigating the peer review and revision process
Sign up here to receive the Zoom link for our upcoming workshops:
- October 30, 2025
- November 20, 2025
Sessions are open to all levels of experience. Participants will gain step-by-step guidance, templates, and resources to help them initiate and complete their own systematic reviews and meta-analyses.