There’s some good news for researchers working on systematic reviews: the new (sixth) edition of the Cochrane Handbook is now available online. This replaces the fifth edition, and there are some important updates, particularly some new material on qualitative and/or mixed methods approaches to systematic reviews. Previous editions of the Handbook did not cover qualitative systematic reviews.

We recommend having a look at the the new Handbook and familiarising yourself with its contents, as it will be highly useful guidance when planning your next systematic review. We have also updated the systematic reviews resources section of our website with a link to the new Handbook.