Table 1 Definitions of transferability and related terms in the context of systematic reviews of effects
From: Systematic mapping of checklists for assessing transferability
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Transferability | Whether when implementing an intervention in a particular setting or population, the level of effectiveness of the intervention (i.e., the effect size) will be similar to that observed in the systematic review. Both absolute and relative effects should be considered. |
Applicability | Whether the findings of a review can be applied in a particular context or population. This includes consideration of the feasibility of implementing the intervention and variation in intervention fidelity, population characteristics, context, culture, values, and preferences. |
Directness | One of five criteria in the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework for assessing the overall quality of a body of evidence. Four types of directness (or indirectness) are considered: differences between the (1) population, (2) intervention or (3) outcomes of interest and those in studies, and (4) indirect comparisons (i.e., when there are no studies directly comparing two or more interventions of interest, and authors compare those interventions indirectly using evidence from different studies). |
External validity | The extent to which results provide a correct basis for generalizations to other circumstances. For instance, a meta-analysis of trials of elderly patients may not be generalizable to children. |
Extrapolation | The process of generalizing results to circumstances beyond the original observations. Also see external validity |
Generalizability | See external validity. |
Internal validity | The extent to which a review has minimized potential sources of bias and, in doing so, answered the review question “correctly.” |