This training website is an archived version, for the up to date information please go to https://cochrane.org/learn.

Dichotomous and continuous outcomes


This session, part of the Statistical analysis in systematic reviews series, explored two types of outcome data - dichotomous and continuous data - commonly found in studies and discussed how to collect and calculate appropriate effect measures.

For dichotomous outcomes, the presenter focused on risk ratio, odds ratio, and risk difference, while for continuous outcomes, mean difference and standardized mean difference were covered. The session also addressed challenges that arise when outcomes are reported differently across studies.

This webinar was primarily aimed at Cochrane authors and trainers from Lower Middle Income Countries (LMICs). It was delivered in June 2025 and below you will find the videos from the webinar, together with the accompanying slides to download [PDF].

Part 1: Presentation
Part 2: Questions and answers


Presenter Bio

Dr Joseph Alvin Ramos Santos is a biostatistician and researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI). He is also a Co-Convenor of the Cochrane Statistical Methods Group. His primary research interest in evidence synthesis includes the application of Bayesian methods in pooling effect measures across studies. 


Part 1: Presentation


Part 2: Questions and answers


Additional materials

Download the slides from the webinar [PDF]