An eye for quality sees methodologist enter the Highly Cited list
We’re excited to see one of our shining stars of research enter the Clarivate Highly Cited list for the first time. Dr Matthew Page has built a career in systematic review methodology, and his work leading a 2020 update of PRISMA guidelines has driven his name up this list, with the paper currently having 70,000+ citations.
Researchers on the list have authored multiple Highly Cited Papers which rank in the top 1% by citations for their field(s) and publication year in the Web of Science over the past decade.
Dr Page is one of the many people in academia who almost stumbled across their career interest, rather than having a targeted plan. After studying undergraduate psychology at University, he took a year off to get some different work experience before returning to qualify as a clinical psychologist. Nearly 16 years later, he’s still on ‘the year off’.
“I found a job at Cochrane Australia, and loved it. I was helping them as a Research Assistant, working on systematic reviews, so I really learnt the ropes around them. Most of them were around musculoskeletal health, which was totally new to me, and I was learning things around hip replacements and carpal tunnel syndrome, and that constant learning was great fun for me.
“The experience also taught me about the importance of having someone with methodological expertise – which is what I was developing – working alongside the people with clinical or subject matter expertise, in order to produce really rigorous systematic reviews.
“That model also means I’m continuing to tap into that fascinating range of subjects that I enjoy. I’ve had the pleasure of working on reviews for subjects as diverse as testosterone replacement therapy in menopausal women, through to how to get people to switch from using cars to bicycles for transport.”
One of the people he met during his stint at Cochrane Australia was Prof Joanne McKenzie, who has gone onto act as his PhD supervisor, and has since brought Matthew on as the Deputy of her own research Unit.
“She really helped me understand that methodology was a career field in itself – the art and skill of devising new methods, advocating for standardisation, creating methodological guidelines, and researching how people use different methods for systematic reviews.”
Three years after starting with Cochrane Australia, Matthew began to yearn for the ability to lead his own grant applications, thereby setting his own research agenda.
“Initially I was drawn to doing a Master of Biostatistics, but to be honest maths wasn’t my strong suit in School, and after a couple of conversations with people in the field, I realised I could do a PhD in methodology, and that might be better suited to my natural talents. In hindsight, I’m so glad I worked that one through!
“I absolutely loved doing my PhD. There were of course periods of stress, but for the most part, it was brilliant. It gave me the chance to travel internationally to attend conferences, and I met some really renowned methodologists who’ve become important mentors and collaborators for me over the years.”
That’s included a two-year stint as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Bristol, under well regarded meta-analysts Julian Higgins and Jonathan Sterne. His time with them further drove his interest in academic rigour in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
The PRISMA guidelines are the gold standard internationally for how these analyses should be conducted, and how the manuscripts should be prepared. A Canadian consortium was the first to create the guidelines back in 2009, and Matthew saw an opportunity to update them.
“I and some others looked at a large sample of published reviews, and it was clear that many were falling short of the PRISMA guidelines – missing the search methods, or the number of studies included, lots of gaps. So I approached the Canadian team with this, saying that while their work was great, it hadn’t really had the desired effect or reach. A few major things had advanced since 2009 as well, so I put myself forward to lead an update, should they be happy with that. Lucky for me, they were.”
Matthew and Joanne co-led the update, alongside a team of 25 core experts they brought together. The team conducted surveys with methodologists around the world to seek input, ran a series of consensus meetings, and consolidated their learnings into the PRISMA 2020 statement, which currently sits at over 70,000+ citations, bringing Matthew into the Clarivate Highly Cited list for the first time.
But the work doesn’t finish there.
“The citations are great, but they don’t necessarily mean that the people citing our paper are following the guidelines, or that publishers and editors are using them to assess submissions. We still need to do an evaluation of uptake, and see if it’s raised the needle on the quality of published reviews.
“But it was clear after the 2009 guideline release that a strong implementation plan was the missing ingredient, and in the meantime, that’s become my focus. I’ve been funded through a couple of different NHMRC grants to get started on this. We’re working on developing web applications that’ll provide templates to help authors write better reviews from the start, and AI-enabled models that can help busy journal editors scrutinise manuscripts more easily.”
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