A report from the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Standards for Systematic Reviews of Comparative Effectiveness Research, this study, one of two requested by Congress in 2008, identifies a set of standards for conducting systematic reviews of comparative clinical effectiveness research on health and healthcare. It aims to assess potential methodological standards that would assure objective, transparent, and scientifically valid reviews of research, meant to inform everyday healthcare decision making, especially high-stakes clinical questions with broad population impact. It outlines 21 standards, and their elements, for initiating and reporting a systematic review, finding and assessing individual studies, and synthesizing the body of evidence, concluding with recommendations for improving their quality. There is no index. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)