QuEST Opportunities for Students
Graduate students from the following U.S.-based P3 universities are eligible for QuEST opportunities:
- Georgia State University
- Howard University
- The University of Texas at San Antonio
The QuEST program offers graduate students at U.S.-based AIR Pipeline Partnership Program (P3) universities multiple learning pathways to advance their knowledge and skills in quantitative evidence synthesis methodology.
The 2026 program offerings include a virtual learning opportunity and a fully funded week-long, in-person training geared toward students, and additional support for in-person training participants as they incorporate evidence synthesis into their research.
The QuEST Team looks forward to hearing your questions and comments. Send us an email.
PAST EVENT
A Beginner’s Guide to Systematic Evidence Reviews
27 FEBRUARY 2026
This 90-minute virtual learning event for graduate students at P3 universities covered the basics of systematic evidence reviews and introduced free tools that are available for review projects. Topics included developing answerable questions, making projections about (and then refining) the review scope, and using well-established frameworks to search and screen relevant literature.
After the webinar, students learned more about the opportunity to attend a fully funded in-person training on quantitative evidence synthesis methods in August 2026, including a Q&A with students from our inaugural 2025 cohort.
UPCOMING EVENT
In-Person Training: Conducting a Meta-Analysis from Search to Synthesis
AUGUST 3-7, 2026 | CHICAGO, IL
For social and behavioral science graduate students at U.S.-based P3 universities who are exploring research topics that could be enhanced through systematic review or meta-analytic methods, QuEST offers the opportunity to attend a fully funded, in-person training focused on quantitative evidence synthesis.
Selected students will spend a week at our downtown Chicago office receiving hands-on instruction from AIR experts who offer theory, methods, practical examples, project planning support, and free tools and resources.
Resources
The team of researchers behind the QuEST program has compiled the following free resources for students to use in their evidence synthesis work.
AIR Methods of Synthesis and Integration Center (MOSAIC)
MOSAIC is a methodological center at AIR that promotes the use and uptake of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Check out the website to explore recent projects, discover quantitative synthesis tools and resources, and learn more about the evidence synthesis community at AIR.
MetaReviewer is a free, online, collaboration-minded platform designed for evidence synthesis, by evidence synthesists. AIR researchers and QuEST development team members Polanin, Michaelson, Iacocca, and Peko-Spicer lead various MetaReviewer efforts.
MetaReviewer allows review teams to manage citations, screen studies, extract data, and calculate effect sizes in one easy-to-use system. MetaReviewer is highly flexible and can support a variety of review types; researchers can customize coding forms and project workflow to their specifications.
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions
Cochrane is a prominent organization in the systematic review world. This handbook is considered a gold-standard starting point for any researcher interested in pursuing evidence synthesis work and points to other specialized resources when appropriate.
The R Project for Statistical Computing
Informally known as “R,” this free and open-source software is an invaluable tool for anyone undertaking any part of a systematic review or meta-analysis. There are specific functionalities and commands (i.e., packages) to handle everything from citation management and data cleaning to running meta-analytic models and creating visuals. Some of our recommended packages for meta-analyses include:
- citationchaser
- clubSandwich
- forest
- forestly
- meta
- metafor
- metaviz
- robumeta