Background: Cochrane Overviews of reviews (Cochrane Overviews) are Cochrane reviews designed to compile evidence from multiple systematic reviews of interventions for a single health condition into one accessible and usable document. They are becoming more popular as they summarize evidence for efficacy and safety of the interventions considered. General methods are described in the Cochrane Handbook. Objectives: To compare the methodology for Cochrane overviews as described in the Cochrane Handbook with the methods used in an overview of the efficacy and safety of abatacept, adalimumab, anakinra, etanercept, infliximab, and rituximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: We undertook an overview of Cochrane reviews for biologics in RA. In order to perform indirect comparisons of the six biologics using network meta-analysis methodology we had to expand on the methodology envisioned for Cochrane overviews in the Cochrane Handbook. We compared the methods we used for the biologics for RA overview to those in the Handbook and described the additional data needed for our analysis. Results: Data for all the outcomes considered in the overview were not available in the individual systematic reviews and more information was needed from the original studies. Conclusion: Our experience showed that data extraction from original studies and re-analysis are necessary for a comprehensive overview of different treatments for a single condition.