Undertake a systematic, structured review of all empirical evidence on a specific & clearly formulated research question
Use explicit, predefined criteria to include and exclude studies
Feature comprehensive search strategies which are systematic, free of bias and reproducible
are not “review articles”
Systematic reviews versus literature reviews
From: Kysh, L. (2013). What’s In A Name?: The Difference Between a Systematic Review and a Literature Review and Why It Matters. Poster presented at Medical Library Group of Southern California & Arizona (MLGSCA) and the Northern California and Nevada Medical Library Group (NCNMLG) Joint Meeting, La Jolla, CA.
Steps in a systematic review
What type of systematic review is appropriate?
Choose a type of systematic review which best matches your:
Research question
Inclusion/exclusion criteria
Methods for analysis and synthesis
Common systematic review types:
Effectiveness
Costs/Economic Evaluation
Etiology and/or Risk
Prognostic
Incidence
Guidance on different types of systematic reviews:
Table 1, Types of Reviews from Munn, Z., Stern, C., Aromataris, E. et al. What kind of systematic review should I conduct? A proposed typology and guidance for systematic reviewers in the medical and health sciences. BMC Med Res Methodol18, 5 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-017-0468-4
Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.4 (updated August 2023). Cochrane, 2023. Available from www.training.cochrane.org/handbook.
Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.4 (updated August 2023). Cochrane, 2023. Available from www.training.cochrane.org/handbook
Brock University Library resources
This list of titles in Omni includes books and ebooks related to systematic reviews in general as well as in specific disciplines
