What is a systematic review?
The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) defines a systematic review as a review of scientific studies on a specific topic. It uses a formal process to:
- Identify all relevant studies
- Assess their quality
- Summarize the evidence
The methods used in a systematic review must be reproducible and transparent.
References
- Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) https://www.thecommunityguide.org/about/our-methodology
- Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., The PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLOS Medicine 6(7) e1000097
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Are there different types of reviews?
Yes, there are multiple types of reviews that follow a specific methodology.
Reproduced and adapted from: Grant MJ, Booth A. A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Info Libr J. 2009 Jun;26(2):91-108. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x. Review. PubMed PMID: 19490148.
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What is a knowledge synthesis?
A knowledge synthesis is the over-arching term used for systematic and comprehensive research projects such as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and scoping reviews.
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Are there standards or methodologies to follow when completing a systematic review?
Yes, there are several organizations that have published standards and methdologies for systetamtic reviews and scoping review. The standards can vary based on the type of systematic review you are completing. For example, there are more specific standards for systematic reviews of randomised trials, observational studies, practice guidelines. etc. Some generic standards include:
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Is there software available through UPEI to help conduct my systematic review?
There is a variety of software that is available to assist systematic reviews with the screening process.
The Library currently has access to the online, subscription-based software Covidence. If you would like access to a Covidence account, please contact publications@upei.ca.
There are also several free options available:
- Rayyan: A free online designed to manage the stages of systematic reviews and other knowledge synthesis projects.
- Abstrackr: free online
- https://sysrev.com/: an online system for Literature Reviews, data Extraction, and Systematic Review
- Unlimited public projects
Unlimited project reviewers
Project management
Free lifetime storage for public projects
- Unlimited public projects
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Can I get access to Covidence for my project?
The Library currently has access to Covidence.
If you are interested in getting Covidence for a knowledge synthesis project please contact publications@upei.ca.
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Why work with a librarian?
The Systematic Review Team: Contributions of the Health Sciences Librarian Dudden & Protzko (2011)
Engaging Medical Librarians to Improve the Quality of Review Articles Rethlefsen, Murad, & Livingston (2014)
Librarian co-authors correlated with higher quality reported search strategies in general internal medicine systematic reviews Rethlefsen, Farrell, Osterhaus Trzasko, & Brigham (2015)
Adapted from: Dalhousie Libraries Systematic Reviews: A How-To
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What is a systematic review protocol?
According to PRISMA:
"A systematic review protocol describes the rationale, hypothesis, and planned methods of the review. It should be prepared before a review is started and used as a guide to carry out the review."
Protocols are important because they help prevent duplication in knowledge syntheses and allow for transparency in the research process. Specifically, the methods, reasoning for inclusion/exclusion criteria and other important decisions are explained in the protocol. Additionally, the protocol provides a good map for the systematic review because it poses important questions about the research topic and is then available for the team to refer back to.
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How long does it take to complete a systematic review?
A proper systematic review requires a significant amount of time to complete (many months). Several research studies have been completed to help determine this, but there is no definitive answer because each project is different.
Resources:
- Kate Nyhan, a librarian at Yale University, created a spreadsheet that provides time estimates for workflows.
- Cochrane timeline for completing a review
- PredicTER - A tool for predicting how long systematic reviews take.
- Haddaway, N.R. and Westgate, M.J. (2019), Predicting the time needed for environmental systematic reviews and systematic maps. Conservation Biology, 33: 434-443. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13231
- Borah R, Brown AW, Capers PL, et al. Analysis of the time and workers needed to conduct systematic reviews of medical interventions using data from the PROSPERO registry. BMJ Open 2017;7:e012545. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012545
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How many articles should be included in my systematic review?
Unfortunately, due to the nature of systematic reviews and knowledge syntheses, there is no number or range of articles that "should be" in a review. The goal is to find all the research that exists on your chosen topic and therefore, the number of articles will depend on your question and your previously chosen inclusion and exclusion criteria.
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Do you recommend any training resources on systematic reviews?
If you have never completed any form of knowledge synthesis before we recommend that you take the free online Coursera course, created by John Hopkin's University, Introduction to Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. Even if you are planning on completing a different type of review, this course gives a very good overview and understanding of what is expected out of a research project that is to be completed systematically.
Check out our other books and resources.
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What is grey literature and how do I search for it?
Grey literature describes information or resources that are not published as a journal article or book.
Examples include:
- conference proceedings
- government or private companies documentation/handbooks/guidelines etc.
- these or dissertations
- preprints or other unpublished studies
Adapted from: https://guides.library.queensu.ca/knowledge-syntheses/grey-literature
Your librarian can help you develop a plan for searching effectively for grey literature. Here are a few places to search for grey literature depending on your topic:
- Targeted website searching
- Dissertation and Theses databases
- Government Documents/Resources:
- Canadian Electronic Library
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service - U.S. Dept of Justice
- TRIP -Turning Research Into Practice
An article on how to systematically search for grey literature:
Godin, K., Stapleton, J., Kirkpatrick, S.I. et al. Applying systematic review search methods to the grey literature: a case study examining guidelines for school-based breakfast programs in Canada. Syst Rev 4, 138 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-015-0125-0