Is a systematic review required?
Before undertaking a systematic review:
- Check whether there are already existing or ongoing systematic reviews and whether a new review is justified . e.g. search Cochrane, subject databases (limiting to SRs), check registries such as PROSPERO.
- Is a systematic review appropriate? Have you done a “scoping search”? Published reviews also provide a starting point for identifying studies in your area of research.
- Do you have a clearly defined answerable question? Does the review have a clear objective?
- Do you have time? (SRs can take 12-18 months)
Adapted from: Systematic reviews: CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health care
The key characteristics of a systematic review are:
- a clearly stated set of objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies;
- an explicit, reproducible methodology;
- a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies that would meet the eligibility criteria;
- an assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies, for example through the assessment of risk of bias; and
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a systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies
Other types of reviews are not required to follow this rigorous, transparent process and therefore may be prone to bias.
Systematic review resources
Doing your literature review : traditional and systematic techniques by Call Number: 300.72 JESISBN: 9781848601543Publication Date: 2011
How to perform a systematic literature review : a guide for healthcare researchers, practitioners and students by ISBN: 9783030496722Publication Date: 2020
An Introduction to Systematic Reviews by
Focused on actively using systematic review as method, this book provides clear, step-by-step advice on the logic and processes of systematic reviewing. Stressing the importance of precision and accuracy, this new edition carefully balances a need for insightful theory with real-world pragmatism; it introduces a wide range of cutting-edge approaches to research synthesis including text mining, living reviews and new ideas in mixed methods reviews such as qualitative comparative analysis. The book also includes: A new chapter on statistical synthesis Coverage of computer-assisted methods and relevant software Expanded sections on data extraction and management A guide to working with many different types of data including longitudinal and panel. Packed with examples from across the social sciences, this book helps students and researchers alike in turning systematic reviews into recommendations for policy and practice.
ISBN: 9781473929425Publication Date: 2017-05-05
Principles and practice of systematic reviews and meta-analysis by ISBN: 9783030719210Publication Date: 2021
Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review by
Showing you how to take a structured and organized approach to a wide range of literature review types, this book helps you to choose which approach is right for your research. Packed with constructive tools, examples, case studies and hands-on exercises, the book covers the full range of literature review techniques.New to This Edition: Full re-organization takes you step-by-step through the process from beginning to end New chapter showing you how to choose the right method for your project Practical guidance on integrating qualitative and quantitative data New coverage of rapid reviews Comprehensive inclusion of literature review tools, including concept analysis, scoping and mapping With an emphasis on the practical skills, this guide is essential for any student or researcher needing to get from first steps to a successful literature review.
ISBN: 9781473912458Publication Date: 2nd ed. 2016
- Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventionsThe Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions is the official document that describes in detail the process of preparing and maintaining Cochrane systematic reviews on the effects of healthcare interventions. This is Version 6 of the Handbook; updated 2019.
- Systematic reviews: CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health careCentre for Reviews and Dissemination (U.K.) 2009
Chapter 1 includes: 1.3.1 Identifying research evidence for systematic reviews 1.3.2 Study selection 1.3.3 Data extraction 1.3.4 Quality assessment 1.3.5 Data synthesis 1.3.6 Report writing - JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis.JBI, 2020. https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-01
The JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis is designed to provide authors with a comprehensive guide to conducting JBI systematic reviews. It describes in detail the process of planning, undertaking and writing up a systematic review using JBI methods. - National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). GuidelinesNHMRC develops and supports high quality guidelines for clinical practice, public health, environmental health and ethics.
- Campbell Collaboration. Author guidelines.Campbell policies and guidelines are designed to inform author teams about the requirements for Campbell evidence syntheses, guidelines for producing them, and selected sources of further information about systematic reviews that is consistent with those requirements and guidelines.
Systematic reviews step by step: series of articles from JBI
This series on the systematic review from the Joanna Briggs Institute, an international collaborative supporting evidence-based practice in nursing, medicine, and allied health fields, shows nurses how to conduct a systematic review—one step at a time.
Aromataris, E., & Pearson, A. (2014). The systematic review: An overview. American Journal of Nursing, 114(3), 53-58. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000444496.24228.2c
Stern, C., Jordan, Z., & McArthur, A. (2014). Developing the review question and inclusion criteria. American Journal of Nursing, 114(4), 53-56. doi: 10.1097/01.naj.0000445689.67800.86
Aromataris, E., & Riitano, D. (2014). Systematic reviews: Constructing a search strategy and searching for evidence. American Journal of Nursing, 114(5), 49-56. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000446779.99522.f6
Porritt, K., Gomersall, J., & Lockwood, C. (2014). JBI's Systematic reviews: Study selection and critical appraisal. American Journal of Nursing, 114(6), 47-52. doi: 10.1097/01.naj.0000450430.97383.64
Munn, Z., Tufanaru, C., & Aromataris, E. (2014). JBI's Systematic reviews: Data extraction and synthesis. American Journal of Nursing, 114(7), 49-54. doi: 10.1097/01.naj.0000451683.66447.89
Robertson-Malt, S. (2014). JBI's Systematic reviews: Presenting and interpreting findings. American Journal of Nursing, 114(8), 49-54. doi: 10.1097/01.naj.0000453044.01124.59
Getting started: useful references from Nursing Standard
Bettany-Saltikov, J. (2010). Learning how to undertake a systematic review: Part 1. Nursing Standard, 24(50), 47-56.
(see p.49 for a comparison of systematic and literature reviews: Table 1. "Similarities in and differences between systematic and literature reviews").
Bettany-Saltikov, J. (2010). Learning how to undertake a systematic review: Part 2. Nursing Standard, 24(51), 47-56.
Riesenberg, L. A., & Justice, E. M. (2014). Conducting a successful systematic review of the literature, part 1. Nursing, 44(4), 13-17. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000444728.68018.ac
Riesenberg, L. A., & Justice, E. M. (2014). Conducting a successful systematic review of the literature, part 2. Nursing, 44(6), 23-26. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000446641.02995.6a
Reference
Mahtani, K. R. (2016). All health researchers should begin their training by preparing at least one systematic review. Journal of The Royal Society of Medicine, 109(7), 264–268. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076816643954
What are systematic reviews?
- What are systematic reviews?This YouTube video was prepared by Cochrane Consumers and Communication, La Trobe University and generously supported by Cochrane Australia. Written by Jack Nunn and Sophie Hill.