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Systematic Reviews and Other Evidence Synthesis Types Guide

Systematic Reviews and Other Evidence Synthesis Types Guide

Are You Ready to Conduct an Evidence Synthesis?

It is important to use the evidence synthesis/review type that best matches the purpose, scope, and time constraints of the project. For more information on different review types, see Types of Evidence Synthesis.

Before you get started, ask yourself the following questions, which are adapted from the references listed below.

Is there a need for a new evidence synthesis/systematic review?

It is important to make sure that the proposed evidence synthesis/systematic review addresses novel issues and does not duplicate existing systematic reviews or other ongoing reviews. (IOM (Institute of Medicine), 2011)

Do you have a specific and clearly defined question?

A focused research question is critical: it determines other components of the evidence synthesis/systematic review, including the search strategy for studies, data extraction, synthesis, and presentation of findings. Well-formulated evidence synthesis/systematic review questions often use a structured format to improve the scientific rigor, such as the PICO(M) mnemonic: population, intervention, comparison, outcomes, methodology. Don't be surprised if it takes time to finalize the research question because it is time well spent. (IOM (Institute of Medicine), 2011)

Do you have a team to work on the evidence synthesis/systematic review?

The evidence synthesis/systematic review team should be multidisciplinary, capable of defining the question, and proficient in performing the technical aspects of the review, which include the following:

  • Develop evidence synthesis/systematic review protocol
  • Design search strategies to retrieve potentially relevant articles
  • Select studies based on explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria
  • Critically appraise the included studies
  • Perform data analysis and interpret the results

Members should include subject experts, reviewers, librarian, and statistician. Minimizing conflict of interest and bias are critical to credibility and scientific rigor. (IOM (Institute of Medicine), 2011)

NOTE to non-UT Southwestern review team members:

  • as resources differ between institutions, non-UT Southwestern review team members should reach out to their own institutions for training.
  • as licensing agreements differ between institutions, non-UT Southwestern review team members must obtain tull text from their own Library collection or Interlibrary Loan services.

Do you have the time that it takes to properly conduct an evidence synthesis/systematic review?

Planning and conducting an evidence synthesis/systematic review is a time-intensive research project. Time to completion will vary depending on the scope of the evidence synthesis/systematic review and the size and availability of the review team. For example, a well-designed systematic review may take a year or more to complete. (Higgins JPT, 2020 (updated September 2020))

Can you meet all of the requirements for the proposed evidence synthesis?

The team needs to be knowledgeable and follow the guidelines/best practices/requirements of the proposed evidence synthesis/systematic review. For more information on specific evidence synthesis/systematic reviews, refer to the following pages in this guide:

References