LibGuides: Systematic Reviews and Other Evidence Synthesis Types Guide: Rapid Review

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Rapid Review

Guidelines
Tutorials

Rapid review – a type of knowledge synthesis in which components of the systematic review process are simplified or omitted to produce information in a short period time. Review team and client negotiate scope and methods based on time available. Used on emerging issues needing timely answers.

Guidelines and Best Practices

Garritty, C., Hamel, C., Trivella, M., Gartlehner, G., Nussbaumer-Streit, B., Devane, D., Kamel, C., Griebler, U., & King, V. J. (2024). Updated recommendations for the Cochrane rapid review methods guidance for rapid reviews of effectiveness. BMJ, 384, e076335. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-076335
King, V. J., Stevens, A., Nussbaumer-Streit, B., Kamel, C., & Garritty, C. (2022, Jul 30). Paper 2: Performing rapid reviews. Syst Rev, 11(1), 151. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-02011-5
Pandor, A., Kaltenthaler, E., Cooper, K., Martyn-St James, M., & Wong, R. (2019). SelecTing Approaches for Rapid Reviews (STARR) Decision Tool (Version 1). The University of Sheffield. https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.7970894.v1
Plüddemann, A., Aronson, J. K., Onakpoya, I., Heneghan, C., & Mahtani, K. R. (2018). Redefining rapid reviews: a flexible framework for restricted systematic reviews. BMJ Evid Based Med, 23(6), 201-203. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjebm-2018-110990
Tricco, A. C., Antony, J., Zarin, W., Strifler, L., Ghassemi, M., Ivory, J., Perrier, L., Hutton, B., Moher, D., & Straus, S. E. (2015). A scoping review of rapid review methods. BMC Medicine, 13, 224. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-015-0465-6
Tricco, A. C., Straus, S. E., Ghaffar, A., & Langlois, E. V. (2022, Jul 30). Rapid reviews for health policy and systems decision-making: more important than ever before. Syst Rev, 11(1), 153. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-01887-7

Rapid Review Guidebook: Steps for Conducting a Rapid Review (National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools)
Details each step in the rapid review process, with notes on how to tailor the process given resource limitations. Also includes a guide to writing the final report, with details on how to structure the report and what to include in each section.
Rapid Reviews - Methods Related Publications (Cochrane Methods)

Reporting Guidelines

Kelly, S. E., McGowan, J., Barnhardt, K., & Straus, S. E. (2022, Jul 30). Paper 4: a review of reporting and disseminating approaches for rapid reviews in health policy and systems research. Syst Rev, 11(1), 152. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-01897-5

PRISMA-RR: An Extension to PRISMA for Rapid Reviews (in development)
This reporting guideline will address reporting for rapid reviews. Rapid reviews can be described as systematic reviews where methods modifications are made to expedite the review completion time. However, please note the following: "See the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA-P) for reporting of rapid review protocols and PRISMA-S for searches. Although an extension to PRISMA for rapid reviews is ongoing, until it is officially completed, we suggest authors use the general PRISMA statement to the extent possible and adapt it accordingly." (Garrity, 2024)
PRISMA 2020 Checklist
The 27 checklist items pertain to the content of a systematic review and meta-analysis, which include the title, abstract, methods, results, discussion and funding. Note: As a member of the ES/SR Team, the UT Southwestern Librarian completes Item 7 (Search Strategy) in the checklist.
PRISMA 2020 Statement
An evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses, PRISMA primarily focuses on the reporting of reviews evaluating the effects of interventions, but can also be used as a basis for reporting systematic reviews with objectives other than evaluating interventions (e.g. evaluating etiology, prevalence, diagnosis or prognosis). The PRISMA 2020 Statement is accompanied by the PRISMA 2020 Explanation and Elaboration paper.
PRISMA for Searching
Published in 2021, the checklist includes 16 reporting items, each of which is detailed with exemplar reporting and rationale. The intent of PRISMA-S is to complement the PRISMA Statement and its extensions by providing a checklist that could be used by interdisciplinary authors, editors, and peer reviewers to verify that each component of a search is completely reported and therefore reproducible. For additional information, refer to the PRISMA for searching statement/exploratory paper.

Cochrane Rapid Reviews: Learning Live Webinar Series (Cochrane Training)
These webinars are designed to provide you with a clear roadmap, helping you navigate the intricacies of rapid review methodologies.
Rapid Reviews to Strengthen Health Policy and Systems (Cochrane Training)
These webinars were presented in October 2017 in partnership with GESI: the Global Evidence Synthesis Initiative.