Systematic Reviews and other Evidence Syntheses
How to use this Guide
This guide is designed to be used by students, staff, and faculty who are new to evidence synthesis.
- Develop Research QuestionDevelop a research question and select a review type
- Select Review TypeSelect the type of review that fits your research question
- Create ProtocolCreate a review protocol
- Search LiteratureCreate a comprehensive search strategy
- Conduct ScreeningScreen articles
- Extract, Appraise & SynthesizeExtract, appraise and synthesize included articles
- Report ResultsReport your findings
What is your timeframe?
Image CC-BY Mirian Ramirez. Adapted from image designed by Jessica Kaufman, Cochrane Consumers & Communication Review Group, Centre for Health Communication & Participation, La Trobe University, 2011.
Guidelines & Standards for Evidence Synthesis
Key organizations that provide guidance on evidence synthesis. Choose one, and follow it.
- Cochrane CollaborationSystematic reviews of intervention
- Agency for Healthcare Research and QualityEffectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews
- University of York Centre for Reviews and DisseminationSystematic reviews of health interventions, clinical tests, public health interventions, adverse effects, economic evaluations, and qualitative evidence
- Joanna Briggs InstituteSystematic reviews of effectiveness, qualitative evidence, text & opinion, prevalence & incidence, economic evidence, etiology & risk, mixed methods, diagnostic test accuracy, umbrella reviews, scoping reviews, reviews of measurement properties
Build your team
A high end publishable review needs several different types of team members to succeed.
- at least 3 reviewers to screen articles, extract data, and assess quality of articles
- a methodologist to assist with assessing risk of bias of qualifying articles (e.g. GRADE methodology)
- a librarian to conduct an exhaustive and reproducible search
- a biostatistician if you think you will perform a meta-analysis (pooled results are homogenous)
- Biostatistics and Health Data Science ServicesScroll to the bottom of this page to learn more about the Biostatistics Walk-In Clinic.
Defining Authors
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content
- Final approval of the version to be published
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Guide Attribution
This guide is copied and adapted with permission from the
- University of Kentucky, Systematic Reviews guideauthored by Lauren E. Robinson, Stephanie M. Henderson, and Rebecca J. Morgan.