Research Guides: Systematic Reviews and Evidence Synthesis Guide: Before You Begin

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Preliminary Steps

Conducting a systematic review or any form of evidence synthesis can be a big undertaking. Before you jump in, follow the preliminary steps below:

Conduct a preliminary literature search to determine if there is enough literature published about your topic. If your topic does not have a lot of publications, there may not be enough evidence to synthesize.

If there is enough literature on your topic, search to see if a current review has already been published on your topic. Search in registries like PROSPERO, JBI Systematic Review Register, as well as Open Science Framework to see if anyone is currently working on an evidence synthesis project on your topic.

Consider if your research question needs fine tuning.

Consider your resources--who will be part of your evidence synthesis team, do you have any time constraints, do you have any funding available to support the project?

Identify what kind of evidence synthesis is best for you

While the term systematic reviews is commonly recognized, evidence synthesis comes in many different forms.

A systematic review should:

Include a protocol
Follow the PRISMA reporting standards
Include a team of experts
Have a clearly defined and focused research question
Have clearly defined inclusion and exclusion criteria
Take approximately 12-18 months to complete
Search systematically across databases and search tools for both published and unpublished literature
Include a quality assessment of the literature

For additional assistance selecting the right review type, see the table below or visit Which Review is Right For You?

A systematic review may not be the best choice for your specific research question or your resources. See the below Grant & Booth (2009) table to help determine the best form of evidence synthesis for you.
Grant, M. J. and Booth, A. (2009), A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26: 91-108. doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Systematic Reviews and Evidence Synthesis Guide: Before You Begin

Ask A Librarian

Preliminary Steps

Identify what kind of evidence synthesis is best for you

A Simplified Process for Systematic Reviews (Developed by UNC Health Sciences Library)