Systematic reviews
A systematic review is a compilation of all relevant material within a specific research issue. The questions are carefully formulated and the search for information is based on specific criteria.
Systematic reviews are conducted across various research topics, with purposes that may vary. For instance, they can aim to map the literature within a subject area or calculate statistical measures of treatment effects.
The library offers support with:
- Methodology
- Formulating and structuring research questions
- Creating search queries
- Conducting literature searches
- Using screening tools
- Managing references with software
- Documentation
What are the characteristics of a systematic review?
Conducting a systematic review is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. The research questions are highly specific and clearly defined. Information retrieval is carried out using carefully selected criteria based on the review's purpose. The goal is to identify material that is both comprehensive and relevant to the established criteria.
You need to:
- Follow a strict method
- Use a variety of sources and tools
- Evaluate and summarize the material obtained from your searches
There are different types of reviews, such as rapid reviews, scoping reviews, and systematic reviews, each varying in comprehensiveness.
What does the workflow look like?
The workflow for a systematic review typically involves many different steps. You will find more information below.
Formulate and structure a research question:
- Develop a clear research question. To structure it, you can use models such as PICO, PEO, SPICE, or SPIDER.
- Define inclusion and exclusion criteria, such as publication types, publication years, and study design/methods, to determine which studies to include or exclude.
Create search query:
- Identify search terms from the research question.
- Find more search terms through, for example, gold standard articles, expert opinions, concept analyses, subject headings, reference lists and citations.
Literature search:
- Do a systematic literature search in the databases you have selected in advance.
- Complete the search with other methods if necessary, for example by manual search in selected journals.
Duplicates:
- Remove duplicates using a screening tool or reference management program.
Examination:
- Evaluate the studies identified in the literature search based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, relevance, and quality. Begin with an initial review by reading abstracts. For studies that pass this stage, proceed to review the full texts of the publications.
- Extract, compile and analyse relevant data from the remaining publications.
- In certain fields, evidence grading is conducted to assess the reliability of the results. For this purpose, systems like the international grading tool GRADE may be used.
Documentation
- Clearly document the entire process of the systematic review, ensuring it is transparent, evaluable, and reproducible. This allows others to follow and replicate the steps taken to produce the review.
Useful links
- Instructional videos from SBU
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Short films with information about systematic reviews from SBU, the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services. Available in Swedish. - Introduction to systematic reviews
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Learn more about systematic reviews on the Karolinska Institutet University Library website. - Introduction to different types of reviews
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The Temple University Libraries provide detailed information on different types of systematic reviews. - SLU hub for systematic reviews
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The SLU Library offers a collection of learning resources on systematic reviews and analysis. - Guides for performing overviews in different subject areas
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The SLU Library's collection of guides detailing how to perform systematic reviews in various fields. - Search strategies
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A collection of resources from the SLU Library covering different search strategies. - Finding search terms
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Learn how to identify search terms through the SLU Library's learning module. - PRESS 2015 checklist for search strategies
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A useful checklist available from the Karolinska Institutet University Library website. - The Systematic Review Toolbox
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Various tools for performing systematic reviews are available on the SR Toolbox website - Tools for screening
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A collection of screening tools from the SLU Library Hub.
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