What characterises a systematic review?
A systematic review is a compilation of all relevant material in a specific research question. It is a time-consuming and resource-intensive work implemented by researchers and experts.
As a student, you are not expected to perform a systematic review. However, you sometimes search for that type of scientific material. In a systematic review, the researchquestion is very specific and clearly formulated. The information retrieval is performed according to carefully selected criteria in several databases. At least two people are required to perform a systematic review. The information retrieval is performed like this to make sure that the material is comprehensive and relevant according to the selected criteria.
The research question is very specific and clearly formulated. The information retrieval is performed accorded to carefully selected criteria in several different databases. At least two people are required to perform a systematic review. The purpose is to find material that is both comprehensive and relevant according to the selected criteria.
The Pyramid of Evidence
Research studies can be implemented in several different ways and be more or less extensive. Depending on the methodology of the studies, they are often ranked in a so-called evidence pyramid, which can look different depending on the subject area. In the medical field, systematic reviews and meta-analyses are often placed at the top of the hierarchy. This is because systematic reviews contain a compilation of scientific material from several different original studies. Systematic reviews are often based on randomised controlled trials (RCTs), which are placed in the middle of the pyramid.
In a randomised controlled trial, a group of people, a population, is compared with a control group. Randomisation means that you randomly select the people who are going to be included in the study. At the bottom of the pyramid you will find cohort- and case studies. A cohort study is based on a group of people who are selected because they have some form of common trait. For example, a group of people who have received treatment for the same disease for a certain period of time. In a case study, individual cases are often studied, and not groups. A case study is often very in-depth and consists of observations over a long period of time.

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