Searching for Systematic Reviews: Introduction

• “A systematic review is a process of comprehensively locating and synthesizing the research on a particular question using organized, transparent, and replicable procedures.”

Hall, H. R., & Roussel, L. (2017). Evidence-based practice: An integrative approach to research, administration, and practice.  Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

• A systematic review is "a rigorous synthesis of research findings on a particular research question, using systematic sampling and data collection procedures and a formal protocol."

Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2014). Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health /Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

• "A systematic review attempts to collate all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question.  It  uses explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view to minimizing bias, thus providing more reliable findings from which conclusions can be drawn and decisions made (Antman 1992, Oxman 1993). The key characteristics of a systematic review are:
  • a clearly stated set of objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies;
  • an explicit, reproducible methodology;
  • a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies that would meet the eligibility criteria;
  • an assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies, for example through the assessment of risk of bias; and
  • a systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies."

Higgins JPT, Green S (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.1.0 [updated March 2011]. The Cochrane Collaboration, 2011. Available from www.handbook.cochrane.org.