Evidence Synthesis
- What type of review is right for you? PDFA PDF of the flowchart and explanation guide for the slides on the side. Also includes links.
- A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologiesGrant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108.
- What type of review is right for you? Cornell University LibraryImages based on chart created by Cornell University Library.
Updated 2019 - The Mass Production of Redundant, Misleading, and Conflicted Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses-There is massive production of unnecessary, misleading, and conflicted systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
-Suboptimal systematic reviews and meta-analyses can be harmful given the major prestige and influence these types of studies have acquired.
-The publication of systematic reviews and meta-analyses should be realigned to remove biases and vested interests and to integrate them better with the primary production of evidence.
Tools in Evidence Synthesis
- PredicTerPredict how long your review will take.
- DeepLLimited free translation, may require a subscription.
- Right Review ToolOnline quiz to help you find the right type of evidence synthesis review. Includes example articles.
FlowChart
Examples of Different Review Types
- New Graduate Nurses’ Readiness to Practise: A Narrative Literature ReviewMohamad AlMekkawi, & Rouwida El Khalil. (2020). New Graduate Nurses’ Readiness to Practise: A Narrative Literature Review. Health Professions Education, 6(3), 304–316.
Systematic Reviews need to have more than one author in order to be considered "systematic". A team can help cut down on bias, make judgment calls on allowing articles, and many journals will reject a study if it is labeled systematic review but only has one author.
Systematized Review is what most people in graduate schools are actually looking to do.
"Systematized reviews attempt to include one or more elements of the systematic review process while stopping short of claiming that the resultant output is a systematic review. They may identify themselves parenthetically as a systematic’ review. Systematized reviews are
typically conducted as a postgraduate student assignment, in recognition that they are not able to draw upon the resources required for a full systematic review (such as two reviewers).
Perceived strengths. Typically, the search stage possesses the most easily identified elements of systematicity and an author may conduct a comprehensive search but do little more than simply catalogue included studies. Conversely, the author might only search one or more databases and then code and analyse all retrieved results in a
systematic manner. The resulting output ‘models’ the systematic review process and allows the author to demonstrate an awareness of the entire process and technical proficiency in the component steps, However, such a review necessarily falls short of being able to claim the comprehensiveness so fundamental to the systematic review method. Such reviews may form the basis for a more extensive piece of work either as a dissertation or a fully funded research project.
Perceived weaknesses.
For such reviews quality assessment and synthesis may be less identifiable. This means that these processes are not described, that they are modelled using a small set of eligible articles or that they are missing entirely. While the attempt at systematicity is to be welcomed, such reviews do possess a greater likelihood of bias than those that adhere more strictly to guidelines on the conduct of systematic reviews (see above). Completion of the academic requirements for the review is prioritized over methodological considerations."
- A systematized literature review on the associations between neighbourhood built characteristics and walking among Canadian adultsBrenlea Farkas, Daniel J. Wagner, Alberto Nettel-Aguirre, Christine Friedenreich, & Gavin R. McCormack. (2019). A systematized literature review on the associations between neighbourhood built characteristics and walking among Canadian adults. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, 39(1), 1–14.
- Framing gay men's sexual relationships: A rapid review of the literature from 2011–2018.Lemay, K. R., McKie, R. M., Braham, J., Levere, D. D., Furman, E., Sasso, T., Coleman, T., & Travers, R. (2020). Framing gay men’s sexual relationships: A rapid review of the literature from 2011–2018. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 29(1), 127–137.
- Rapid Review GuidebookSteps for conducting a rapid review by Maureen Dobbins, RN, PhD
- Personalization in Real-Time Physical Activity Coaching Using Mobile Applications: A Scoping ReviewMonteiro-Guerra, F., Rivera-Romero, O., Fernandez-Luque, L., & Caulfield, B. (2020). Personalization in Real-Time Physical Activity Coaching Using Mobile Applications: A Scoping Review. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, Biomedical and Health Informatics, IEEE Journal of, IEEE J. Biomed. Health Inform, 24(6), 1738–1751.
- PRISMA for Scoping ReviewsThe PRISMA extension for scoping reviews was published in 2018. The checklist contains 20 essential reporting items and 2 optional items to include when completing a scoping review. Scoping reviews serve to synthesize evidence and assess the scope of literature on a topic. Among other objectives, scoping reviews help determine whether a systematic review of the literature is warranted.
Also known as overview or review of reviews.
- Coffee drinking and cancer risk: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studiesLong-Gang Zhao, Zhuo-Ying Li, Guo-Shan Feng, Xiao-Wei Ji, Yu-Ting Tan, Hong-Lan Li, Marc J. Gunter, & Yong-Bing Xiang. (2020). Coffee drinking and cancer risk: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies. BMC Cancer, 20(1), 1–12.
- JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis; 10.1 Umbrella reviews and evidence-based practiceThe purpose of this chapter is to provide guidance on a method of review that can address these issues. Called an Umbrella Review, this method of review is essentially an overview of existing systematic reviews.
- Breastfeeding in the Community-How Can Partners/Fathers Help? A Systematic ReviewOgbo, F. A., Akombi, B. J., Ahmed, K. Y., Rwabilimbo, A. G., Ogbo, A. O., Uwaibi, N. E., Ezeh, O. K., Agho, K. E., & On Behalf Of The Global Maternal And Child Health Research Collaboration GloMACH. (2020). Breastfeeding in the Community-How Can Partners/Fathers Help? A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2).
- Welcome to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) website!PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PRISMA primarily focuses on the reporting of reviews evaluating the effects of interventions, but can also be used as a basis for reporting systematic reviews with objectives other than evaluating interventions (e.g. evaluating aetiology, prevalence, diagnosis or prognosis).
Meta-Analysis: a quantitative statistical analysis of several separate but similar experiments or studies in order to test the pooled data for statistical significance [often found within systematic reviews, but not the same]. – Definition from www.merriam-Webster.com
All meta-analyses should be part of a systematic review, but not all systematic reviews will include a meta-analysis.
Systematic reviews are usually researched and written as a group to remove any questions, biases, or doubts about a specific item. A systematic review really should NOT be attempted by 1 person alone, there could be too many validity/reliability questions raised by reviewers.
- The effect of yoga on sleep quality and insomnia in women with sleep problems: a systematic review and meta-analysisWang, W.-L., Chen, K.-H., Pan, Y.-C., Yang, S.-N., & Chan, Y.-Y. (2020). The effect of yoga on sleep quality and insomnia in women with sleep problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 1–19.