Skip to Main Content

Systematic Reviews: Getting Started

Profile Photo
Jenessa McElfresh
she/her/hers
Contact:
Jenessa McElfresh, MLIS, AHIP
Systematic Review Service Coordinator
Senior Research & Learning Services Librarian
Associate Professor

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Health Sciences Library
877 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.1725

UTHSC Systematic Review Service Announcement

Advanced Systematic Review Services are currently on pause until January 2025

Due to capacity, UTHSC librarians will not be offering Advanced tier (collaborative) Systematic Review Services for new systematic reviews starting in Fall 2024.

  • All current Advanced Service projects will be completed in consultation with project teams.
  • Basic systematic review services (consultations) continue.
  • Questions? Email: library@uthsc.edu

What is a systematic review?

According to the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions:

"Systematic reviews seek to collate evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question. They aim to minimize bias by using explicit, systematic methods documented in advance with a protocol."

The PRISMA 2020 Statement articulates the importance of systematic reviews and their documentation as serving "many critical roles," such as:

  • Providing syntheses of the state of knowledge in a field, from which future research priorities can be identified
  • Addressing questions that otherwise could not be answered by individual studies
  • Identifying problems in primary research that should be rectified in future studies
  • Generating or evaluating theories about how or why phenomena occur

Library Resources and Services


Page References

Chandler J, Cumpston M, Thomas J, Higgins JPT, Deeks JJ, Clarke MJ. Chapter I: Introduction. In: Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.3 (updated February 2022). Cochrane, 2022. Available from www.training.cochrane.org/handbook.

Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:n71. Published 2021 Mar 29. doi:10.1136/bmj.n71

Timeline icons created by Freepik - Flaticon Consulting icons created by Good Ware - Flaticon Evaluation icons created by Freepik - Flaticon Cms icons created by Freepik - Flaticon Organization icons created by Uniconlabs - Flaticon Repair icons created by Smashicons - Flaticon Team icons created by Freepik - Flaticon - Exclamation Mark icon by Nur syifa fauziah - Flaticon