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Systematic Reviews

Library workshop: So You Want to Do a Systematic Review

Systematic Reviews

What is a systematic review?

Basically, a systematic review is a protocol-driven, comprehensive literature review, and usually designed to answer a specific clinical question. High quality systematic reviews seek to:

  • Identify all relevant published and unpublished evidence
  • Select studies or reports for inclusion
  • Assess the quality of each study or report
  • Synthesise the findings from individual studies or reports in an unbiased way
  • Interpret the findings and present a balanced and impartial summary of the findings with due consideration of any flaws in the evidence.

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Also, based on Cook's article (1997), "a properly conducted systematic review faithfully summarizes the evidence from all relevant studies on the topic of interest, and it does so concisely and transparently." 

Thinking of doing a systematic review?

If you are interested in doing a systematic review, check out the Library's systematic review services for faculty and consider signing up for the So You Want To Do A Systematic Review Workshop.