Systematic Reviews

Roles of Librarians in Systematic Reviews

Studies show that librarian involvement in systematic reviews improves the quality and reproducibility of the literature search (Rethlefsen et al., 2015).  

Need assistance? Please note:

• It is recommended that you ask for librarian involvement early on in your project formation process. 
• It takes longer than you think - developing search strategies may take a month or longer for your team. 
• There may be a waitlist for librarian assistance, particularly during peak periods for teaching and research.
• Please contact us well in advance of any deadlines so that we may coordinate librarian workloads to best assist you.

How UT Health Science Center Librarians Can Help

Evidence Synthesis Consultation Service

The Evidence Synthesis Consultation Service offers expert guidance and training to support faculty, students, and researchers in conducting systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and other evidence synthesis projects. UTHSC faculty librarians are trained and equipped to assist with the following key functions to ensure rigor and reproducibility in evidence synthesis research:

• Provide consultation on the process and guidelines related to systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and other advanced evidence synthesis projects

• Meet 2-3 times to discuss the methods and guidelines associated with the review type

• Provide guidance on identifying controlled vocabulary and keywords

• Advise on selecting databases and developing keywords for use in searches

• Suggest tools and resources to help facilitate the evidence synthesis project

• Provide training to review teams on Covidence software use

Policies & Procedures

Page References

Rethlefsen ML, Farrell AM, Osterhaus Trzasko LC, Brigham TJ. Librarian co-authors correlated with higher quality reported search strategies in general internal medicine systematic reviews. J Clin Epidemiol. 2015;68(6):617-626. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2014.11.025

Library Resources and Services