Evidence Synthesis (Systematic Reviews)

"Evidence synthesis uses formal, explicit, and rigorous methods to bring together the findings of research already completed, to provide an account of the totality of what is known from that pre-existing research." 1

Characteristics of evidence synthesis research:

• A clearly formed question
• Transparent and reproducible methods of identifying, categorizing, and analyzing the literature
• A comprehensive search of the literature 
• Explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Efforts to reduce bias in study selection and reporting

1.Gough D, Davies P, Jamtvedt G, et al. Evidence Synthesis International (ESI): Position Statement. Systematic Reviews. 2020;9(1):155. doi:10.1186/s13643-020-01415-5.

Type of review most appropriate for your topic

• See "Choosing the Right Review Type" for information on the different types of evidence synthesis reviews. 

Timing

• Most evidence synthesis projects take between 6-18 months to complete
  • Try the PredicTER tool to see how long the steps of a typical systematic review may take.

Study planning

• Developing an answerable research question 
• Writing and registering a research protocol detailing methods you intend to follow to answer the research question. 

Resources

• A team of at least three people to participate in screening and data extraction.
• Access to multiple bibliographic databases and other resources for identifying studies
• A librarian (or librarians) to assist with creating and executing comprehensive literature searches using controlled vocabulary and keywords.
• Access to software for citation management and to assist with screening, data extraction, and quality analysis. 

In databases like Pubmed, use search terms such as: 

"systematic review"

"scoping review"

"systematic map"

"meta-analysis"

"knowledge synthesis"

"evidence synthesis"

"evidence based"