A review or evidence synthesis is a comprehensive analysis of existing research on a specific topic, designed to summarise and critically evaluate the current evidence base. These are important tools in health research and come in various forms, such as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, scoping reviews, and literature/narrative reviews.
Why is it important?
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Choosing the right review for you
A literature review, or narrative review, is a review of literature on a topic. The methodology is more flexible, unstructured, and subjective than a systematic review. Its purpose is to teach or learn about a topic, or plan future research
Requirements
How to conduct a literature review
Recommended resources:
Mount Sinai Health System. (2023). How to Conduct a Literature Review for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice.
A scoping review maps current evidence to determine what is known about a topic, identify research gaps, and clarify concepts. Unlike systematic reviews, which focus on answering a specific research question with a high level of evidence, scoping reviews are broader and more exploratory. Its purpose is to assess and understand an existing body of research.
Requirements
How to conduct a scoping review
Recommended resources:
JBI. (2022). What are scoping reviews?
A rapid review is an assessment of what is already known about an issue. The methodology is influenced by time constraints. The purpose of a rapid review is to provide timely evidence on emergent or high-priority topics.
Requirements
How to conduct a rapid review
Recommended resources:
JBI. (2020). What are rapid reviews?
A systematic review systematically searches for, appraises and synthesises research evidence. It has a rigorous and transparent methodology including a published protocol. Its purpose is to inform clinical practice and decision-making.
Requirements
How to conduct a systematic review
Recommended resources:
Cochrane. (2016). What are systematic reviews?
A meta-analysis is a statistical technique combining the results of quantitative studies. It is based on a systematic literature
search for relevant studies. Its purpose is to inform clinical practice and decision-making.
Requirements
How to conduct a meta-analysis
Recommended resources:
TARG Bristol. (2017). A three minute primer on meta-analysis.
An umbrella review is a review of systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses. Its purpose is to inform clinical practice and decision-making on topics with many existing reviews.
Requirements
How to conduct a meta-analysis
Recommended resources:
JBI. (2024). What are Umbrella Reviews?