What is a Systematic Review?
About this Guide
This Guide was created by a joint effort of the College of Medicine Maguire Medical Library and the University Libraries at FSU to help you get started with your systematic review process and find tools and guidance on each stage of the process. Whereas a broad range of resources and guidance for SRs are presented throughout the Guide, some specialized resources and tips for systematic reviews in social and behavioral sciences are available on the Social Sciences SR page of this Guide.
Currently, we do not have the staffing capacity to be a part of the entire systematic review process, but we encourage you to reach out to your subject librarian for assistance in developing a study protocol.
Before you get started, know whether a systematic review is the right type of review for your study. Ask yourself the following questions first:
1. What are the goals of your review?
2. What resources and time frame do you have to conduct the review study?
Depending on the goals and available resources, systematic reviews might not be the best method for your review. Check out the following resources to decide the right method for your study.
Here is a list of some types that you might find helpful:
For more information, click here and view Table 1 in this article.
(Adapted from the Mayo Clinic Library SystematicReviews Overview LibGuide).
Selected References on Scoping Reviews and Umbrella Reviews
Scoping reviews serve to synthesize evidence and assess the scope of literature on a topic. Among other objectives, scoping reviews help determine whether a systematic review of the literature is warranted.
from Brock University Library
Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews, International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare. 2015.
PRISMA for Scoping Reviews from PRISMA
PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2018.
Summarizing systematic reviews: methodological development, conduct and reporting of an umbrella review approach. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare. 2015.
Umbrella reviews: Evidence synthesis with overviews of reviews and meta-epidemiologic studies. by Biondi-Zoccai, G. (Ed.) 2016.
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