HSLS Systematic Review Program

Ask yourself:

• What specific research questions do I want to address?

• How much time do I have to work on the review?

• Do I have a team to assist me?

• How much of the published literature do I need to review?

• Does my lit search need to be reproducible?

Provides an overview of a topic, highlights important or critical aspects of a topic, or traces the historical development of a topic or concept

• Methodology is not standardized

• Journals have varying requirements for formatting and documentation (check before submitting)

• Collins JA, Fauser BC. Balancing the strengths of systematic and narrative reviews. Hum Reprod Update. 2005 Mar-Apr; 11(2): 103-4.

• Greenhalgh T, Thorne S, Malterud K. Time to challenge the spurious hierarchy of systematic over narrative reviews? Eur J Clin Invest. 2018 Jun;48(6):e12931. doi: 10.1111/eci.12931.

Systematically examines the range, extent or nature of literature on a topic or question

• Identifies gaps in existing literature or the value of undertaking a systematic review

• Typically does not include critical appraisal of included studies, but otherwise time and effort requirements are similar to a systematic review

• Peters, M.D.J., Marnie, C., Tricco, A. C., Pollock, D., Munn, Z., Alexander, L., McInerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., & Khalil, H. (2020). Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews. JBI Evidence Synthesis., 18(10), 2119–2126.

• Peters, M.D.J., Marnie, C., Colquhoun, H., et al. Scoping reviews: reinforcing and advancing the methodology and application. Systematic Reviews 10, 263 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01821-3

• Munn, Z., Peters, M.D.J., Stern, C. et al. Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Med Res Methodol 18, 143 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0611-x

• Munn, Z., Pollock, D., Khalil, H., Alexander, L., Mclnerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., Peters, M., & Tricco, A. C. (2022). What are scoping reviews? Providing a formal definition of scoping reviews as a type of evidence synthesis. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 20(4), 950–952. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-21-00483

Synthesizes the results of existing systematic reviews on a topic or question

• Pollock M, Fernandes RM, Becker LA, Pieper D, Hartling L. Chapter V: Overviews of Reviews. In: Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.3 (updated February 2022). Cochrane, 2022.

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  Gates M, Gates A, Pieper D, Fernandes RM, Tricco AC, Moher D, Brennan SE, Li T, Pollock M, Lunny C, Sepúlveda D, McKenzie JE, Scott SD, Robinson KA, Matthias K, Bougioukas KI, Fusar-Poli P, Whiting P, Moss SJ, Hartling L. Reporting guideline for overviews of reviews of healthcare interventions: development of the PRIOR statement. BMJ. 2022 Aug 9;378:e070849. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-070849. PMID: 35944924; PMCID: PMC9361065.

  • PRIOR Explanation and Elaboration

Appropriate for emerging questions requiring quick answers

• Systematic review methods are used, but in an abbreviated or simplified format

• Methodological shortcuts must be noted in final manuscript

• Garrity C, et al. Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group offers evidence-informed guidance to conduct rapid reviews. J Clin Epidemiol. 2021; 130:13.

• Tricco AC, et al. A scoping review of rapid review methods. BMC Med. 2015 Sep 16; 13:224.

Unlike systematic reviews or scoping reviews, there are no widely accepted standards for designing or reporting state of the art literature reviews. Given that, if you plan to submit a state of the art review to a journal or conference meeting, make sure to check with the journal or organization about their expectations for review content and format. You may also find these articles helpful:

Barry ES, Merkebu J, Varpio L. How to Conduct a State-of-the-Art Literature Review. J Grad Med Educ. 2022 Dec;14(6):663-665. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-22-00704.1. PMID: 36591421; PMCID: PMC9765899. 

Barry ES, Merkebu J, Varpio L. Understanding State-of-the-Art Literature Reviews. J Grad Med Educ. 2022 Dec;14(6):659-662. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-22-00705.1. PMID: 36591417; PMCID: PMC9765914.

Barry ES, Merkebu J, Varpio L. State-of-the-art literature review methodology: A six-step approach for knowledge synthesis. Perspect Med Educ. 2022 Oct;11(5):281-288. doi: 10.1007/s40037-022-00725-9. PMID: 36063310; PMCID: PMC9582072